Cell Phones: Identification Through Consumption
Gay, Hall, Janes, Mackay & Negus (1997) state in their book Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman that representation, identity, production, consumption and regulation are five cultural processes that constitute the “circuit of culture” (p. 3). The idea that these five elements of the cultural circuit are interrelated and overlapping (Gay et al., 1997) is especially useful when examining the cultural significance of a particular object. In this reflection, I use these five intertwined cultural processes as analytical tools to explore how cell phones have entered our culture and simultaneously produced certain cultures.
Cell phones have definitely become a part of our cultural universe because we know what it is and “we can talk, think about and imagine it” (Gay et al., 1997, p. 10). Wehave given it a set of social meanings through the ways in which we represent it and use it. The first cell phone, Motorola DynaTAC 8000, is known as the Motorola“brick” in North
Figure 1.1 Motorola 3200 (1987)
America. In China, it has a personified nickname – the “Big Boss”. Both “brick” and “Big Boss” are verbal representations regarding the size (maybe weight as well) of the cell phone. Other than the more obvious indication about size or weight, the name “Big Boss” is also able to link the object – cell phone – to certain groups of people. In order to understand what social identities were constructed in China at the time through representation in language, we must look at another means of representation – media, where the name Big Boss originated from. In late 1980s and early 1990s, organized crime was a dominant theme in Hong Kong movies. In those movies, the head of the gang was referred to as the “big boss”, and the very masculine Motorola cell phone was an essential prop that characterized the “big boss” on screen. This is not to imply that the first cell phone users in China had identified themselves with the gangsters. It was not the criminal acts that they identified themselves with; but the idea of mobility, leadership, power, and luxury life style. The first cell phone was launched in Guangzhou, China in 1987. Although the price was about ¥15,000 -25,000 (Chinese currency), it did not stop entrepreneurs, businessmen and construction contractors from purchasing cell phones. Through representation in language and media, cell phone became symbol of status and wealth in China during the 1980s.
Figure 1.3
Since late 1990s, cell phones have become smaller and more multifunctional. This new trend in cell phone production leads to different ways of representation in our cultural life. As cell phone becomes more affordable and portable, it has shifted from a symbol of status to metaphor of immediate communication. What makes cell phone appealing to us is that we can talk to people and hear their voice even when they are not in front of us (as long as they pick up the phone) – and we can do that whenever we want to and wherever suitable, while we are doing other things. In addition to the idea of staying connected when we are “out and about”, there are means of representation that produce other meanings and ideas about cell phones. As there are no restrictions that come from 2-year or 3-year wireless plans in China, people are able to buy new cell phones once they get tired of the ones that they are using. My mother, for example, has changed up to 8 or 9 cell phones in the past 3 years. Last time I talked to her through the webcam, she was bragging about her new Nokia 7280 which was advertised as “Distinctively Bold” on TV (to admire the glamourous Nokia 7280, please see Figure 1.2 and 1.3). My mother has always been fashionable, but she has neverstruck to me as the “bold” type. I guess Gay et al. (1997) are right about identification, in that “identification work(s) through language on the imaginary and on our desires” (p. 39). My mother may not have a luxury sports car (Figure 1.2) or actively participate in fancy evening parties (Figure 1.3), but perhaps the very stylish and sophisticated Nokia 7280 allows her to imagine herself living the lifestyle depicted in the cell phone advertisements. The best part about claiming an identity through consumption of cell phones in China is that one does not have to be locked in a particular identity for two or three years as we would in Canada. One could identify herself as being
Figure 1.4 L'Amour Collection: Nokia 7360, 7370, 7380
romantic and desirable as the woman in the L’Amour poster (Figure 1.4) for one year, as “smart and cool” as the pop star in the Xia Xin E606 advertisement (Figure 1.5) for another year, and claim to be traditional and classy as the lady in the MBO 308 image (Figure 1.6) for the next year. If one has the money, the interval between each identity could be even shorter.
Figure 1.6 Small and Cool: Xia Xin E606
Figure 1.7 Qi Pao Collection: MBO 308
If we consider the wireless plans in Canada as an example of what regulates cell phone usage, we can see how people’s styles of consumption differ when the regulation machanisms change. I would say that most people in Canada would not switch cell phones as often as a lot of people do in China. In the Chinese context, cell phones are not only made meaningful as a communication device, but also became a metaphor of style and a statement of personality through practices of representation.
- References
Gay, P. d., Stuart, H., Janes, L., Mackay, H., & Negus, K. (1997). Doing cultural studies: The story of the Sony Walkman. London: Sage Publications.
Cell Phone Advertisement: MBO 308 [Photograph]. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from: http://hiphotos.baidu.com/fand/pic/item/0172b0196660dc5243a9ad87.jpg
Cell Phone Advertisement: Nokia L’amour [Photograph]. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from: http://hiphotos.baidu.com/fand/pic/item/2db05aeed0af16ecb3fb9565.jpg
Cell Phone Advertisement: Nokia 7280 [Photograph]. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from: http://hi.baidu.com/fand/album/item/d2ded42a69f2663ad42af18d.html
Cell Phone Wall Paper – Nokia 7280 [Photograph]. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from: http://www.ew88.net/desk/business/567/d_23226.html
In the 90s, Cell Phone Was Symbol of Status [Photograph]. (2008). Retrieved from: http://www.dahe.cn/xwzx/zt/kjzt/3njbkhn/jy/t20081127_1436246.htm
Lin, J. H. (2009, September 28). Motorola 3200 [Photograph in web log message]. Retrieved from: http://www.bjbm.org/home/space.php?uid=5&do=blog&id=49
Li Yuchun Cell Phone Advertisement [Photograph]. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from: http://pic.dc.yesky.com/pic/bizhi/mx/177/495677d_9.shtml
Recent Comments