Westfield shopping centre

Westfield shopping centre is located in White City in London. The centre was developed by the Westfield Group which owns 104 shopping centres across Australia, the United Kingdom, the US, New Zealand and Brazil.

Key features

• The centre is noted for it's size, which is the equivalent of 30 football pitches, and opened in October 2008 to the public.
• Westfield London is split in to five sections - the food court, the main atrium  the interior, the loft and the village, which contains high end retail shops such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Versace. 
• The main part of the complex features over 220 stores ranging from clothes, technology, high street stores, shoes and jewellery, and is also home to a Vue Cinema. 
• There are many ways to access the centre via transport links such as the underground, overground, bus, bicycle or car; making it appealing to people from all over London and further a field.

Comparing Westfield to a 19th Century shopping experience

Similarly to 19th century Paris, Westfield provides a shopping experience that is regularly used for "leisure time." I personally go to the centre with friends to shop, eat and have a social catch up; something that was created during the 19th century city recreation in Paris. The emergence of department stores is also seen within Westfield London, with stores such like Debenhams that offer a range of goods such as home, beauty and clothing. 

Most of the shops in the complex regularly have sales, which relates to the theory of economies of scale. Stores can afford to sell items at cheaper prices as they are already overpriced, therefore they sell more quickly and can then get more stock in. This is something that appeared in 19th century Paris and enabled stores to get a quick turnover and gain profit. Refunds and exchanges are also daily transactions that appear in all stores in Westfield and most of us don't even think twice about. However, in 19th century Paris, this was seen as a very bizarre thing to do and was not a common thing to do. 

Westfield is very modernised and pedestrianised with pavements, benches, bins, plants, lamposts and other decoration that makes the centre appealing from the outside as well as on the inside. This is a factor introduced by Baron Georges Haussmen when he redeveloped Paris, making it more appealing for people to go there and not only shop, but spend time in the area. 

Readings - Berger (Week 9)

Berger's text on “Consumer Culture” discusses the idea of consumerism and it's role in today's society. The title of the text, 'the objects of affection' immediately highlights how consumerism is seen in a negative light and as something that is simply about material goods and things that we want and do not need.

This is the overall tone of the text, as Berger begins by explaining what consumerism is. He uses the phrase “a novel identity,” otherwise explained as, “a reflection of 'lifestyles' that are closely associated with commercial brands, as well as the attitudes and behaviours linked to where we shop, how we buy, and what we eat, wear and consume.” Consumption is present in everyone's life in every society, however more so in some than in others, mainly due to income and class levels, as as Berger suggests, if often out of the hands of individuals. The text goes on to explain the DEFINITION of 'consumer cultures,' - societies in which spending from private “needs” and desires overwhelms the need for public ones (e.g. roads, schools, hospitals).

Advertising

Societies that contain mass production usually have a high proportion of mass consumption as the people buy the things that are created. Berger explains how advertising plays a crucial role in persuading people to buy things that they do not necessarily need but feel like they do due to wanting their desired lifestyles. This theory is supported by Baudrillard who explains how advertising is a connotation and is often exaggerated just to make people believe in what they are saying. Advertising offers a “leitmotiv” of needs (wants), as it has an ability to tell people of their own hidden desires. This relates to hyperreality, causing out desires ot be endless as the things we purchase are no longer evaluated in terms of their use, but more on what they signify and reveal about us as a person.

In general, all people 'need' in life is food clothing, shelter and water, however people often go in to debt to fulfil their desires which are portrayed as “needs.” These personal purchases are seen to relate to our social identity an culture, and as Weber suggests, our passion for material goods now dominates us and is reflected in our culture and national character. Weber also discusses the American crash of consumer culture is 2008, which was caused by a lack of regulation and containment, leading to social and economic dislocations.

Calvin

Other the other hand, theorist Calvin argues that having wealth and material goods is a step towards fulfilling God's desires. Psychological research suggests that we have an unconscious need for material things, therefore we constantly feel like we need more and more things. This is connected to the societies that we are born and raised in, so much that children are now taught to feel entitled to anything they want. This is led by a measure of greed that exists in everyone, and feeds our continuous desire for better possessions.

Marxism

Consumer cultures can also be explained through the theory of Marxism. Marx's views are that the ruling class strives to create new “needs” so as to maintain the class structure in society, therefore keeping social order. Workers are alienated in a capitalist society, therefore they escape to a consumer culture to avoid alienation, however this just leads to a further need to work to pay for the constant consumerism. This shows how the Marxist view is quite negative as he suggests that society determines consciousness, not the other way round. 

Readings - Anderson (Week 8)

Anderson's text surrounding ethnographic methods discusses the uses of an ethnography and the components of the analysis method. An 'ethnography' is defined as, “writing of culture,” and involves 'the members of one culture observing and participating in the culture of another.' It is an outsider's analysis of a culture and involves many different forms such as recording speech, collecting artefacts, capturing images and constructing charts.

Anderson explains how an ethnography starts with identification in which the analyst can achieve some member recognition, allowing them to begin to understand what and how things are done within that culture. He states that the role of the ethnographer is to provide a narrative through careful observation, and that the observer must have some sort of self-awareness (reflexivity).

For an ethnography to work effectively and properly, two methodological criteria have to be hand in hand. These include the explanatory goal of the narrative member and the signature practice of participant observation, and as Anderson highlights, 'to abandon one is to fail at the other.' This means that when conducting an ethnography, I must keep these to factors in mind to ensure a well thought through analysis.

The text highlights the importance of member understanding, explaining how it answers questions surrounding the how and why of a particular membership. This theoretical concept is one that is present in both modern and post-modern formulations, which aids my studies as both have different theorist approaches: modern member understanding looks at discovering underlying structures, whereas post-modern theorists look at member understanding for foundations. Anderson again links this back to the role of the ethnographer telling us how they should document the practices that achieve the effect, otherwise know as a material ethnography.

Five components

Within the text, Anderson explains the five components of an ethnography. The 'ethnographic problem' highlights the how and what in a membership, looking at what causes membership behaviour. The second component, 'the membership,' involves culturally understanding the overall membership. It looks at the relational practices of the members – “people who are connected through common practices of understanding, recognised activities and mutual obligations.” This leads on to the third component, 'gaining access.' Access may be difficult to gain due to age, gender, religion of the members, however Anderson explains how access can be increased through trust and returned practices. Gaining access means that the ethnographer can find out more about the membership and in return get a greater quality ethnography with more detail. The fourth and fifth components, 'fieldwork' and 'making sense of it all,' look at the ways in which you can gather and record the ethnography. This involves informants, guides and mentors within the membership who are likely to have more knowledge, and should be recorded systematically using maps, photos, charts, sketches and text.

Anderson finishes his text by explaining the importance of an ethnography and how research has be carried out for a long period of time to get the best results. This is due to the ever changing ways of culture, and how they adapt and change over time.