Self-Loving Buyers, Self-Hating Sellers

The Road to Consumer Nationalism Part 3

Pizzaslime is the ultimate Gen Z meme-to-merch brand, heavily Deep Fried and post-propaganda. From their line of best selling sweatpants.

This is the third part in a four part series called The Road to Consumer Nationalism. Part 1 2 3 4.

Consumer Mentality - Deep Fried

As discussed in the last installment of this series, affixing fake purpose to products is one way that consumer culture replicates itself—e.g. cigarettes as feminist “Torches of Freedom,” or today’s woke marketing takeover. However, after nearly a century of manipulative advertising, meaning has become decoupled from desire and is a less effective driver of sales. Consumers no longer need the Wizard of Oz to wear a mask; in wearing one he only reduces his power. Women no longer need a feminist reason to smoke. Radical gender theory doesn’t sell razors, and racialism doesn’t sell shoes.

Bernays redirected emotion away from community and civic duty towards products and corporations. This led …