Communism and Today’s Consumer Culture

Years before the scenes of instability in the Middle East permeated throughout the news media, America was facing the Red Scare, fueled by the Soviet Union. But after decades of wars, violence, and poverty that fueled the conflict between the two superpowers, the Cold War officially ended following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, with capitalistic America coming on top.  Today’s Americans no longer see communism or current-day Russia under the same light as Americans did years prior, but instead, past communist figures such as Lenin and Che Guevara are featured on consumable products ranging from posters to t-shirts. The figures’ likenesses have been adopted to express youth rebellion under the framework of capitalism.

Following the Cold War, the source of our parents and grandparents’ fear has become a subject of fashion and self-expression. Unlike Americans in the 1950s and 1960s during the height of the Cold War, people can buy items featuring communist slogans and figures in stores without the fear of being arrested and accosted. Today, rebellious teenagers and young adults don shirts featuring Che Guevara, the renowned communist Cuban revolutionary, who has ironically become an icon in our consumer culture.

Admittedly, I own a Che Guevara shirt as well. When I was in 11^th grade, I bought the shirt to be “hip” and “original” in a parade of high school students who wore brand-name clothes. As a way to rebel, the shirt seemed like a practical choice. But having lived in a capitalistic society for my entire life, I never followed political and economic ideologies belonging to that of Che and other famous communist figures. But out of my self-gratification and convenience, I ignored the history behind the figure and unknowingly contributed in the popular culture, in which I detested.

If Che Guevara and other communist figures had known the profits gained from their image and life work, they would be rolling in their graves. It’s amazing how today’s markets are able to change the image of our former American enemies and how simple for a famous figure to become a victim of consumption. Therefore, given the influence the US market plays, people should think about the significance of their purchased goods and the message their items bring.