dmariel, 2/15

Habermas’ concept, the cult of the new, is a direct result of postmodernity, or what Habermas would call antimodernity. There is a constant clash between traditionalism and avant-gardism, creating a constant competition between the two cultural spheres. The enlightenment period has exacerbated this clash by expecting science and reason to ‘further’ our knowledge in any way possible. Therefore, the cult of the new also represents the way that avant-gardism can attempt to overcome traditionalism. Everything new, or no longer the ‘classical’ version, is portrayed in our media as ‘better’. Faster computers, faster cars, fast and easy weight loss, etc. In my opinion, ‘Fast and easy weight loss’, has become one of the biggest and most outrageous advertising attempts thus far. It is almost impossible to watch twenty minutes of TV without seeing a commercial for a weight loss drug that will ‘do it for you’. People have thrown out the traditional and healthy way to lose weight: diet and exercise. These pills have substituted the effort of classical weight loss and replaced it with a scientific approach that does it for you.
Another example that reminded me of the cult of the new this weekend was a commercial for Advil PM sleeping pills. Tylenol PM has been the leading over the counter sleeping pill for many years. Advil, one of their leading competitors obviously saw that they needed to come out with their own sleeping pill in order to compete. Instead of just advertising their new pill normally, they actually harshly compared it to Tylenol PM. The commercial begins on a camping trip, where two people are ready to fall asleep in their sleeping bags. One person takes a Tylenol PM, and the other an Advil PM. The one that takes Tylenol is shown to stir and sleep lightly through the night, whereas the one who took Advil sleeps without moving once. The Advil produces a refreshing morning, whereas the Tylenol causes grogginess. Instead of Advil accepting that they came out with the sleeping pill after Tylenol, they presented theirs as ‘newer and better’ than Tylenols. I find this comparison occurring more and more in advertising, representing the power of ‘the cult of the new’. I definitely believe that our generation is blinded and shaped by the cult of the new; we are constantly looking for the next best thing or the newest improvement of what we already have-even if we never before thought it needed to be improved! Advertisements have manipulated us into thinking that every new edition is better than the last.