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Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America
Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America
Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America
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Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America

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Crap. We all have it. Filling drawers. Overflowing bins and baskets. Proudly displayed or stuffed in boxes in basements and garages. Big and small. Metal, fabric, and a whole lot of plastic. So much crap. Abundant cheap stuff is about as American as it gets. And it turns out these seemingly unimportant consumer goods offer unique insights into ourselves—our values and our desires.

In Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, Wendy A. Woloson takes seriously the history of objects that are often cynically-made and easy to dismiss: things not made to last; things we don't really need; things we often don't even really want. Woloson does not mock these ordinary, everyday possessions but seeks to understand them as a way to understand aspects of ourselves, socially, culturally, and economically: Why do we—as individuals and as a culture—possess these things? Where do they come from? Why do we want them? And what is the true cost of owning them?

Woloson tells the history of crap from the late eighteenth century up through today, exploring its many categories: gadgets, knickknacks, novelty goods, mass-produced collectibles, giftware, variety store merchandise. As Woloson shows, not all crap is crappy in the same way—bric-a-brac is crappy in a different way from, say, advertising giveaways, which are differently crappy from commemorative plates. Taking on the full brilliant and depressing array of crappy material goods, the book explores the overlooked corners of the American market and mindset, revealing the complexity of our relationship with commodity culture over time.
By studying crap rather than finely made material objects, Woloson shows us a new way to truly understand ourselves, our national character, and our collective psyche. For all its problems, and despite its disposability, our crap is us.
 
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 5, 2020
ISBN9780226664491
Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While the cover might suggest a light read lies in wait, that this is a publication of the University of Chicago tells you that it's really rather dense. It is also a little less coherent than I might have hope, though perhaps that is a commentary on the material subject. Be that as it may, Woloson does deliver on the topic, though it would be more accurate to say that this is really a collection of parallel histories of various business models; Yankee peddlers, five & ten stores, "giftware," mass-produced collectibles, obnoxious "novelty" items, and so one. What all these things have in common is the ability to appeal for the American taste for novelty and cheapness, sourcing from easily exploited work forces, and the reality that no one needs most of this stuff, though wave after wave of "commemorative" items, unwanted gifts, and impractical kitchen items keep piling up, until they represented actual sources of psychological and physical toxicity. Woloson is alternately amused and horrified by this stuff, and I suspect that you'll be too at the end of this work.

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Crap - Wendy A. Woloson

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