Mr. Time Magazine

 Mr. Time Magazine

When Time magazine isn't pandering to is barely literate audience or making goody-goody with mass murderers (Ex 1, Ex 2, Ex 3), they nominate lowlife scum like Edward Bernays as one of the most influential men of an entire century.  Granted, probably the only reason they did this was because if they got on Bernays' bad side, he would squash them in his soft, sweaty hands.  They've got too much to lose by printing the truth. JOURNALISM USED TO MEAN SOMETHING IN THIS COUNTRY!

Sorry about all that.  I just watched the Secret Life of Walter Mitty, so I have some pretty strong things to say about Mr. Time Magazine and Adam Scott's beard.  I digress.

In all honesty, Ol' Eddy B. deserved to be nominated as one of Time's "People of the Century" much the same way that Adolf Hitler deserved it back in '38.  Bernays revolutionized deception.  Con-men used to have to knock on your door before they could steal away your money and wife.  Bernays figured out a way to con an entire society without ever leaving his doorstep.  He claimed to use the techniques of his crotchety uncle Siggy Freud, but really what he did was take a singular fundamental aspect of it.

Freud built all of his ideas on the basis that people are fighting an unconscious war between the amoral, impulsive id and the rigid, moral superego.  Interestingly enough this seems to be more or less an expansion of Hobbes proposition that, "Every man is an animal."  Nobody talks about that though do they?  I spit truth and hellfire.

A loving family and admirers of Bernays

Anyways, whenever the big men needed to sell something to the public in the past, whether it be tissue wipes or engaging in a war that no one really wanted to get involved in, they had always tried to appease the superego, giving fact based pitches.  Bernays said phooey to that noise and decided to appeal to the id.  He saw people as emotional beings that could and should be manipulate for the greater good.  The greater good of whom I ask
pompously?  The greater good of the fat cats up on Wall Street and Capitol Hill.

And of course, Bernays approach worked.  He was able to convince people to do things not that they needed to do, but that they wanted to do.  Once he figured out how to do this, he started convincing people what it was they wanted.  He built up a whole new way of interacting with mass audiences called propaganda...ahem... public relations.

You want to know why our society is crippled by consumerism, look to Bernays.  Is he pure evil incarnate?  Yes.  But he would have had no power if the people hadn't listened to them.  If even we may not have had a choice in the matter, we are still to blame.  And even if Bernays had not risen to power the way he did, someone else would have.  I can sleep soundly at night knowing that the man responsible for the destruction of our society was a blue-blooded American through and through
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Sing Me A Song, You're the Camel Man

Sing Me A Song, You're the Camel Man

Surface Meaning: A camel,  a lady sitting on top of a car, palm trees, the “Hollywood” sign, the text, “Smooth Character,” and a box of cigarettes.

Advertisers Intended Meaning: People who smoke Camel Lights are attractive, rich and know how to have a good time.

Cultural Meaning:

·         The Hollywood Sign:  This sign is something that resonates with practically everybody.  Everyone knows about Hollywood, California, the home of movies stars and super models.   Because the Hollywood Sign is in the background we know that the people/camels portrayed in this ad are important, rich, and cool.

·         The Car:  The car that the lady is sitting on looks like a red corvette style car.  A red sports car is also engrained in our society as a symbol of wealth and greatly attributes to the cool factor.  You smoke this cigarette and you’re as cool as a red Corvette.

·         The Lady:  The lady is an attractive leggy blonde, every guys dream come true.  The implication is that people who smoke these cigarettes are cool enough to land a dame like that, as well as virile enough to satisfy her.

·         The Clothes:  The camel man is dressed like a character from Miami Vice, which even though it has Miami in the title it still make you think of Hollywood because it’s a movie.  The clothes once again reiterate a cool vibe.  The guys in Miami Vice were cool, right?

·         “Smooth Character” :  This ad almost looks like it’s a movie ad.  It has everything you’d want from a summer blockbuster, fast cars, hot chicks, and anthropomorphic desert animals.  Smooth character not only seems to imply that these cigarettes give you a smooth character, it’s almost like smoking them will make you the lead in your own kind of Hollywood movie.

·         The Glasses:  Both of the “people” in this advertisement are wearing sunglasses.  As we all know sunglasses make anybody look cool, but it also creates some distance between the characters and the audience.  We can’t see them as well as they can see us.  It’s almost as if, even though the audience can see all these good things that smoking Camels can bring, you don’t know everything yet.  You have to smoke one to become truly enlightened.

The Harryhausen

The Harryhausen

Daniel Day-Lewis.  The only actor people talk about.

