The Daft Punk song Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, as well as the ensuing Kanye remix, addresses a prime tenet of our society which I had never consciously given much thought. In CMC 100, we were given the statistic that the average American is exposed to some 3000 advertisements per day. I am willing to wager that a large majority of those ads are in some respect related to self-improvement so you can make yourself harder, better, faster, and stronger. As a teenage girl, I am told repeatedly that my skin will never be soft and firm enough, my make-up never long-lasting enough, my body never curvy enough, my clothing never fashionable enough... And of course, neither my brain nor my muscles will ever be substantial enough to compete with those of my male counterparts.
The repetition of the "harder, better, faster, stronger" message puts all of us in a position where happiness is nearly impossible to attain. What you have is never enough. There is more out there. Go buy it. The pronounced relativism of postmodern society completely negates the modernist concept of absolutism. The -est suffix has nearly disappeared from daily vernacular. It is impossible to be the strongest, so one must settle to be merely stronger. From a young age I was aware that I would never be the "best" at anything because there are so many products out there I could buy that would lead me to a "more explosive performance."
Advertising is so effective that consumers, in many respects, live their daily lives in total fear. The subverted message of many ad campaigns leads one to believe that not purchasing a given product may result in death. Car manufactures are especially guilty of this method, placing constant emphasis that some obscure research firm voted some obscure facet of the door handle "safest in its class." I personally know nothing about door handle construction, but when I go to purchase my first minivan to take my 2.5 children to soccer practice, it is likely that the smooth, synthetically constructed voice of the television commercial narrator will be one of the primary factors of my decision making process.
1 comment:
aro0823, You made some great points. I really liked your connection to CMC 100 and the idea that advertisements are always telling us we are imperfect the way we are. Ads help create the idea that everything needs to be faster to be better. I also like how you said advertisement helps create fear. This is why CMC 300 and the CMC major is so important. We need to learn how to read these ads critically so we can be smart and responsible consumers.
-Starfish
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