Technology And Consumer Culture In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

One of the key themes in the novel The Great Gatsby, is the idea of technology and consumer culture. It is something that is crucial to the storyline, technology in particular plays an important part in the story line of The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is infamous for his large parties which are made possible due to the huge technological advancements at the time in which the novel was set, for example the advancements of radio and automobiles. Cars played an important part in the way in which the story unfolds. The Great Gatsby also explores the ideas of consumer culture as the novel very gratuitously glamourizes wealth and material goods, particularly Gatsby who often shows off his lavish lifestyle and wealth, one example of this is clear in the way he throws the shirts on the bed, showing them off to Daisy. We could also look at the way she enjoys seeing the shirts, as showing how impressed she is by his possessions and therefore shows the importance of material wealth at the time.

Silicon Valley

These ideas of the importance of technology and the power of consumer culture are still vital aspects of modern day society. No place demonstrates this as much as Silicon Valley, a mecca for digital programmers and technology start-ups. It is the home of huge tech companies such as Apple and Google. These companies feed the modern day consumer culture through their increasingly regular product releases, pushing newer and more advanced technology as the primary selling points behind their new devices.