CBQ BOOKNOTES Condensed Reviews

Abstract

49:50 Goods: Advertising, Urban Space, and the Moral Law of the Image by Emanuele Coccia, translated by Marissa Gemma (New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2018—$95.00, [hardcover] ISBN: 978-08232802-23, [paperback and e-book available], introduction, 6 chapters, translator’s afterword, notes) offers a conceptual look atmodern advertising and the objects it sells. Blending philosophy, ethics, marketing concepts, and visual theories, Goods seeks to challenge both the meaning of “goods” as objects and “good” as a valence of moral value. Each chapter carries a title pointing to a physical presence of “goods,” as Coccia explores the power of images and advertisements for things. These key terms and titles include walls (Chapter 1), cities (Chapter 2), and totem (Chapter 4). Interwoven with these object titles include the building blocks of her theoretical perspectives, such as the banality of the good (Chapter 3), the world of things (Chapter 5), and towards a moral hyper-realism (Chapter 6). Coccia is recognized as a leading voice in European thought and Goods becomes available to English readers in this volume after receiving critical attention in Italian, French, and German versions. Coccia is an associate professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. Gemma holds a PhD in English Language and Literature/Letters from Stanford, and does professional editing and translations as a content strategist consultant.