Even as whole swaths of the global economy collapse, the pandemic has generated a robust cottage industry of Fauci-themed merchandise, including bottle openers, magnets and mugs.
3. The Social Joins the Political
As Dr. Anthony Fauci rose to fame, so did the plethora of merchandise that was made in his name. Opportunists quickly realized the marketability that this pandemic and his public persona had bestowed on to Dr. Fauci's face. You see the socks and the doughnuts, as soon as you open the artefact. Welcome to America, the land of impressive consumerism.
Due to the Trump administration's widely perceived mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis, the American public looked towards Dr. Fauci for words of advise and wisdom, and he delivered well on that expectation. This is why he became an image that most Americans would want to be seen with. Featherstone’s theory on Consumer Culture talks about the consumption logic of production alongside the well-known capital logic. In creating Fauci-faced merchandise, there exists a consumption logic of consumers wanting to associate themselves with Dr. Fauci.
Sut Jhally talked about how the diamond was marketed to be the symbol of love, in his essay titled “Image Based Culture.” He called it a “fairly dramatic example of how the institutional structure of the consumer society orients the culture (and its attitudes, values, and rituals) more and more toward the world of commodities.” The doughnuts and the socks and the fanart of Dr. Fauci trigger the same bells. Dr. Fauci’s face on the doughnuts are nothing less than dramatic, and since the objective was to sell the doughnuts, there is that inherent commodification of his face and what it represents, that Jhally talked about. America has always been considered to be overflowing with consumerism, and that extending to their food, clothes or mugs isn’t very surprising. What is surprising is that a doctor became a public figure, and majorly because of his advise that typically crossed the American President (probably the least liked of all time).
Jhally also talked about “the need to sell increasing quantities of "nonessential" goods in a competitive marketplace using the potentialities offered by printing and color photography” and yes, you are not the only one seeing the continued uncanny resemblance with Dr. Fauci’s face printed on the doughnuts (or the socks, or the bottles or the T-shirts or the candles) which definitely come under the category of non-essential goods.
The cult-like following that Dr. Fauci has attracted is definitely a testament to his rising popularity in the American culture. But, the merchandise is not the only testament we get to his increasing acceptance by the American population.
