The Starbucks on Louise and Saticoy is different from other locations as it does not offer an inside area. The inside of this Starbucks is small and contains only the eager staff fervently making each customer’s drink order. Though, it does have a walk-up window, small sitting area for those who choose to enjoy their beverages outside, and a convenient drive-thru for on-the-go customers, allowing them to purchase items of their choosing without ever having to get out of their car.
As I waited patiently in line, I noticed that there was music playing overhead. Surprisingly though, a CD was not placed by the window advertising the artist who could be heard overhead. None of the patrons seemed to notice or care about the music quietly playing, myself included. Instead, customers quickly placed their drink order and pastry or breakfast item of choice. Additionally, many of the employees already knew the coffee beverage requested by recognizable faces that presumably frequented the Starbucks on a daily basis.
I picked up my coffee from the window and chose a place to sit. I looked around and noticed an older woman, presumably in her 60s, reading a newspaper and consuming one of those overly complicated ice-blended options. Another table was occupied by a 20-something-year-old man typing away on his laptop, hitting each key as if it angered him. He was also consuming an ice-blended “frappuccino”, though his was a large (“venti”), perhaps indicating he wanted a beverage that would suffice for a lengthy period of time.
As I sat and sipped my coffee from the labeled cup and matching logo “sleeve,” I noticed the different drink orders: some simply ordered a “medium coffee”, while others chose customized drinks. One woman ordered a very specific drink consisting of specific pumps of white mocha, shots of espresso, soymilk, half something else, and even a temperature direction. Most of the middle-aged men and women had simpler orders and did not pay attention to Starbucks’ “tall, grande, venti” labels for the corresponding small, medium, and large sizes. Conversely, many of the younger individuals seemed to enjoy their overly complicated and personalized drink orders.
Starbucks has successfully taken an ordinary item, coffee, and transformed it into an experience. Since “popular culture is constituted throughout the production of popular meaning located at the moment of consumption” (Barker, 54), Starbucks is, therefore, part of popular culture. Furthermore, Starbucks is not only a brand amidst popular culture but has even produced its own culture. The individual who orders the “large coffee” versus one who prefers the “triple grande no foam soy fat-free sugar-free vanilla latte” differ, however, they do share one thing in common: both are willing to pay a little extra for their coffee. For some, Starbucks might be conveniently located on an individual’s daily route, for another Starbucks is more than just coffee, more than a brand.
Seemingly, people don’t want just an ordinary cup of coffee anymore. Starbucks glamorizes its beverages, offers a personalized menu, even suggesting additions, and charging extra. It seems as though individuals appreciate something they pay a little extra for. Individuals want to hold the cup that features the well-known logo on it. Essentially, Starbucks has successfully transformed coffee into a novelty item.
Popular culture has integrated Starbucks and its cultivation of the coffee beverage. Starbucks’ coffee is generating quite a bit of money, not solely based on its product, rather its brand. Starbucks coffee has become a novelty fixture as opposed to what it really is: caffeine in a nicely designed cup with matching sleeve. As Marx has suggested, "commodification is the process associated with capitalism by which objects, qualities, and signs are turned into commodities. The surface appearance of goods sold in the marketplace obscures the origins of those commodities in an exploitiative relationship" (Barker, 13). Starbucks does not simply sell coffee and pastries; they offer a kind of popular culture lifestyle by way of a commodity.
Starbucks is taking away individuality by placing people under the umbrella of the culture of Starbucks customers, while giving them personalized options to contribute to individuality, a perfect contradiction. Where is the “common sense” or “good sense” of paying $5 for a novelty item that can easily be made at home, or better yet, purchased at a similar coffee house is not a brand-name, for less money. Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci, suggests that, “all people reflect upon the world and, through the ‘common sense’ of popular culture, organize their lives and experience" (Barker, 67). It is through Gramsci’s ideology of popular culture that we can see how Starbucks has risen and remains planted within popular culture.
As of today, Starbucks has over 24 million Facebook followers who have “liked” the company and another 2 million who have taken the time to “check in” to their various Starbucks locations. Starbucks has become a common meeting place for many individuals: students, first dates, friends, and others. As individuals scurry through everyday life trying to make sense of it all, if indulging in a $5 brand name coffee makes us happy, then why not.
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications Ltd. 2008.
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