Liquid identities

Uri Ram (1)

1 BGU - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

The Mecca Cola drink combines in its brand name two contrasting iconic images: one signifies `authenticity', whereas the other signifies a `commodity'. The conspicuous juxtaposition of `Mecca' and `Cola' and their hyphenization evokes the question: what is becoming of `authenticity' in a thoroughly commodified world society? This article proposes that a distinction ought to be drawn between the effects of commodification on two distinct levels: the structural and symbolic. Whereas commodification homogenizes structurally, it heterogenizes symbolically. This article maintains that while symbolically Mecca Cola is antagonistic to Coca-Cola, structurally it is a case of an appropriation of the former by the latter. Mecca Cola thus attests to a structural `Cola-ization' accompanied by a symbolic `Mecca-ization' of current world cultures.

Mots clés: Americanization; authenticity; Coca-Cola; commodification; consumption; globalization; material culture; Mecca Cola; Muslim culture

Uri Ram. Liquid identities. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2007, 10 (4), pp.465-484. ⟨10.1177/1367549407081952⟩. ⟨hal-00571558⟩