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“The Settings of Consumption: Cathedrals, Landscapes, and Communities”
J. Michael Ryan
University of Maryland
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George Ritzer has done much to theorize the (r)evolution of consumption settings through his
work on McDonaldization (2004b), the means of consumption (2005), and most recently nothing and
something (2004a). I will draw especially from his notions of “cathedrals of consumption” and
“landscapes of consumption” to theorize a new consumption geography – a community of consumption.
This paper will make the argument that consumption settings have evolved from cathedrals (places to
visit on special occasions) to communities (places in which we make our homes) and thus that
consumption settings are achieving a full vertical integration of our daily lives.
Cathedrals of Consumption
Ritzer (2005) critiqued the traditional Marxian definition of the means of consumption to develop
his own definition as “the settings or structures that enable us to consume all sorts of things” (6). These
new means of consumption are “part of a broader set of phenomena related to goods and services:
production, distribution, advertising, marketing, sales, individual taste, style, and fashion” (6). Thus, they
are concerned not just with shopping but also “include the consumer’s relationship with not only shops
and malls but also theme parks, casinos, and cruise lines, and other settings including athletic stadiums,
universities, hospitals, and museums, which surprisingly are coming to resemble the more obvious new
means of consumption” (6). Examples include shopping centers such as West Edmonton Mall or the Mall
of America, themed restaurants such as the Rainforest Cafe, and “brandscapes” such as Chicago's Nike
Town (Sherry 1998). Such settings are considered important not just for their changing role as
consumption settings but also the ways in which they are altering consumption more generally and the
role many of them play as powerful Americans icons in the world setting.
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Convention