Chapter 7 of “Practices of Looking” mentions Valentine’s Day in relation to chocolate as a commodity. Chocolate is very popular and largely desired by people, but has a history of inhumane conditions for workers on cocoa farms. Despite these problems being brought to the public’s attention and some protest, the overall obsession with chocolate products continued in light of its production, and it is therefore an example of commodity fetishism. The brief mention of the commoditization of chocolate during holidays, especially Valentine’s Day, caused me to wonder about Valentine’s Day itself. Unlike Thanksgiving, which celebrates the expression of thanks and gratitude, or Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Christ, (both of which have become extremely commodified holidays in themselves) no one really knows the basis for the celebration of Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is named after St. Valentine, and the specific day began being associated with romantic love during the High Middle Ages.
Since then, I would argue that Valentine’s Day has grown as a result of hegemony and commodity culture. All corporations capitalize on the weeks prior to Valentine’s Day, showing their products in a romantic way, and enticing viewers to buy that specific item for their loved one. The commercials and ads that are displayed around this time are a direct result of the hegemony that powerful media sources can have over people in order to send them certain messages.
In this case, the message is that a person must buy flowers, cards, chocolate, jewelry, etc for their loved one. The value of most of the items is essentially nothing, and a lot of the Valentine’s Day items are only useless commodities, like big red teddy bears and heart shaped pillows. But, because we live in a commodity culture, we are made to feel like we are defined by what we have. Therefore, on Valentine’s Day, people are essentially defined by what they receive or if they have a loved one to celebrate with. A person who does not have a significant other is meant to feel left out of the whole event, even though most of the people celebrating the holiday have no idea why they need to go out and buy flowers on that particular day compared to any other. And, if a girl doesn’t have a boyfriend or such to celebrate with, girls tend to buy each other presents and go out together, to celebrate love for friends and each other. But still, they are buying into the holiday and buying what companies want them to.
After doing some research, I learned that in 2007, the expected total spending of Americans on Valentine’s Day was $16 billion dollars. The U.S. Greeting Card Association (apparently there is one of those) estimates that 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent out each year on Valentine’s Day, coming second only to Christmas. And why? Because Hallmark took this holiday and ran with it, capitalizing on the power commodity culture the best that they could. No matter how you feel about Valentine’s Day, whether you love it or hate it, one of the main reasons you are celebrating your love is because corporate America wanted you to.
GREAT POST
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