THE CONSUMERIST DISCOURSE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS IN LES CHOSES (1965), BY GEORGES PEREC

Abstract

  ABSTRACT: This paper proposes a brief analysis of the consumerist discourse in the narrative "As Coisas: uma história dos anos sessenta", written by Georges Perec in 1965. The article seeks to verify the formation of such discourse in the '60s, which appears consolidated in the work, as well as its implications in the constitution of the characters as subjects. For this, an investigation anchored in the theories of French Discourse Analysis will be carried out, articulating theorists such as Michel Pêcheux (1969) and Michel Foucault (2019 [1969]), so that it is possible to mobilize the concepts of discourse, enunciation, subject, history, language, among others, for the reflection exposed in the narrative. Within this, it is considered relevant: i) describe the constitution of the consumerist discourse; ii) analyze the work from the perspective of this same discourse; iii) observe how within a discursive formation of valorization of consumerism is inscribed the illusion that consumerism is happiness; iv) understand how the historical devices enabled the emergence of this discourse in the mid-twentieth century; and v) note the importance of media for the circulation of consumerist discourse. It is also worth mentioning that this study aims to contribute to the understanding and awareness of the effects of the capitalist system on the subjects since it is believed that consumerism interferes and influences the constitution of subjectivities.   KEYWORDS: Discourse; Consumerism; Modernity; Literature.