How many movies have you seen where there is one actor/character that stands out?  They might not have even been in it for very long, but it's that performance that sticks with you above all else.  This can say a lot about a specific actor or actress, but it says a lot more about everyone else in the movie.  There were dozens of other performers on screen that you may never remember.  Hollywood is filled with forgettable faces, forgettable performances, forgettable people.   Only a select few ever rise above the clutter to achieve recognition, and that is an amazing feat in and of itself.

Nobody should know who Ray Harryhausen is.  He was a guy with too much time on his hands, who never appeared on screen and, and who's looked 80 years old since he was 27.  Nonetheless, he has had a profound effect on many of the movies we see today, and with good reason.  For over 20 years, Harryhausen defined what special effects were in movies.  He brought creatures and stories to life that people never would have thought possible.  Everything about the guy is amazing.  How he could take balls of rubber and strips of wire and create terrifying monsters.  How he could spend hours moving puppets in complex patterns, keeping track of every minute detail in his head.  What's most amazing is how he took these lifeless blobs and made them feel like a real character, something with a personality.

He had a lot of tricks for giving his creations life.  One thing I noticed is that he often gave his characters a humanoid shape.  It might sound like a small detail, but because it resembled a person, it was much easier to convey emotions.  The audience was able to pick up on what the character was feeling much easier because they understood the basic anatomy of the character.

The main reason Harryhausen's monsters feel so alive is because of Harryhausen himself.   He wouldn't just design a monster and make up its movements as it went along.  He would do extensive research on different types of animals and their movements to try and figure out this creature would actually move.  For instance, when he worked on Mighty Joe Young designing an ape, he went to zoos and made recordings of gorillas walking around so he could study their movements and recreate it.  He did his best to make the monsters as real as possible, even if it was a stone lady with snake hair.  It was this attention to detail and devotion to making a good product that set him apart from pretty much every other special effects animator at the time.  To him, these creatures weren't just monsters for the main characters to run away from, they were characters themselves who deserved just as much time and devotion.

Advert-Garde

 Advert-Garde

Right now you are staring at a computer screen.  At any moment you could click away from this blog post to Facebook, that half watched YouTube video, or one of the multiple tabs you have open at the top of your browser. Your computer speakers hums smooth melodious rhythms as Spotify plays your customized playlist entitled "Best of Ted Nugent"  Your phone, which is charging on your desk next to you, vibrates.  You check it.  It wasn't a text.  You are sad.  Words with Friends is reminding you that you have games that can still be played.  You are consuming copious amounts of content all while sitting in your house, your fortress.  Your mind is clouded by the constant stream of information.  Did I like the six paragraph post that my neurotic aunt tagged me in?  Have I already seen this compilation of obese animals falling down stairs?  Didn't I just play "Scab" for 18 points?

Photo Credit

Jonas Ahrentorp

Advertisers have made it their goal to break through not only the muddled mess of media you consume, but also the in-numerous advertisements that go along with it.  How can they make an ad that will catch your attention, keep your attention, and make you want to buy their product?  There is no sure way to accomplish even one of these goals, so advertisers have thrown everything they can think of at the wall to see what sticks.  There have been some intriguing attempts to get people to pay attention to the ads they've worked oh so hard on.  Advertisers have known for a while that making an ad that seems like it's trying to sell you something tend not to resonate with consumers.  The ads that stick in peoples' heads are the ones that entertain.  It's been recently that those ad men on Madison Ave realized that the best way to make entertaining ads is hire people who entertain.  Most notably, well known film directors have been commissioned to make advertisements for companies.  Since these are the people who make films that millions of people flock to, they must know how to entertain.

What's really interesting is the directors that have been commissioned.  You would expect someone like Guy Ritchie who makes fast-paced blockbusters  to be enlisted.  He can make a fun ad that doesn't feel like an ad but more like a film.  But along with blockbuster film makers, many avant-garde and art house film makers have been chosen as well.  At first it seems strange to select directors who's films often repulse or bore the public, but these kinds of directors appeal to a certain intangible element that a Guy Ritchie couldn't.  Many art films are experience based, sacrificing conventional forms of plot and character in order to create a more visceral and ethereal experience.  Advertisers eat this kind storytelling and imagery up because they have become less focused on selling a physical product, instead selling feelings and ideas.  Andy Spade said that ads should communicate,"... to another level beyond the logical level," which have led to filmmakers such as Wes Anderson, David Lynch, and Harmony Korine creating advertising campaigns for famous brands. Their ads don't tell you what the product does, but they show you what the product feels like.

As for how these purported artists cope with selling their souls to big corporations, David Lynch sums it up perfectly.

Whether or not these kinds of ads resonate with people is unbeknownst to me, but they certainly do stand out.  That's gotta count for something.  Hopefully.