Expensive granite countertops are examined as a status symbol. In my apartment the countertops are cheap white laminate. While I don't necessarily care about them being low quality, whoever decided that white is a good color for countertops obviously never used their kitchen. I shouldn't have to deep bleach my counters after every little spill... Just sayin...
It's a shame Americans don't know about Charlie Brooker aside from his Black Mirror series on Netflix. But this sociological critique of aspirational imagery in the media is brilliant, hilarious, and is certainly understandable to an American audience. This episode brings up concepts such as social class, status symbols, conspicuous consumption, and focuses on how the false consciousness a la media creates misery in our lives. Television socializes us to become obsessed with the perverted rat race of opulence, celebrity, and unrealistic standards of beauty. We now aspire to a way of life manufactured by the media and have seemingly forgotten how fabricated such an ideal is.
A video detailing the extravagant lives of wealthy young Chinese women living in Canada. The main theme here is the conspicuous consumption of status symbols made possible by being born into a family of high socioeconomic status. This can also be seen through a dramaturgical perspective as staging behavior is rather prominent here, especially surrounding their image online and on television.
An example of how the social class system and status symbols can be found in pop culture.
Pro-Tips: (1) Show your class the original Grey Poupon commercial before this video; (2) Buy a jar of Grey Poupon and some popsicle sticks (or small spoons) so your students can taste the opulence.
