The End of Consumer Culture?

I read “The End of Consumer Culture” by Hugh Graham on pages 256-259. Although I found the topic to be inventive and interesting, the article itself was lacking in several areas. As a reader, the thesis was not concise and very general. Graham is trying to make a strong statement about consumerism but instead of narrowing his focus to make a compelling argument, he writes about a lot of different angles in consumer marketing. His writing seemed too sporadic and though there was organization present, it was difficult to follow at times. How can an audience be convinced of Graham's views of consumerism, when key elements of organization, cohesion and editing are missing?

A few props can be said about Graham's writing. The format was readable and accessible for his targeted website audience. The use of visuals were well placed: the font choice, paragraph length and diagram picture. This made the article more approachable when glancing through it. And after checking the website where this essay was originally posted, I realized the extent of Graham's ethos. The whole website, hughgrahamcreative.com, is dedicated entirely to helping businesses with their marketing strategies. Since he does marketing research for a living, he obviously knows more about the subject than I do.

With that being said, what is lacking outweighs the positive qualities, in my opinion. There was something totally conflicting about the tone of this article. At first, I appreciated the casualty in Graham's voice. Further down the essay however, I am not following the concepts being stated. Especially when “aspirational consumer culture” is mentioned in various places which makes me question if his website is geared to only corporations and businesses, not the average person like myself. Also, I appreciate headings in any forms of writing but these subtitles were awful. I thought the first one was placed in the wrong place, breaking off a cohesive thought Graham had started. The second heading “It's the Economy, Stupid”, confused me to no end. Who's stupid? The USA government? Is he talking to himself? The reader? If he referring to his audience, name calling can backfire, offending the reader is never a wise idea.

There was just so much in here that puzzles me, I don't even know where I stand on American consumerism. It took all my mental capabilities just to follow his thoughts. It would be rewarding to read a revision of this argument essay, refining the potential that is already present.