Shopping

The Fiske, et al. article states that shopping "is situated at the crucial interface between individual desire and social control." In what ways does the act of shopping perpetuate social control? Individual desire?

The article goes on to claim that shopping "gives precedence to individual desire." Does shopping in a deluxe shopping mall really give precedence to individual desire, or is such a highly commercial and strategic setting stronger evidence for social control?

Fiske Readings

1. Fiske says that if all photographs were in soft focus, then soft focus could not connote nostalgia. How does this relate to Saussure's concept that meaning is oppositional?

2. Similarly, the commutation test helps to establish meaning by identifying what is "significantly not". How does the concept of opposition within the commutation test assist in establishing the significance of what is?