Hi everyone, it's Jasmine. I've been thinking about the "Merchants of Cool" video we've been watching in class, and I thought about the role of advertising in our lives. I realized that it's necessary and inevitable - there's no way to escape it. I feel like life without commercials or brands would feel strangely empty.
Even "Merchants of Cool" itself was a collection of advertisements - in warning us of the dangerous relationship between companies and teens, it actually promoted those companies' brands. Even if we tried to avoid the world of marketing, we couldn't. If I wore a plain T-shirt instead of one that had a brand name sprawled across it, I would still be advertising for that particular style. Also, somebody might like my shirt and ask me where I got it - and in answering, I would be advertising for a store or a brand. In a more extreme case, even an empty room is not completely free of advertisements. Although unlikely, a person could step into that room and admire the type of paint on the walls or the shape of the room, which might influence him to buy the paint or hire the architect that designed the room.
There's absolutely no way to hide from ads. Since we can't escape the media, we have to understand it and be aware that we live in a world where somebody is always trying to sell something. What do you think? How do you think our inability to hide from commercials affects our lives?
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3 comments:
The ubiquity of commercials and the media is truly astounding. The fact is, under no circumstances- unless we totally and completely isolate ourselves from others- can we hide from the incessant siren-call of the commercial. Even those who attempt to go against common culture, such as the fans and members of the "Insane Clown Posse" are victims of commercials as well. They can be clichéd as the "rebellious, shocking" type. Culture cannot exist without commercials and the media; likewise, culture and counterculture are virtually indistinguishable when they are boiled down to their main points.
Culture effects us in our reading and speech as well- in "loaded words," as Hayakawa calls them. If I said, "That's hot," (something I would never say) then I would be seen as referencing Paris Hilton and her army of mindless Barbies. In speech and in writing, in magazines and on TV, commercials and the media are inescapable. What would we be like without them, I wonder? Would we be blank canvases, ready for the artist's brush? Or we all truly be distinct individualistic people? No one will ever know, unfortunately. But we must look to the good side of commercials. Sure, we use name-brand toothpaste in the morning, put on our name-brand clothes and eat name-brand cereal, but aren't we happy with them? Yes, we are shaped by the products we use, but using these products make life easier in some aspects.
Hey it's Erin! I think that there is no way to escape from advertising. Anywhere. It really is everywhere. What you wear, where you go, what you watch, what you eat or drink, it's all influenced and advertising in itself. I think what you can do is realize that - being prepared and equiped is a start. And isn't that what people constantly do? Prepare for what's ahead?
One time I was babysitting and, as he saw a commercial for a toy, the one boy asked me if I would get him that for his birthday. I think that is one thing that commercials do - create an instantaneous desire for a product. But I bet that the next day he didn't remember the toy (or maybe he did, I wouldn't know). Did you ever notice that one time when you wanted something so bad, but didn't get it, that very soon it didn't even matter to you? Advertising's like that.
By the way, if you watch a TV show from years ago, they're about 50 minutes long. Now they're about 35 minutes long. There are so many commercials!
Hey, it's Amy.
I agree that we can never be totally untouched by advertising unless we are born and raised by wolves that we can't communicate with in a remote wilderness. Everything relates to advertising. In english class Hayakawa advertises his principles of language to the reader and throughout the school day, students and teachers are trying to "sell" us their ideas and definitions. Advertising does not just exist on the t.v.
Oh, and going back to definitions, my debate class was debating whether or not there are two ways to live life:
1) Thinking everything is a miracle
2) Thinking nothing is a miracle
One student (I was definitely thinking it too) and Mr. Kennedy included in their speeches that it depends how we define "miracles." The way we define a word changes the whole focus of the debate.
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