Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2001. [Vol. 7.] Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 27)

Studies - Sándor Végh: Adoption or Adaptation?: Interpretations of the Automobile

has become evident by the infinite number of examples by today, American popular culture needs only an impulse to explode into some contagious infatuation, especially when supported by the media. The object of the frenzy may be the automobile itself, such as the Flivver from 1910 until the middle of the 20's, or the Model A from 1927, or it may be just a part of it, like the tailfin craze of the late 50's, early 60's. By the end of the century, automobiles, now omnipresent in popular cultural products, have had various characteristics always peculiar to the era. For instance, today's vehicles equipped with a computer on board can "think and talk." These material cultural manifestations always reflect the mood of the period and the national economic situation. American culture has been in constant interaction with the automobile, one endlessly forming the other. This cycle ensures the automobile to remain a cardinal pillar of American culture, to remain mostly American. Consumerism and the automobile The automobile definitely provided a broader definition for equality. First, especially in its early age, the automobile did not make distinctions between riders on the road; it equalized them in a way. Second, it provided a democratic access to goods. Theoretically, it looks like a promising leap ahead on the road of modern democracy

— providing each and every car-owning consumer with the same access to goods. However, in my opinion, it was rather a controlled process to establish a broader segment of society who are consumers of that particular product. The providers of society found ways to every potential customer through the establishment of mail-order stores where one could buy practically anything from a catalogue by mail, or over the phone. This institution spectacularly succeeded in integrating those without the possession of an automobile into a more complex group of consumers. For the purpose of this essay, it is worthwhile to revisit the basics of capitalist control. In case of the automobile also, it was exactly a group of capitalists who made decisions upon what product they should make, how they would distribute it, and whom they would make it accessible to. The idea was to take advantage of the consumer's limited position while convincing them that the entire 78