Blog 4- Pedro Navarro

The article by Per H. Hansen, “Networks, Narratives and New Markets: The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture Design, 1930- 1970,” definitely made me think about my daily consumption of products. Do I buy stuff because of their quality, or because I have somehow been persuaded by the products narrative? In his paper, Hansen argues that the international success gained by the Danish Modern was a consequence of the social networks effort to assign certain meanings to the concepts, such as “Danish Modern” (449). I believe Denmark remade itself through the creation of certain narratives. The Danish’s ability to frame narratives in a way that consumers could make sense of it, I believe, was essential to the growth of the Danish Modern. That said, considering the high demand for the Danish Modern, I’m not too sure how they could have maximized their national aesthetic without being industrially produced.

In a way, I was reminded about my own consumption of Air Jordan’s. Every year, I spend thousands of dollars on basketball shoes. My excuse is that Jordan’s are not just “any” basketball shoe, they are “THE” basketball shoe. What is funny, however, is that I don’t play any basketball, at all. But as noted by Hansen, a consumer’s decision to buy something doesn’t only depend on the physical function and appearance, but also on the current fashion and the individual’s own taste (452). I buy Jordan’s because they have a certain appeal to me, and as long as basketball is around, they will never go out of style. Furthermore, I purchase the narrative behind every Jordan sneaker, because every sneaker has its own narrative, such as the Jordan XI’s Space Jam’s, or the Jordan XIII “HE got Game’s,” which hold links to Hollywood movies.

Thinking about the project my classmates and I are working on, I wonder what are the narratives Medicinal marijuana producers are using or have used? 

Hansen, Per H. "Networks, Narratives, and New Markets: The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture Design, 1930–1970." Business History Review Bus. Hist. Rev. 80.03 (2006): 449-83.

http://www.houzz.com/photos/2354422/Danish-Modern-modern-home-office-philadelphia