An Examination of Consumerism and the Role of Technology in Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Cosmopolis

Abstract

Human society has entered an era marked by myriad phenomena collectively labeled ‘modernisation’. Over the past 100 years, scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations have radically changed the human experience. Almost everything we touch or use in our homes, our garages, our offices is the by-product of an intense and complex industrial system: our consumption of goods is notably a function of our culture. We are surrounded by a manufactured world. Like most phenomena, the critical reality lies not in the general characteristics of modernisation, but in the particular and unique conditions of people’s lives, and the effects of modernisation in the places where we live: in our homes, our communities, our natural and cultural environments. Two texts which are concerned with an exploration of the complexities of modernisation, particularly technology and the resultant consumerist culture, are Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Cosmopolis. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship that exists between consumerism and technology in the two texts. This investigation used historical, philosophical and psychological theories. From a historical perspective, the study focused on contextual approaches, which looked at the historical development of technologies in relation to their social context. Employing postmodern theories, the characters’ motivations to buy and consume products in both texts were discussed. In essence, it was noted that consumerism physically and mentally affects consumers. On the physical level, people living in the consumerist society cannot avoid its tentacles because there are too many outside forces keeping them in the system. Technology has become as much a part of the texture of daily life as humans are themselves. In fact, the two seem inextricable. In both White Noise and Cosmopolis, the pervasive presence of technology proves both menacing and comforting—toxic threats abound, while concurrently the characters are bombarded with advertised information and promises of immortality through scientific advancements. Thus, consumers relentlessly buy products and feel that the products they buy determine their identity.