Signifier Games and Consumption Alienation: A Critical Analysis of Semiotic Economics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jbm.202509527
Author(s)
Kexin Wang
Affiliation(s)
Jinan New Channel -JUTES High School, Jinan, China
Abstract
This article focuses on the phenomenon of signifier play and consumer alienation from the perspective of semiotic economics. By analysing the theoretical context of semiotic economics, it reveals the operating mechanisms of signifier play in consumer society and its alienating effects on consumers. Applying the critical framework of Marxist political economy, it analyzes the inherent connection between the production of symbolic value and consumer alienation, highlighting the erosion of subjectivity, social relations, and cultural valuesby symbolic fetishism. Through critical analysis, it proposes possible paths to transcend symbolic alienation, providing theoretical insights for understanding the essential characteristics of contemporary consumer society.
Keywords
Can Refer to a Game; Consumption Alienation; Symbolic Economics; Symbolic Fetishism; Critical Analysis
References
[1] Roth, W. M. (2020). On Signifier Things and Signing-as-Event. In Adventures of Mind and Mathematics (pp. 91-117). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
[2] Baudrillard, J. (2016). The consumer society: Myths and structures.
[3] Carvalho, F. G. D., Araujo, I. S. D., & Vasconcellos, M. S. D. (2023). Symbolic consumption in digital games: an analysis model. Intercom: Revista Brasileira de Ciências da Comunicação, 46, e2023117.
[4] Dalamu, T. (2022). Social semiotic genre: Exploring the interplay of words and images in advertising. Anuari de Filologia: Llengües i Literatures Modernes.
[5] Pine, B. J., & Gilmore, J. H. (2013). The experience economy: past, present and future. In Handbook on the experience economy (pp. 21-44). Edward Elgar Publishing.
[6] Pérez Fernández, J. M., & Sabatini, G. (2023). Paper, finance and semiotics: The symbolic economy of knowledge in the early modern Mediterranean. The Journal of European Economic History (JEEH), 52(2), 11-31.
[7] Amalia, R. F. (2023, January). Legal protection for virtual land trading investment transactions in the Metaverse. In 3rd International Conference on Business Law and Local Wisdom in Tourism (ICBLT 2022) (pp. 488-496). Atlantis Press.
[8] Park, J., Eom, H. J., & Spence, C. (2022). The effect of perceived scarcity on strengthening the attitude–behavior relation for sustainable luxury products. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 31(3), 469-483.
