A standout film that pertains to the term, “new consumerism,” is one that blew me away at my first viewing. This film is appropriately titled, “The Joneses” (2009). The film stars David Duchovny, Demi Moore, Amber Heard, and Benjamin Hollingsworth as a group of four actors hired to pose as a typical American family in order to advertise the products that they own at their family home to their neighbors and other people they can potentially influence.
As you can tell, this film is based on the phenomenon of the “new consumerism” phrase, “Keeping up with the Joneses,” wherein people become satisfied with their own lives, but more importantly, they yearn to have what their neighbors have in order to be like them and achieve the same social status. This film deals with the sense of endless wanting.
“Comfort is no longer enough. People want luxury, [including products like] the big three: the car you drive, the house you live in, the clothes you put on your body” (Schor).
As the father, Duchovny’s character shows off his sports cars, his set of golf clubs, his wrist watches, and more to other people, like his neighbor, played by Gary Cole. As the mother, Moore, shows off her attire, beauty products, and home décor to other people, like her neighbor, played by Glenne Headly. Heard and Hollingsworth also show off their products to other people like their high school friends.
(SPOILER & TW) A scene that hits hard is towards the end, when Gary Cole’s character, who is the Joneses jealous neighbor who is unsatisfied with this own life and is married to Glenne Headly’s character. On screen, Headly wakes up one morning to find her husband, played by Cole, deeply submerged in their backyard pool. He tied himself to a riding lawn mower with a garden hose and plunged himself into the pool to end his life. It was basically the efforts of the actors posing as the Jones family that led to his suicide. The image of Cole’s character submerged underwater was symbolic because he was only wearing underwear briefs with his arms floating up by his sides, taking on the form of Jesus Christ at the crucifixion. Basically, “new consumerism” is what killed him. He didn’t own his products, his products owned him.
Cited Sources
Media Education Foundation. (2004). The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Do Not Need. Kanopy. USA. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://aacpl.kanopy.com/video/overspent-american-why-we-want-what-we-do-not-need.
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