You Are What You Order; The Starbucks Universe

Cultural analysis using Marxist theories for a Pop-culture class.

Comedian Lewis Black once said “the end of the universe is in Houston, Texas, where there is a Starbucks across from a Starbucks.” Is it the end of the Universe, or the beginning of a new one? The Starbucks Universe. It seems that today Starbucks are as prominent as gas stations and 7-11’s- there is one on every corner in every town. Love it or hate it, Starbucks is the king of coffee, which has become a hot commodity in this day and age (pun intended). The question is how and why Starbucks Coffee became such a pop culture icon. Perhaps one can look to Marxist theories to find the answer to this question. Several of Marx’s followers offer many interesting insightful analyses of why Starbucks is what it is; not necessarily a symbol of the end of our universe, but the symbol of our cultural universe.

The first Starbucks Coffee opened in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. The name Starbuck came from a coffee lover from the novel Moby Dick. The name of the coffee shop has become so ingrained into our culture that in the 2nd editon of the Norton Critical Edition of Melville’s novel Moby Dick there is a footnote that addressed Starbucks name that reads “In a triumph of modern marketing, the name of the ascetic Starbuck has become associated with exotic coffees and voluptuous additives, as well as baked goods that shame the nautical ‘duff’ or hardtack of Melville’s whale ships” (Parker 101). A friend of the owner designed the iconic logo— the mermaid with two tails encircled by the stores name. By 1980, Starbucks was a success in the Seattle area. In 1982, the owners named Howard Schultz, a man who foresaw the vast potential or the company, director or retail operations. The neighborhood coffee shop with modest beginnings was now on the path to reshape the way America ordered their coffee. From the Windy City to La La Land to the Big Apple, Starbucks fever was running rampant throughout the country. At present there are people who cannot even consider starting their day without a stop at their closest Starbucks on the way to work. It has become so ingrained not only in popular culture but in the day to day activities in our society that the whole concept of “getting a cup of coffee” now means “going to Starbucks.” (Cleary)

One of the first questions that comes to mind when analyzing Starbucks is; why is it so popular?

Why is it that the majority of the population would rather pay close to two dollars for a “venti” coffee at Starbucks then sixty-nine cents for a large coffee at 7-11? It could relate to the fact that purchasing one’s coffee at a prestigious café is a declaration of one’s social status, which we place a lot of emphasis on in this country. Maybe Americans figure that paying more for what is advertised as a gourmet brew is seen as a simple, inexpensive luxury. In Marx’s theory, the essential logic of class relations is one of exploitation through political and ideological domination (Burris). Starbucks has made itself the dominant name in coffee and coffee accessories. It is the most numerous of the coffee establishments thereby the most frequented. Because of the cultural domination by Starbucks it has become not only an icon but also a symbol of cultural status. You’re someone who is in the “in crowd” if you unrecognizable status if you are carrying around an unrecognizable Styrofoam cup. Starbucks is now buying out the locations of smaller cafés, just as it once was, to become the dominant and most exploitative coffee selling establishment (Cleary).

But is dominance by sheer number the only way that Starbucks got to be so recognized?

It quite possibly could be due to influence from the mass media; a Starbucks-type coffee shop was glorified in Friends, the most popular TV show for the past ten years. Friends portrayed coffee shops as trendy places to frequent and also great places to meet people, business contacts, family members, etc. This is not to say that Friends and Starbucks were working together to capitalize on the coffee shop market, but the people who benefited from both their successes were, overwhelmingly, upper-class, rich, white people (the actors and producers of the show and the owners of Starbucks’). The dominance of this one type of social group being involved in all aspects illustrates on of the basic ideas of Marxism, that cultural products “implicitly or explicitly support the interests of the dominant groups who, socially, politically, economically and culturally, benefit from the economic organization of society” (Storey, 3). In Marxism, media is also seen as an amplifier. Media institutions “act largely in tandem with the dominant institutions in society.” Media reflects and at the same time influences society. (Chandler)

Why is it that society is so ready to follow the media or each other for that matter?

From a Tall-Decaf-Non-Fat-Latte to a Grande-Caramel-Macchiato, at Starbucks one can place orders for beverages as individual as their tastes are. People can get a sense of being an individual while at the same time be an active participant in the latest cultural fad. Theodor Adorno would argue that the reason a place like Starbucks becomes popular is because of that false sense of individualism. His argument is that culture industry standardizes everything and then gets people to purchase products under the false assumption that they are individual or original (Story, 3). If we feel like we are being treated like an individual that means we will feel special and then want to come back to keep getting that feeling of being different than other people, however false that sense might be.

Has Starbucks been so ingrained in popular culture that it has become part of our identities?

After placing ones order with the Starbucks employee behind the counter the next step is to wait until the “barista” calls out “Grande Mocha!” or “Soy-Milk-Chai-Latte!” Upon hearing one’s order the Grande Mocha Man or the Soy-Milk-Chai-Latte Woman steps up to the bar and receives their coffee. This is a prime example of Louis Althusser’s original concept of interpellation, otherwise known as hailing. He argued that “ideological state apparatuses” (Storey, 102) hailed persons into certain positions. It is mostly used for things such as class or race. In this case it works mostly to hail someone as a particular class, the class identity of a person who is willing to pay two dollars for a cup of coffee. But it is also a way of associating a person in the position of a Starbucks customer. You are what you order. You are no longer a person or a name, you are a coffee, and not just any coffee, you are a Starbucks brewed coffee.

In the Starbucks Universe there are no small people, only tall. There is no such thing as medium coffee, but there are “grande drips” which use both Italian and French descriptors. You can express yourself through the way you like your morning, afternoon, or late evening coffee. You can feel like an individual surrounded by people searching for the same feeling. Starbucks has dominated the coffee shop scene for many years now, it has become a national phenomenon. It has created a, seemingly, universal need for its product. Karl Marx and his followers over the years have given us many theories to help us analyze and figure out why, exactly, Starbucks has become such a pop culture icon. There is not just one reason this has happened, there are several, all working together to influence culture. Its vast popularity is partly due to the fact that Starbucks has integrated itself with the representation of high cultural status. It also has been helped by the mass media representations of name brand coffee establishments as being a “cool” place to frequent. Starbucks illustrates Adorno’s idea that people are searching for originality and that is why they are drawn to the idea of Starbucks-- because it gives them a place to feel different because of their “made to your tastes” orders. Lastly it demonstrates how Starbucks has integrated itself into our culture by Althusser’s concept of interpellation. We have become what we order at Starbucks. In the Starbucks Universe I am a Grande-Non-Fat-No-Foam-Latte.


Works Cited

Black, Lewis. “The End of the Universe.” Audio cd. Stand up Records, 07 01 02.
Burrie, Val. 1987. The Neo-Marxist Synthesis of Marx and Weber on Class. http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~vburris/soc617/ marxweb.htm
Chandler, Daniel. “Marxist Media Theory.” 4 10 02. www. aber.ac.uk/media/documents/marxism/marxism05.html
Cleary, Ellen. “Starbucks Case Study.” 1999. www.mhhe.com/ business/management/thompson/11e/case/starbucks.html
Parker, Hershel, ed. Moby Dick. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2002.
Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Cutlure. 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, 2001.

Copyright Megan Tharpe 2004