The first article is full of eye-opening commentary about the movies. I was surprised by all that I read! I loved the example of Australia resulting in tax breaks, tourism, and deals between corporations and country governments. There’s a whole spectrum of how media stuff works and how it’s dealt with, even the messages that are supposed to be suppressed.
The importance of emotional appeal presented in “The Brand Story Web Marketing Process” was as surprising to me. The effort that advertisers make to get a laugh, a tear, a trip down memory lane- it’s all extraordinary. Just last night, I saw a minute of Extra! And they were talking about the making of Michael’s videos and how many millions of us sat down to watch the video releases of “Thriller” and “Black and White.” Having just talked about media ownership and branches, this made me a little mad. They do indeed care how I feel, they prey on those feelings to get my money!
I experienced a sort of shock and awe as I read about “the potential for a network to censor itself when it comes to producing tough stories on its parent company” in “Mouse-ke-fear” and I can’t imagine how Dr. Bucy was able to keep quiet about the Disney example while we were in class. My skin is still crawling… It’s not the news, or the suppression of it, but the amount of slime-y effort that bothers me so.
The blurry lines of entertainment and advertising discussed in “Commercials You Can’t Zap” and “The Medium Is A Soup Commercial” aren’t any less disturbing. Audiences don’t complain, one author notes, but why, I wonder? Why don’t we say we don’t like to be led, directed, marketed to- whatever? There are so many products and so many choices, maybe people somehow appreciate guidance?
I try really hard not to watch TV and not to expose my son to it, but I see this is not enough. The limited amount that we take in has “the bad” elements. Being a consumer is unavoidable, as our every public experience is geared towards the fact that we have purchasing power. Is this a capitalistic value? Is it democratic? Am I just moronic to think that things should be another way?
We’re teaching these subtle (or not so) marketing techniques to the rest of the world. People are watching and mirroring America. Why are we running in this slime-y direction with full force and what can I do about it? Literacy and awareness- is that all I can do for myself and my family or is there something I can do to effect the course we’re so clearly traveling?
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There are lots of things you can do. Pick any angle and look online. There are hundreds of organizations fighting these trends. So one option is to become an activist. Or another angle is to take all of this as fodder for critical thinking. There are so many opportunities to teach our children how to think for themselves in this media-rich society. It provides opportunities to talk about consumerism, environmental degradation, body image, stereotypes -- you name it. It's all tied to media.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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