The system of objects
Pressing Freudian and Saussurean categories into the service of a basically Marxist perspective, The System of Objects offers a cultural critique of the commodity in consumer society. Baudrillard classifies the everyday objects of the 'new technical order' as functional, nonfunctional and metafunctional. He contrasts 'modern' and 'traditional' functional objects, subjecting home furnishing and interior design to a celebrated semiological analysis. His treatment of nonfunctional or 'marginal' objects focuses on antiques and the psychology of collecting, while the metafunctional category extends to the useless, the aberrant and even the 'schizofunctional'. Finally, Baudrillard deals at length with the implications of credit and advertising for the commodification of everyday life
viii, 205 pages ; 21 cm
9781859849439, 9781859840689, 9781844670536, 1859849431, 185984068X, 1844670538
34355316
A. The Functional System, or Objective Discourse. I. Structures of Interior Design. II. Structures of Atmosphere. III. Conclusion: Naturalness and Functionality
Addendum: The Domestic World and the Car
B. The Non-Functional System, or Subjective Discourse. I. Marginal Objects: Antiques. II. A Marginal System: Collecting
C. The Metafunctional and Dysfunctional System: Gadgets and Robots
D. The Socio-Ideological System of Objects and Their Consumption. I. Models and Series. II. Credit. III. Advertising
Conclusion: Towards a Definition of 'Consumption'
English translation from the French of: Le système des objets