Happy Birthday!, 4/24

“It is within the commercial realm of advertising that the drama of otherness finds expression” (370)

After talking about bell hooks more in detail, I found this quote to be most thought-provoking. This quote is talking about advertisements and the different techniques within advertising. For example, products nowadays are not sold on their individual properties and characteristics. Instead, advertisements cut down other products, or cleverly suggest their product is better than the other by using some catchy phrase or slogan. Advertising companies started advertising products because people started to encounter mass-produced products and needed to be convinced as to why they should buy a particular product over the other. The most frequently used caption in advertisements I see on television are "...is better than the leading brand". This can sway an audience members perception of what he or she should actually buy. Often advertisements will endorse a celebrity or athlete to represent their product in order to gain popularity as well and to create a larger fan base. For example, if teenagers saw a popular singer advertising for a new clothing brand, the chances of that brands income increasing is very high.

bell hooks suggests that our culture is extremely focused on “the other". She says in we study it, consume it, exoticize it, and ultimately commodify it. In today’s culture, we constantly consume and engage in things that are considered “the other” even if it may be offensive (to some). Sometimes I do not even pick up on this "othering" in t.v. shows, movies, advertisements, and any other form of media until i study it for a long while. This is what CMC has taught me. If you study something critically, you are bound to uncover a meaning behind what is being shown to the public. bell hooks was very interesting to learn about and is very prevalently seen in today's culture and society.