Abstract

Desire, fantasy and imagination are integral aspects of the consumption experience. This paper critically develops a Sadean analytical framework to further explore these aspects of consumption in contemporary cultural settings. The philosophy of the Marquis de Sade is introduced, followed by a detailed examination of Sadism as text and social structure. Five components of Sadean narratives are identified and applied in two consumer behavior cases. The first applies a Sadean analysis to the popular television game show The Weakest Link. The second provides a Sadean interpretation of the service encounter. A justification for Sadean approach is considered together with a brief discussion of some of the moral questions raised by the analytical approach.