Is there no way out of commercialism?
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Is there no way out of commercialism?
Am I the only one who finds commercials and advertising to be warped? I mean I grew up just like many watching TV and sitting through eons of commercials, but I look back and those 5 minutes between a TV show seem like such a waste. I thought eventually this would die out, but then advertisers started slapping brands onto sports games.
I haven't studied the effects of commercialism on art and entertainment, but it can't be good. Whether it's billboards on the highway or banners on the computer screen, advertising is certainly embraced. But we all know that the smiling model is a ruse and in a lot of ways commercials and advertisements are downright disingenuous.
Is there no way out of ads and commercials?
I mean commercials and ads are clearly after one thing and one thing alone, so why do we as audiences accept this treatment by different mediums?
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Re: Is there no way out of commercialism?
There's also an arms race between the advertisers who have to find ever more ingenious and invasive ways of forcing us to watch their products and the viewers who get more and more adept at learning how to avoid watching them. E.g. I subscribe to the music streaming service called Spotify. I use the free version which means I have to listen to a commercial every three songs or so. I tried turning off the speakers on my computer during the ads. But they're on to that. Their software must detect the "speaker mute" state and pause the ad until I turn it back on again. Nifty.
The only way around it is for us as consumers to accept that information has to be paid for. Pay the subscription. Watch non-commercial subscription funded TV channels (like the BBC).
Of course, on the plus side, it could be pointed out that commercialism is art and entertainment. Everything is a commerical.
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Re: Is there no way out of commercialism?
No but seriously, I agree with you in a lot of ways. But commercialism and advertising are so pervasive (and have always been) that in the future, it seems, you could find ads everywhere. But what if you did find an ad in Plato's Republic, saying that the latest brand of soap is great or in Sartre's On Being and Nothingness there is an ad for Lucky Brand cigarettes. What would this tell you? Would you find this source to be credible and legitimate? I wouldn't.
And if I walked into a courtroom and the judge has on his cloth a logo of Redbull, I would positively fear for my rights. And yet commercialism and advertising are touted Everywhere.
I don't spend my money to see a 120 minute commercial, I hope. I spend my money to see a feature-length film. I think advertisers try to make commercials on the radio and TV and films as humorous and entertaining as possible, but I wouldn't consider them art. Reason: like propaganda, ads are directed for the express purpose of making me aware of some product so I can shell out dough for it. Art doesn't usually, usually have a one-dimensional message. If it does then it's usually pretty bad.
It's kind of sad to me, because in this period of time where social media is the rage, suddenly self-promotion and endorsing of individuals are ever important in people's lives. If I have a law firm, just to promote it I have to go on social media sites and promote it. Good news with that is that it's cheaper and maybe better promo. But ultimately, people are becoming the products of their own self-promotion. The more "friends" and "likes" you have the more your chance of success is. While there are positives and negatives to this, I don't see the art here; self-promotion is a business, not an art.
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Re: Is there no way out of commercialism?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/busin ... d=all&_r=0
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Re: Is there no way out of commercialism?
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Re: Is there no way out of commercialism?
- Chasw
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Re: Is there no way out of commercialism?
XA: Commercialism, and its parallel, consumerism, are not new. Consider Marshall McLuhan's seminal work "The Mechanical Bride", published 1951. Therein, he goes into some detail about the effects of mass marketing and advertising on society, an excellent read, highly recommended. With modern communications media, these influences are even more pervasive today, as you point out.XavierAlex wrote:I remember not so long ago films and TV shows rarely did product placements. Now in just about every film, a notable and visible product is shown. This kind of endorsement I see all the time. Before films in theaters there were no commercials and now there are. Youtube seemed like it would not need advertising, but it does.
Am I the only one who finds commercials and advertising to be warped? I mean I grew up just like many watching TV and sitting through eons of commercials, but I look back and those 5 minutes between a TV show seem like such a waste. I thought eventually this would die out, but then advertisers started slapping brands onto sports games.
snip...I mean commercials and ads are clearly after one thing and one thing alone, so why do we as audiences accept this treatment by different mediums?
I for one do not find advertising to be warped. Often ridiculous or offensive, but still a high form of art. In my youth, I dreamed of a career on Mad avenue, but alas I was not persistent enough. Advertising simply reflects the society its pitching to, a rather unattractive picture in many respects. The marketeers spend countless hours understanding us and discerning the messages that tweak our interest. In a perverse way, we deserve what we get. - CW
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Re: Is there no way out of commercialism?
- Theophane
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Re: Is there no way out of commercialism?
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