Muros invisíveis: a comodificação da natureza e os luxos verdes na publicidade imobiliária.

Abstract

This thesis is theoretical and empirically based on the concept of commodification, a contemporary phenomenon that transforms “almost” everything into commodities. By means of the compilation of results from multidisciplinary studies, it can be demonstrated that nowadays, human labor, as well as: the arts, cultural authenticities, sex, the human body and its parts,music, places, education, spirituality, religion, love, and many other elements of everyday life are priced and sold, generating alienating effects on individuals. In this extensive list, natural resources are also treated like a commodity, for example: Payment for Environmental Services, the “water industry”, carbon markets, eco-tourism, transgenic food, green labels, and certified wood, amongst others. Together with the growing private appropriation of thematerial elements of nature, is the commodification of its symbolisms, which appear in pseudo-engaged corporate actions and in greenwashing strategies, which have as their principal objective to increase profits. In this sense, environmental care disappoints as a powerful sales argument, as it permits the commodification of consumers’ environmental sensitivity. The empirical research of this thesis brings reflections about the iconization and transformation of “nature” into a commodity with a strong symbolic appeal on the ecological rhetoric adopted by real estate advertising in João Pessoa, Paraíba. The corpus of analysis consisted of 375 items of real estate promotional materials, published between 1960 and 2017, which mention nature in some form. The content analysis of the narratives allowed us to identify that, between 1960 and 1979, the word “nature” did not appear directly. However, elements that report nature’s symbolisms are emphasized like: fertile land, beaches, landscapes, a mild climate, clean air, abundant water and fruit trees. During the middle of the 1980’s until 1990, nature is “stolen”, in other words, the focus of the narratives turns to the green areas surrounding the undertakings and/or the sea,external natural elements that are symbolically appropriate by the advertisers. From the year 2000 onwards, nature is reworked, manufactured and artificialized and – principally in the properties targeted at elite consumers –are offered: lakes, waterfalls, landscaping, ecological paths,exclusive environmental reserves, as well as the introduction of sustainable construction elements, which mesh well with the notions of luxury and privilege. In many cases, it can be noted that the economic rationality is placed ahead of the ecological concern and supports the new significancesin relation to the commodity“nature”. The risks of a global environmental collapse transform the care taken with nature into a symbolic commodity that is iconized and incorporated into the narratives as a symbol of singular luxury. It is argued that the spectacularizing of the “green” sign-value in ecological rhetoric adopted by the real estate market, makes it eliteand symbolically excludes those who cannot afford the exclusivity that “nature” mobilizes. Finally, it can be concluded that these “green luxuries” act as kinds of hierarchical social markers and build invisible walls, which add to the wide spectrum of segregating urbanization that has consolidated itself in Brazil.