The Body as Image - an Analysis of the Postmodern...

Synopsis, Marketing and Culture The body as image - An analysis of the postmodern characteristics of tattoos in contemporary society Introduction In recent years few terms have been so widely discuss as †postmodernism† in order to define its basic principals. Despite a lack of consensus, most authorities agree that postmodernism represents some kind of reaction to, or departure from, modernism and modernity (Brown 1993). The consumer of the modern society is distinguished by being self-reflexive and rational while the characteristics of the irrational postmodern consumer are hyperreality, fragmentation, reversals of production and consumption, decentring of the subject, paradoxical juxtapositions, and loss of commitment (Firat et†¦show more content†¦The hostility towards generalizations is one of the characteristics of postmodern consumers (Brown 1993). When at work Kim believes it is important to appear clean and presentable which translated into a clothing correlation means dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, but when at private he tends to â€Å"dress-down† for instance wearing leather pants and a T-shirt with his tattoos displayed. The code mixing and switching of style between formal and informal clothes is a strategic masquerade of signs at the intersections of self, society and world (Mick et al, 2004). This could also be describes as a form of self-communication as the tattoos are placed on the body where it can be hidden. â€Å"Several of my private friends also have tattoos, so you could say that I posses two different personalities. I like that I’m free, and someone else, whenever I’m off work†. Here, the style consumption emerges as a creative process of ‘bricolage’ between cultures and differentiation from mainstream marketplace orders (Kjeldgaard 2009) and the tattoo grants members hip of a certain community (Elliot 2004) defined by the communicative discourse of the tattoo. Thus it is not enough to â€Å"purchase† the membership card, the consumer has to maintain their social identity, for the symbol to be perceived accordingly. As theShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesof the Disposable Worker? 35 vii viii CONTENTS 2 2 The Individual Diversity in Organizations 39 Diversity 40 Demographic Characteristics of the U.S. Workforce 41 †¢ Levels of Diversity 42 †¢ Discrimination 42 Biographical Characteristics 44 Age 44 †¢ Sex 46 †¢ Race and Ethnicity 48 †¢ Disability 48 †¢ Other Biographical Characteristics: Tenure, Religion, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity 50 Ability 52 Intellectual Abilities 52 †¢ Physical Abilities 55 †¢ The Role of Disabilities