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But They’re Only Imitation…? Plastic Flowers That Can Disgust and Delight
Abstract
This chapter examines the value of plastics through consideration and celebration of ubiquitous examples of artificial flowers: designs that are habitually dismissed as dated, useless, cheap and tawdry yet continue to endure and endear in both private and public places. In particular, the plastic flower has been plucked for specific scrutiny as the historic and contemporary use and appeal of fake flowers is considered. The chapter’s findings indicate that people’s perceptions of key plastics designs vary dramatically: tastes are volatile and certain designs made of plastics can be particularly provocative. The chapter concludes that tensions surround the use and evaluation of plastic flowers, which are influenced by their charged connotations and reputations, shaped in part by the fact that they are made of plastics.
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The Meaning of Things explores the meanings of household possessions for three generation families in the Chicago area, and the place of materialism in American culture. Now regarded as a keystone in material culture studies, Halton's first book is based on his dissertation and coauthored with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. First published by Cambridge University Press in 1981, it has been translated into German, Italian, Japanese, and Hungarian. The Meaning of Things is a study of the significance of material possessions in contemporary urban life, and of the ways people carve meaning out of their domestic environment. Drawing on a survey of eighty families in Chicago who were interviewed on the subject of their feelings about common household objects, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Eugene Rochberg-Halton provide a unique perspective on materialism, American culture, and the self. They begin by reviewing what social scientists and philosophers have said about the transactions between people and things. In the model of 'personhood' that the authors develop, goal-directed action and the cultivation of meaning through signs assume central importance. They then relate theoretical issues to the results of their survey. An important finding is the distinction between objects valued for action and those valued for contemplation. The authors compare families who have warm emotional attachments to their homes with those in which a common set of positive meanings is lacking, and interpret the different patterns of involvement. They then trace the cultivation of meaning in case studies of four families. Finally, the authors address what they describe as the current crisis of environmental and material exploitation, and suggest that human capacities for the creation and redirection of meaning offer the only hope for survival. A wide range of scholars - urban and family sociologists, clinical, developmental and environmental psychologists, cultural anthropologists and philosophers, and many general readers - will find this book stimulating and compelling. Translations: Il significato degli oggetti. Italian translation. Rome: Edizione Kappa, 1986. Der Sinn der Dinge. German translation. Munich: Psychologie Verlags Union, 1989. Japanese translation 2007. Targyaink tukreben. Hungarian translation, 2011.
Plastic products have revolutionized commercial floriculture. Even plastic flowers have caused a new marketing consideration because they are quite competitive with the marketing of live material. Plastic pots are used widely because they are lightweight, attractive, and relatively inexpensive. Plastic flats and trays have been readily accepted by the consumer, and were instrumental in the development of plug culture. Major components of automatic watering systems are made of plastic, and much of the plumbing practiced in commercial floriculture is done with plastic pipe and fittings. Plastic foams are used in floral arrangements, growing media, and propagation cubes or strips. Plastic is used to make steam-sterilization covers, shading material for the manipulation of both light intensity and photoperiod, and mulches or ground covers to help control weeds. Very large quantities of plastic are used in commercial floriculture, and recent landfill restrictions have necessitated procedures for recycling. Recycling procedures are known, but logistics and economics of recycling have not been resolved completely.