Menu
Idea

consumer culture

319
Filter by:

Filter by published date

Viewing 271–300 of 319 results. Go to first page
A collection of flags, games, and printed matter from the Civil War
partner

Patriotism and Consumerism in the Civil War

For a burgeoning consumer society, store-bought flags and bonnets offered proof that commercialism could go hand in hand with heartfelt emotion.
by Livia Gershon, Joanna Cohen via JSTOR Daily on July 3, 2022
Palm Oil Farm from above

The Irreplaceable: Palm Oil Dependency

Cheap palm oil is part of an interlocking late capitalist system.
by Bee Wilson via London Review of Books on June 23, 2022
A family tree relating Aaron Sachs' book "Up From the Depths" with Lewis Mumford and Herman Melville.

Why Reading History for Its “Lessons” Misses the Point

On Lewis Mumford, Herman Melville, and the gentle art of looking back in time.
by Daniel Immerwahr via Slate on June 6, 2022
A packed Betty Crocker test kitchen in 1935, image of women crowded around a counter.

The Unsung Women of the Betty Crocker Test Kitchens

For many Crockettes, the job was glamorous, fulfilling, and "almost subversive."
by Anne Ewbank via Atlas Obscura on March 21, 2022
WWII Advertisement that highlights price controls.

Price Controls, Black Markets, And Skimpflation: The WWII Battle Against Inflation

To control inflation during WWII, the U.S. government resorted to wide-ranging price controls. Unintended consequences may be the reason they aren't used today.
by Greg Rosalsky via NPR on February 8, 2022

Why So Many Guns on Christmas Cards? Because Jesus was ‘Manly and Virile.’

Muscular Christianity — with scriptural interpretations that can favor “stand your ground” over “turn the other cheek” — has a long tradition in the U.S.
by Peter Manseau via Washington Post on December 14, 2021
Middle finger that says "Millenial" and Fist that says "Gen Z"

It’s Time to Stop Talking About “Generations”

From boomers to zoomers, the concept gets social history all wrong.
by Louis Menand via The New Yorker on October 7, 2021
Auto workers on strike outside a General Motors plant in Detroit, September 1970.

When Americans Took to the Streets Over Inflation

In the 60s and 70s, spiraling prices for staples like meat and gasoline wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy, thanks to political and policy mistakes.
by Jon Hilsenrath via The Wall Street Journal on June 11, 2021
Model posing with the original Motorola cellphone

The First Cellphone: Discover Motorola’s DynaTAC 8000X, a 2-Pound Brick Priced at $3,995

We get the culture our technology permits, and in the 21st century no technological development has changed culture like that of the smartphone.
by Colin Marshall via Open Culture on May 20, 2021
Coffee table with books

A Brief History of Coffee Table Books: Origin, Precursors, and Popularity

Ever look at the tome on a coffee table and wonder why coffee table books are a thing? Consider this brief history of coffee table books.
by Addison Rizer via Book Riot on April 13, 2021
Illustration of a smoker with coins instead of puffs of smoke coming from his cigarette

Pinhookers and Pets: Inventing the Non-Smoker

Who needs a public health system when sickness is a personal failure?
by Jackson Lears via London Review of Books on February 18, 2021
Carvings on two whaleteeth (scrimshaw)

The Pleasure Crafts

Everyday people's creation of porn and erotic objects over the centuries.
by Cintra Wilson via New York Review of Books on December 17, 2020
Donald Trump and Joe Biden behind podiums during the first presidential debate of 2020
partner

President Trump Gets the Suburbs All Wrong

His conception of what appeals to suburban voters is frozen in the past.
by Michelle M. Nickerson via Made By History on October 1, 2020

The Wages of Whiteness

One idea inherited from 1960s radicalism is that of “white privilege,” a protean concept invoked to explain wealth, political power, and even cognition.
by Hari Kunzru via New York Review of Books on September 3, 2020
A grilled cheese sandwich.
partner

A Brief History of Comfort Food

Our newest culinary trend is also our oldest.
by Stacy Wood, April White via JSTOR Daily on May 30, 2020
Portrait-style painting of woman in brown dress, with a modern COVID-19 protective mask digitally imposed on her face

Early American Women Unmasked

The masks owned by early American women and even children were no less symbolic than modern masks in terms of practical use, commodification, or controversy.
by Philippe Halbert via The Junto on May 5, 2020
partner

Meatpacking Work Has Become Less Safe. Now it Threatens Our Meat Supply

Protecting the food supply chain means protecting workers.
by Christopher Deutsch via Made By History on May 1, 2020

Remnants of the New Deal Order

We can only understand the left’s present dilemmas by seeing them in light of the conflicted legacy of the New Deal.
by Kim Phillips-Fein via Dissent on April 13, 2020
Stan and Mardi Timm show off Johnson Smith novelties they’ve collected. Stan wears X-Ray Spex and holds a Tark Electric Razor. Mardi wears a sailor’s hat that says “Kiss Me Honey I Won’t Bite” and holds a Little Gem Lung Tester and Bust Developer.

Fun Delivered: World’s Foremost Experts on Whoopee Cushions and Silly Putty Tell All

The Timms provide the history behind their collection of 20th century mail-order novelty items.
by Lisa Hix via Collectors Weekly on March 17, 2020
Four African-Americans in front of a McDonalds restaurant

The Intertwined History of McDonald’s and Black America

In good ways and bad, the Golden Arches have always loomed large in the African American experience.
by Marcia Chatelain via Gen on January 6, 2020

America's Decades-Old Obsession With Nuking Hurricanes (and More)

If you think dropping a nuclear bomb into the eye of a hurricane is a bad idea, wait'll you see what they had in mind for the polar ice caps.
by Garrett M. Graff via Wired on August 26, 2019

How the American Flag Became Sacred—and the Hottest Brand in the Nation

It took decades for the "flag cult" as we know it to get rolling.
by Lisa Hix via Collectors Weekly on July 2, 2019
Image of Sergeant Pete Thibodeau during the War on Terror.

The Sum of All Beards

How did facial hair win American men’s hearts and minds? Thank the War on Terror.
by Adam Weinstein, Adrian Bonenberger via The New Republic on June 4, 2019

Inside the Long War to Protect Plastic

Single-use plastic is clogging oceans and landfills. The plastic industry has waged a decades-long campaign to keep it selling it.
by Tik Root via Center for Public Integrity on May 16, 2019

The Innovation Cult

The function of the "innovation" buzzword is to sustain the myth that business genius creates society’s wealth.
by John Patrick Leary via Jacobin on April 16, 2019

The Definitive Oral History of TiVo

How the original DVR paved the way for Netflix and the cord-cutter movement.
by Tom Roston via OneZero on April 2, 2019

The Surprising History of the Fortune Cookie

Searching for the roots of an American classic.
by Soleil Ho, Blue Delliquanti via The Nib on January 4, 2019
Mounted NYPD officers parade down Broadway.

World War I Preparedness and the Militarization of the NYPD

From food rationing to drafting soldiers, preparedness and all it involved included a full-scale reorganization of American society, including the NYPD.
by Matthew Guariglia via The Gotham Center on December 27, 2018

Baby, Christmas Songs Have Always Been Controversial

Long before “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” holiday songs played a part in the War on Christmas.
by Neil J. Young via The Atlantic on December 24, 2018
Sign showing a hand pushing a button.

Cute as a Button? Think Twice

A new book examines the first generation of button-pushing Americans at the turn of the 20th century.
by Anna Feuer via Los Angeles Review of Books on November 30, 2018
View More
30 of
319

Filter Results:

Suggested Filters:

Idea

Person

brought to you by
© Bunk History