My chosen object for this assignment is a water bottle. More specifically, it’s my large, 40-ounce insulated water bottle that I carry with me everywhere. I have always had these types of containers with me from middle school until now, and have only since retired one of them after it physically could not hold any more liquid. I noticed that I would finish at least 3 full containers of water daily – that’s over 3 litres of water a day. I found that I would sip on water when I have nothing to do, when I\u2019m anxious and want a break, or, of course, when I feel tired and dehydrated. If I forget my bottle at home, sometimes I struggle to focus. Water and hydration was a constant thing I sought after, and my water bottle helped keep it by me at all times. Funnily enough, I would sleep with my water bottle by my side when I was younger, needing access to water as conveniently as possible at night. Ultimately, my water bottle is more than just a vessel for water. It is an object I interact with daily that affords me comfort and mediates the body with the rest of the environment through routine care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similar to Marx\u2019s table, my water bottle is an object that goes beyond materiality and the commodification of objects. Rather, it is a vessel for meaning and embodying the relationships with the self and the world around us. My personal interaction with my bottle is apparent through its appearance, with dents and scratches to reflect movement through space and time, and stickers that tell stories of who I am as an individual. The clear wear and tear of my bottle highlights how present the object has been in my lifestyle. The instances in which I use my water bottle the most emphasise how it has become a personal symbol of comfort and care, rather than a fetishised commodity. However, it is easy for capitalism to take over especially when consumer culture is as prevalent as ever and the idea of an \u2018emotional support water bottle\u2019 has become commodified, where brands such as Stanley or Owala have capitalised on lifestyle trends. Philosopher Jean Baudrillard best reflects this idea when describing a commodities\u2019 ability to foster the desire that drives capitalism, ultimately making ideology invisible. Through this lens, a mass-produced, branded water bottle can easily disappear in the background of consumerism as just another everyday gadget. However, my bottle, with its scratches, dents, and stickers, becomes Baudrillard\u2019s wooden radio and resists object invisibility. It instead makes visible how objects can cease to be a fetishised commodity, and instead a personal archive of lived experiences and embodied routines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alongside its ability to reject fetishised commodification, my water bottle has mediated my embodiment and care for the self and body. Bernadette Wegenstein\u2019s chapter on the body describes the body as the primordial medium, where experience is produced. My water bottle makes this concept visible. While consumer culture commercialises the need to stay hydrated, my bottle affords me more than functional utility; it mediates the act of pausing, routine, and caring for my body throughout the day. Taking a break to drink water amidst a transient lifestyle helps me reconnect with my body, framing hydration as a lived experience. Especially in contemporary life, Wegenstein claims the idea of \u2018multiple selves\u2019 where the digital age has fragmented the body and the self. The act of pausing, staying grounded, and keeping a routine through hydration and the constant of a water bottle with me mediates the idea of a single embodiment. It allows the self to return to being present and bodily care in a culture of distraction. In a way, the bottle rejects the idea of disembodiment, forcing awareness and mediation of Maurice Merleau-Ponty\u2019s concept of the \u2018flesh,\u2019 where he claims that flesh is the bridge between the body and the world. Drinking water is not just a functional act but an embodied one. The taste and smell of the water and metal container, the sensation of swallowing, carrying the bottle, hearing the water move around the bottle. These tactile, sensory moments highlight how the body and the object are intertwined. It is through this entanglement that my water bottle evolves beyond being an object. It also mediates embodiment, highlighting how self-care is shaped through everyday practices of routine, identitiy, and relationality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, what first appears to be an everyday commodity can be transformed to mediate the self through personal sentiments and lived experiences. While there is no doubt that ideologies of capitalism and consumerism are present in branding and current online trends that turn insulated water bottles into a fad, my personal water bottle brings these once \u2018invisible\u2019 concepts in contemporary life to the forefront. In doing so, materiality is rejected, becoming instead a unique object that serves as a record of lived practises and routines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Works Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turkle, Sherry. \u201cWHAT MAKES AN OBJECT EVOCATIVE? .\u201d pp. 307\u2013326.Wegenstein, Bernadette. \u201cBody.\u201d Critical Terms for Media Studies<\/em>, pp. 19\u201334.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My chosen object for this assignment is a water bottle. More specifically, it’s my large, 40-ounce insulated water bottle that I carry with me everywhere. I have always had these types of containers with me from middle school until now, and have only since retired one of them after it physically could not hold any … Continue reading The Hydrated Self: Care, Commodity, and Embodiment<\/span>