People far too often mistakenly identify a cultural artifact as a very specific and important object with extreme historical significance. In reality, a cultural artifact can be just about any object in our everyday lives. When I was asked to present to the class a cultural artifact, I also made a mistake in thinking it had to have some historical significance, so I chose a Native American dreamcatcher. After giving it more thought and seeing what others had contributed to the collection, I rethought my choice and considered the contemporary use of a modern day wristwatch. A watch in today’s society could serve several purposes. One, for its practical use which is to tell time, but also a watch can be used as a fashion statement. Fashion has had such an increasing impact on American culture in recent decades, and people will more often than not wear watches purely for the looks and perception it gives other people about them.
FASHION VS FUNCTION
The watch industry as a whole is a bit absurd to me. People are buying Rolex’s for upwards of twenty-thousand dollars, nearly how much I am paying to go to school right now. It amazes me that such a small, relatively simple object and concept can sell for so much. That is thanks to the advertisers for watches, who proclaim that by owning their particular watch, it will give one a whole new persona and mind state. This whole concept of making a fashion statement relates back to societies interpretations of what it means to be “fashionable”. Magazines and TV ads put so much pressure, especially amongst young adults, to have the latest and greatest accessories in fashion. A year ago I never would considered the idea of owning and wearing a watch because it simply wasn’t my style. However, as the styles popularity increased, so did my desires, and a few months ago I bought my first watch, a brown leather strap caravelle. It is interesting to notice the ways in which the function of the watch has changed over time. Since the invention of the pocket watch in 1770, it has had one purpose, to tell time. When the wristwatch was invented in 1923, the purpose has been slowly shifted more and more to what we see today, fashion. This reason could also be attributed to the countless other electronic devices with built in clocks that have been invented.
I interviewed 3 distinct people to see what there impression and previous experiences were with any type of watch. First, my white male roommate. I specifically asked him because I’ve noticed a watch he’s had in a case since move in day. He said the watch was a graduation gift which costed upwards of one thousand words. When I asked why I’ve rarely seen him wearing it, he said he felt as though only certain occasions called for watches. This amazed me that he had such a high end watch, and yet he rarely utilizes it. Since he’s had a phone that tells time for a majority of his adult life, he never thought of needing a watch for practical reasons. The second person I asked was one of my white female friends. When I asked about her impressions on a watch, she said two types of people came to mind, a stereotypical bookworm or nerd, and a GQ businessman. These two types of people could perceivably reflect the two common functions of a watch in today’s society, time and fashion. She went on to say that she feels modern technology such as iPhones and tablets have taken away the need for a watch to tell time. The third and final person I interviewed was an African American male from my Spanish class. I decided to interview him because I’ve noticed he normally wears a watch on a daily routine. When I asked him about his experience with watches, he said he’s worn one since freshmen year of high school. This intrigued me because there was nothing special about the watch he was wearing, just an average black strapped watch. He went on to say how wearing a watch has just become a part of his daily wardrobe and he prefers that over digging into his pockets to get his phone to check the time. These three different interviewees all came from different upbringings, and it’s interesting to note the different responses they have to something as simple as a wristwatch.
After using the regender website on a recent article about the new apple watch, my results were not very surprising to me. Watches are an inter gender product. Both genders express a fairly similar amount of interest in watches. Therefore, I learned that the article about the apple watch which could be worn by men or women, doesn’t necessarily point towards a specific gender when it addresses the customers. The article uses very general terms when addressing a potential customer, so as to not discriminate against a certain gender. Additionally, the only major changes I noticed the website made would be changed “Steve Jobs” to “Stephanie Jobs” and “Tim Cook” to “Tina Cook”.
Time has and always will play a prevalent part of our busy, hectic culture. It is something that is always ongoing and that will never change. Time has a big power on what we do with our lives and how we do it, as well as a strong influence on the smaller, more minuscule aspects such as what time we’ll eat breakfast. A watch is merely a representation of time, but the physical aspect of it has gained multiple interpretations. A watch is one of the few things that has little to do with race or gender, but more so socioeconomic status. Those less prosperous are more likely to use a watch for its practical use, whereas a wealthy person is more likely to be one of the people to buy a twenty thousand dollar rolex. A watch can be used as a symbol of social power but can also be a more personal, nostalgic keepsake one has as a memory. A lot of this relates back to John Berger’s Way of Seeing, where Berger illustrates the importance of perspective and prior knowledge to a certain artwork or artifact. He describes how people use their eyes to make judgments on pieces of art. The same is true when we examine others fashion choices. We take a moment to look them up and down and maybe make assumptions based on their appearance. If we see a person wearing a shiny and fancy watch, we unconsciously consider them to be of a higher social status than the majority. There seems to be a correlation between the advancements in technology devices and the changing function of watches. This correlation can also be tied back to the increase in fashion and accessories in recent decades in American culture.
Recent Comments