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Essay / Kendall's Material Culture Values and the Rise of Merchandise Sales in the United States
The year 2016 was characterized by a growth in celebrity merchandise culture. A-list celebrities such as Kyle Jenner, Kanye West, and Beyonce Knowles have launched Kylie Cosmetics, Yeezy Line, and Ivy Park product lines, respectively. At the top of this trend was President Trump's Make America Great Again product, popularized during the 2016 presidential campaign. It was interesting to see popular stores such as Kid Rock announce their decision to add Trump-related products in response to overwhelming demand (Khan, 2017). While drawing on the concept of material culture highlighted in the work of Kendall (2016), it can be argued that the cultural fashion of celebrity merchandise is here to stay. This argument rests on the realization that technology has taken a central place in the spread of material culture. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The concept of material culture is responsible for popularizing celebrity merchandise culture. Kendall's (2016) material culture covers tangible creations such as fashion items that are created, accepted, and shared by members of a particular society. Generally, material culture is shaped by non-material elements such as values, norms, language and symbols. For example, Trump-related products were popularized by the values and expectations behind the historical concept of the American Dream (Khan, 2017). This example is illuminated by the fact that Americans view their country as a land of opportunity where every hard-working citizen can achieve relative success in their respective business fields. Material culture is transforming celebrity commodity culture into a kind of cultural universal. Kendall (2016) defines cultural universals as widely accepted customs or values that differentiate a specific society from other societies. For example, celebrity commodity culture is almost becoming a cultural universal that defines contemporary American society. Lea-Greenwood (2013) supports this example by stating that fashion retailers such as Nike and Adidas have perfected the art of using celebrities as their brand ambassadors. Building on the success that celebrities have had, major celebrities have realized that they can also launch their own fashion lines. This argument is underlined by the example of Jenner, West and Knowles discussed in the introductory paragraph. In the future, celebrities will continue to exert their influence to develop new proscriptive norms that will likely continue to shape consumption habits in receptive societies like the United States. This argument is supported by Kendall's (2016) position that proscriptive norms are a set of unwritten rules that shape human behavior in a society. Technological advances have also accelerated the cultural craze for celebrity merchandise. Kendall (2016) states that technological advancements such as social media, online payment gateways, and online shopping carts have made it easier to access and share information about popular cultural trends. For example, celebrities such as Jenner, West and Knowles use social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat to reach and influence the purchasing habits of their fans. In fact, social media has become a culture of its own. This argument is inspired by the argument.