The Frankfurt School viewed the rise of consumerism within Capitalism as “a system of domination which pacified subordinate classes in the population” (Warde 57). The agency of the consumer is rejected in this theoretical trajectory. Through an analysis of the Buddha Machine as a differentiated commodity within general consumerist ideology, I shall demonstrate how a commodity can function as a catalyst towards an appropriation of the consumer’s creative agency despite existing within the logic of consumerism. Firstly, I will give an overview of the Buddha Machine, explaining its creators’ conceptual approach towards commodity production. In relation to Walter Benjamin’s dialectical image, I will discuss how the outmoded nature of the Buddha Machine enables the consumer to become more self-reflexive on commodity culture. Secondly, I will discuss how the Buddha Machine is utilised in the practice of craft consumerism. I shall not reject the claim that maintenance of consumerism generally depends on the passivity of the consumer. However, it is my aim to demonstrate how the contradictions and creative possibilities inherent in commodity culture can fire up a much-needed critical distance in the act of consuming.

A Primitive iPod: The Buddha Machine as a Self-Reflexive Commodity

 The rise of modernity and city dwelling increased the anonymity of the individual. This results in a decentring of the self. Consumption becomes the means for the individual to establish a sense of self-identity (Bocock 17). Thus, the inherent absence of a pre-existing wholeness in commodity culture results in what Storey refers to as a “displacement strategy” in which consumption becomes the means to “make us complete again” (115). An awareness of this process results in a demystification of the utopian conception of a pre-existing self as it highlights the constructivism inherent in our society. This positive portrayal of the self-reflexive consumer is disrupted when commodities are ideologically designed to naturalise this phenomenon. As Adorno and Horkheimer state, “the peculiarity of the self is a monopoly commodity determined by society; it is falsely represented as natural” (40-41). Commodities that are out or fashion or not in line with the latest developments in technology become denaturalised, unstable and contradictory. This bears a threat to the illusion of the complete self that the consumer momentarily attains. The logic of commodity culture reterritorialises on this volatility through the draw of updated commodities that are in line with current technology or fashion. This results in the continuation of consumption. However, the presence of paradoxical commodities in the current market can function as a portal out of this illusionary cycle.

The Buddha Machine is conceptually based on “a device used in Buddhist temples throughout Asia” that “feature repeating loops of chanting monks or nuns” (Doctorow, par. 4). Its creators are Christiaan Virant and Zhang Jian, a sound art duo named FM3. In an interview, Virant says, “Zhang and I mused about how cool it would be to make an FM3 release ‘inside that little box’ and then in 2004 we got serious and really did it” (Park par.7). Thus, the Buddha Machine is a conceptual art form fed through the channels of commodity culture. It contains 9 short ambient sound loops that can be played through its build-in speaker or audio-output.       

At first glance, it seems to fit within the range of audio playback commodities like the iPod, which are marketed through an emphasis on technological advancement and a slick portable aesthetic. However, the Buddha Machine is excessively primitive due to its technological limitations and cheaply assembled retrograde look. This brings to mind Benjamin’s proposal that the dialectical image offered by the outmoded commodity can “be rediscovered and rendered useful again in what he envisaged as a project of remembering and understanding the dynamics of the moment of their creation” (McRobbie 90). Benjamin saw the mass production of new commodities as “the desire of contemporary masses to bring things ‘closer’ spatially and humanly” (217). This utopian impulse that goes in line with the consumer’s desire for wholeness results in the loss of an aura, which he defines as “the unique phenomenon of a distance” (216). The dialectical perception of the outmoded commodity presents the possibility of a reaffirmation of aura that distances the consumer from the naturalised process of commodity culture. The Buddha Machine offers the consumer a greater accessibility to such critical distance by bringing the dialectical image of the outmoded commodity into the frontlines of commodity culture. In this sense, it is a ‘timely’ contradiction.

Many reviews have positioned the Buddha Machine as a fetish item in relation to its retro appeal. For example, it has been deemed as a “beautifully useless thing” (Sanneh par. 1). In postmodernity, consumerist objects have been aesthetically designed through a nostalgic mood that “approach[es] the ‘past’ through stylistic connotation” (Jameson 67). With its deliberately outmoded design, it is necessary to consider the Buddha Machine within such a dynamic. Most ‘retro-styled’ products are designed in this nostalgic mood within aesthetic constrains while retaining the current technological level in its functions. For example, iPod Boombox speakers are designed with cardboard in an 80’s aesthetic. However, it features passable sound and merely serves as an add-on to the technologically advanced iPod.

In contrast, the Buddha Machine is ancient in both design aesthetic and function. The consumer who is attracted to its retro looks soon realises its limitations in relation to products such as the iPod. However, in approaching it critically, the consumer becomes aware of the practicality of the Buddha Machine’s subversion. A review mentions that as the simple droning tunes of the Buddha Machine “are melded and transformed by the limited technology of the hand-held Buddha Machine, the sound becomes phantasmal poetry” (Teppo par. 3). The phantasmal aura of technological decay that it produces through the delivery of sound enforces its dialectical nature, positioning the Buddha Machine a catalyst towards an illumination of modernity’s consumerism. Reviews that situate its exchange value within the constraints of retro appeal can be taken as commodity culture’s reterritorialisation of the contradictions inherent to the Buddha Machine.

