FETISH: in anthropology, an object that is endowed with magical powers and ritualistic meaning, for example, a totem pole. In Marxist theory, an object that is awarded "magical" economic power that is not in the object itself. For example, a dollar bill is a piece of paper that physically has no worth, yet is given economic power by the State. In psychoanalytic theory, a fetish is an object that is endowed with magical powers to enable a person to compensate for psychological lack. Foe example, a poster of a movie star can give someone a fantasy of possession that would otherwise be unavailable to them. COMMODITY FETISH: the process through which commodities are emptied of the meaning of their production (the labor that produced them and the context in which they were produced) and filled instead with abstract meaning (usually through advertising). In Marxism, commodity fetiishism is the process of mystification that exists in capitalism between what things are and how they appear. Commodity fetishism also describes the process by which special life powers become attributed to commodities rather than to other elements in social life. For example to suppose that a car provides self-worth is to engage in commodity fetishism. -- MARITA STURKEN & LISA CARTWRIGHT
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 16:56:02 +0000