An Analysis Of America’s Next Top Model From The Perspective Of Consumption Alienaton

Since the20thcentury, the assembly line brought by the technological progresshas provided abundant goods. Consequently, the related unceasing possession andconsumption have become the most dominating part of life and the main way ofcommunication between the world and people. Scholars from Frankfurt School likeMarcuse and Fromm have raised the idea of consumption alienation, which has beenfurther developed by the eco-Marxists, represented by Ben Agger. The consumptionalienation gains the control of people, nature and society by creating false demandsand the value system of signs and commercialize all to the consumptive object.Modern industry and technology have led to a new genre of media withworld-wide popularity—the TV reality show. America’s Next Top Model, one of themost popular reality shows in America, has set an example for the other similar shows.By eye-catching training on the models and stunning photo-shoot for advisement,America’s Next Top Model makes every bit of effort to produce false needs and toassign meaning to the goods for the audience, which in turn leads to the identity crisisof the audience. Thus, the audience have unconsciously fallen into the circle ofconsumption alienation.In the first part, the thesis analyzes the program from the perspective of falseneeds, in which the creating of false needs and consumption featured by blindconformity are elaborated. The second part focuses on sign consumption in theprogram, which can be found in the living environment and fierce competition amongthe contestants. In the third chapter, the identity crisis caused by consumptionalienation is studied to a certain degree, which is represented by confusion inself-identity and construction of false identity. Through the research, the thesis statesthat America’s Next Top Model is a product of consumption alienation which shouldalarm audience.