Macy’s, KaDeWe, Au Bon Marché, Harrods, Whiteley’s, les Galeries LaFayette – all these stores represent only a few of the many well-known department stores situated in different modern metropolises. What all these famous large-scale stores have in common is that they are mass marketplaces which are often referred to as “halls of temptation” (Rappaport 16) or “cathedrals of consumption” (Fiske 10). In this sense, shopping is no longer considered a pure economic act. Rather, it is regarded as an act being strongly associated with illusion, desires, self-fulfillment, seduction and dreams. With their innovative interior and exterior architecture, their overwhelming range of goods coming from all over the world, and their leisure time facilities, they manage to fascinate us.
These great stores offer customers an enjoyable shopping experience or rather enable them to spend a unique day out by providing much more than the latest fashion and household goods or nice cafés and restaurants in comfortable settings. Many of this type of store include cinemas, theater shows, fitness center or sometimes even miniature golf courses or bowling centers.
March 15, 1909 marks the birth of one of these great department stores, still sustaining its position in British society today: Selfridges. It was the American self-made retail entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge who founded this department store in London’s Oxford Street in 1909 and fascinated his customers by creating a unique experience of shopping (Woodhead 1). To this day, Harry Selfridge is highly praised as a unique marketing innovator. As his personal story inspired ITV drama, there even has been a TV series adapted in which the life of Selfridge and his family members is portrayed as well as the rise and the success of his lifework.
Given that this American visionary presents the protagonist of the TV series Mr Selfridge, the aim of this paper is to consider the central question how his character is represented in the series.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Historical and theoretical background
- Bourgeois culture and the rise of the 19th century department store
- A new era of shopping: Harry Selfridge conquers London's society
- The representation of the protagonist Harry Selfridge in the TV series Mr Selfridge
- Mr Selfridge - Everybody's darling
- Mr Selfridge - a profit-oriented and calculating businessman
- Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper aims to analyze the depiction of Harry Gordon Selfridge in the TV series Mr Selfridge. Specifically, it explores how his character is portrayed, how it develops, and how the audience perceives his personality in the first season.
- The rise and impact of the 19th-century department store in shaping bourgeois culture and consumerism.
- The unique marketing strategies and innovations employed by Harry Selfridge.
- The multifaceted nature of Harry Selfridge's personality, encompassing both his entrepreneurial ambition and his personal life.
- The role of the TV series Mr Selfridge in presenting a historical perspective on the development of retail and consumer culture.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction outlines the significance of department stores as “halls of temptation” and “cathedrals of consumption” in modern society. It highlights the unique shopping experience created by Harry Selfridge at Selfridges, a department store in London, and introduces the research question: how is Selfridge's character represented in the TV series Mr Selfridge?
The chapter on historical and theoretical background explores the rise of the 19th-century department store. It examines the role of the Industrial Revolution, urbanization, and the invention of paper money in facilitating the development of these retail institutions. The chapter also discusses the influence of Parisian department stores, specifically Au Bon Marché, on the emergence of this new commercial concept.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key themes and concepts explored in this paper include the department store, consumerism, bourgeois culture, marketing innovation, Harry Selfridge, Mr Selfridge (TV series), character representation, and historical background.
- Quote paper
- Kim Frintrop (Author), 2015, The Representation of the Protagonist Harry Gordon Selfridge in the TV Series "Mr Selfridge", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/296141
