Movies about consumption

Besides being a blog writer, I’m a cinema freak, so, I thought, why not join my favorite subject, consumer behavior, and one of my favorite hobbies, going to the cinema? Let´s start!


First of all, who doesn’t remember Arnold Schwarzenegger desperately running to find the toy he had promised to his son for Christmas’s night? “Jingle all the way” (1996) shows us that we should never leave the things for last minute…The surprise for the father was that he wasn’t the only one, so a simple purchase became crazy and funny race.







But this does not only happen in movies, Look at this video of Opening Day of store in the city of João Pessoa and compare with the trailer, is it something similar? Maybe not!



We may note that, nowadays, it´s difficult to find a “famous” toy about which children go crazy. The kid’s industry has changed, what actually are toys?



Reality shows have been a booming market since the last decade. “The Truman show” (1998) is an example of the way in which advertisement can invade our lives until we don’t know whether the person we are is true, or if we are the result of the media pressure. This leads us to question: Who control whom?



More and more scientific research has proven that women are better buyers than men. For example, women are more interested in shopping than men. As a consequence of the Barbie generation, and the constant and tireless quest for the fountain of youth and the perfect body, women became shopping addicts.

We can see all of this in “Confessions of a shopaholic” (2009), which explains the concept that women receive a flow of information and pressure since they are children, and learn that “to have” is more important than “to be”. The never-ending search for material things, to obtain more, and to be the best, since being beautiful is an attractive lifestyle, but has dangerous consequences.



The last video presents the way in which social comparison could lead the consumer behavior. “The Joneses” (2009) are a perfect family, with perfect relationships in a perfect environment….and, of course, using the best products! Because of this, everybody wants to be “A Jones”, but, how can they do that? Obtain their products!



Anymore else?