Keeping your sight unbranded.

As we in this Nintendo generation grew up in the information age, literally right alongside the Internet and arguably one of the fastest eras of technological growth ever, we have been subjected/subjected ourselves to more advertisements than humanity has ever previously subjected itself to. Countless hours of research on the psychology of advertising and propaganda have been spent on refining the tactics we experience everyday. We know that on any given day, we may see, unconsciously or consciously, about 3,000 ads aimed at grabbing our attention. It has become easier than ever for us as a society to recall more advertisements than useful knowledge. This entire notion also calls to relevance the skewed American value system, which indeed puts far more value on entertainment than a healthy state of well-being. But that's for another blog.

It's very strange and disturbing that we as a whole can easily dismiss the very prevalent issues going on in our own society due to and endless slew of forcibly forward propaganda campaigns(i.e."that sucks, what else is on?" mindset). The basic function of propaganda, as we've discussed and read about both within and outside of this class, is to persuade (or dissuade) an ideology of a people. In effect, these ad campaigns we see are just as, if not more powerful than any propaganda used on either side in any war. In fact, wartime propaganda has become a pillar of the advertising agencies in terms of design reference. Comparisons can and have been drawn, likening corporations' methods to fascist governments functioning under a weak veil of corporate law(supposedly enforced by the Federal Government..but how can they be policed if they're paying the police's salaries?). I believe it was good ol' Stalin that said something to the tune of, "When corporations and governments align themselves, this is the making of a true fascist nation."

Linguist and well known political theorist Noam Chomsky has written on the subject several times in his extensive career. Some people find his views to be a bit on the narcissistic side of the subjects he writes about, but they are always nonetheless interesting to at least consider.He offers a very interesting take on how the Propaganda model functions in society in his book Manufacturing Consent:The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Although the book was written in 1988, the principles have not changed whatsoever. We'll all talk about this in circles later.