Media Materialities

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He warned against the constant use and consumption of our natural goods, and the possible effects it could have on the environment.

Packard claimed there was a “commercialization of American life” through the constant advertising images American seen not on just tv, radio, and print. But now we see billboards, posters in parks, on benches, and subways. Packard claimed this caused American to “find their main life satisfaction in their consumption role rather than their productive role. (1960, 223)

Papanek:

- Technological Obsolescence: a better or more elegant way of doing something

- Material Obsolescence: when a product wears out

- Artificial obsolescence: the death making of a product in which the material are substandard, or else parts are unrepairable or replaceable.

Annual change modeal: came from henry ford, and GM during the mid to late 1920s. in which both automobile companies saw huge profits in producing more stylish cars annually. They saw that consumers bought the most to date car at the time. Chrysler although smaller than Ford and GM saw huge benefits as will. Yale Journal saw this as unfair in the market place, because only companies with the economic means to annual change would reap the benefits.

Slade practice of obsolescence:

- Technological: when technologies start appearing in the form of new products displacing existing goods and services. Ex. 1913 when the electric automobile starter replaced the old hand crank one making older cars automatically undesirable. Nowadays this can be seen in software industry when a new software is made the old automatically becomes unused.

- Planned: when a new product comes out and only the physical properties are different. Causing a lust for the new product design while relatively staying the same.

- Psychological: techniques used to artificially limit the durability of a particular product