‘Chaotic’ Craft Consumption: Productive Destruction

Craft Consumption rejects the reductive notion that the consumer is wholly under the control of market forces or is simply conscious of his/her use of commodities towards the formation of identities. It emphasises that there are active and creative consumers who participate in production by creating “new ‘ensemble-style products’ out of the raw materials of finished commodities” (Campbell 33). The Buddha Machine is a commodity designed to encourage this innovative form of consumption. With the release of the Buddha Machine, FM3 has been touring with a simple performance titled as Buddha Boxing. Virant describes the ‘rules’ as:

I can pick up a Buddha machine, select a loop and put it into play. Or I can remove a machine from play, or change the volume, or loop. Only one “action” then the other contestant gets a chance. He does whatever he wants to do, say he adds another Buddha machine to the mix, and then it’s my turn again… (Park par. 23)

This performative act signifies that Buddha Machines can be utilised by its consumers, not simply as a standardised commodity, but as raw material towards the production of a significant piece of music. Furthermore, through its emphasis on collaboration, Buddha Boxing rejects the use of music towards passive privatisation.

Subordinate class might be alienated from craft consumption because cultural capital is an important factor in its dynamics (Campbell 35). Furthermore, skill and knowledge, which might not be easily accessibly, are equally important in its effectiveness. For example, expertise is needed to transform passive consumption of musical instruments into the productive creation of music. While lifestyle programs are a channel in which consumers attain such knowledge and cultural capital, it is still somewhat delimiting, as productive action is not achieved with prior agency. The Buddha Machine poses a resistance to cultural superiority by its emphasis on simplicity. All that is needed for the consumer to create music with Buddha Machines is the ability to operate the simple mechanics of its on/off switch, volume control dial and loop switch button. In addition, the importance of improvisation, a process that can be seen as a basic criterion of everyday life, serves as a gateway towards the consumer’s use of his/her creativity. Campbell mentions that certain craft activities “exist at the intersection of genuine popular folk knowledge with fashion and high art” (36). While Buddha Machine proceeds from this middle ground, it veers towards an emphasis on common sense. The music generated by the Buddha Machine might be avant-garde in popular consciousness. But there is no importance on the creation of more progressive styles by individuals with higher cultural capital as innovation and progression is inherent in the concept of the music.

The Buddha Machine’s repetitive drones are based on a conceptual form of music creation and listening that is called Generative Music. The general idea is to create an unpredictable piece of music through the layering of repetitive sounds. It encourages and facilitates a hyper-aware state of listening that reveals the micro details of particular tunes. It is systematic in the sense that a set of rules can govern the input of sounds. However, as it is played continuously, the music takes a life of its own and the consumer becomes a facilitator to something quite in-itself. Thus, the craft consumption of the Buddha Machine mobilises the agency of the consumer while moving towards a chaotic and contradictory ‘end’ product. In describing the non-hierarchal nature of Generative Music, Brian Eno states:

Generative forms in general are multi-centered. There’s not a single chain of command which runs from the top of the pyramid to the rank and file below. There are many, many, many web-like modes which become more or less active. (par. 59)

This decentering effect described by Eno is much in line with the aura Benjamin locates in the true artform or fossilised commodity. It removes the listener’s dream-like perceptual absorption in the repeating presentness of commodity culture by conjuring many fragmental centres that appear in the music as involuntary flashes.  Therefore, the craft consumerism that results through the use of the Buddha Machine enables a two-tier movement in the consumer’s consciousness. Firstly, it enables an expressive reaffirmation of the self through production. Secondly, the nature of the generated music enables the consumer to access a primordial destructiveness inherent within consumer culture. This instability, which is repressed within consumer culture, becomes a catalyst that enables the consumer to attain some critical distance.

Conclusion

In this essay, I have surveyed the dynamics of consumer culture through an analysis of the Buddha Machine in terms of its production and reception. Firstly, I positioned the Buddha Machine as a significant commodity that self-reflexively brings about the contradictions of a dialectical image. The general logic of commodity culture aims at diffusing such fissures in consumer consciousness through the naturalised currency of the technologically and fashionably advanced product. However, FM3’s release of the Buddha Machine shows that it is possible for producers to tactically resist the delimiting effects of consumer culture. This cannot be achieved without irony. But it is extremely effective because it critiques commodity culture from within its own channels. Secondly, I discussed how the Buddha Machine is utilised in craft consumerism. The consumer engages in a humanising propagation of his/her productive and creative agencies by using Buddha Machines to create a unique soundscape that escapes the predetermination of the music industry. Furthermore, organic nature of such generative music brings back the presence of aura that is missing from most mechanically produced commodities.

Consumerism is a repressive mechanism of Capitalism, the consistent reterritorialisation of revolutionary tendencies. The passive continuation of consumerism is due to an arrest of the virtual dimensions of the material commodity. Thus, the consumer is encouraged to partake in the act of consuming that moves towards an illusionary utopian ideal. Such logic depends on a contradictory element of destruction for its survival. Therefore, there is a latent aura within commodities that can be attained through the consumer’s critical consciousness. This is where consumerism extends into the multi-trajectories of culture. The Buddha Machine enables the consumer to partake in a tactical subversion that disrupts the hegemonic function of culture. Its uses signify that it is indeed possible to position culture within the agency of the consumer.

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