The Talk That Would Have Been
One of the major themes in "The Merchants of Cool" was the use by advertising and marketing folks of "anti-marketing marketing," which is just a flashy of saying "self-reflexivity."
Self-reflexivity occurs, at least for our purposes, when the media talk about themselves and their impact on us. It seems strange at first - ripping yourself - but the intent is the same as an ad or a news story - get the audience to pay attention.
So for example, when an ad pokes fun at the company doing the advertising, or the practices of advertising, or the excesses of the media - that's self-reflexivity, advertising-style.
When a movie like "The Truman Show" arrives on the scene - same thing. Or when a news reporter covers the "media feeding frenzy" that develops during a story like the Michael Jackson trial. Or a TV show like "Sports Night" - boy, was I sad to see that go off the air.
The problem with so much self-reflexivity is that it crowds more original, less media-oriented ideas. This happens, by the way, in all fields.
It sells us back our own skepticism of the media, of advertisings. We end up forgetting how to really experience things, how to grasp history and culture.
It's also insular - kind of "don't go outside the compound" mentality. All the answers are right here, in our own little world.
Our memories become cluttered with useless media references (trust me, I know this), and our collective memory includes far more than its share of media references.
More process, more "back stage" behind the scenes stuff pops up.
All of this, it should be noted, is easy - easier than coming up with challenging ideas, easier than thinking critically.
It also damages the distance between a work of fiction and the audience - it is necessary to create a sense of strangeness, alienation - an aura around the work. If you remind the audience of how artificial something is, it denies them the pleasure of escaping our crazy world for a time. In a warped way, it empowers us, too.
Now, the cynic is possibly saying: isn't more interpretation a good thing? Yes, if it's your own. If you take the direction suggested by a media content producer, then you're just being drawn into the dialogue. Let's go back to The Truman Show - what's the message of the film?
To me, it's "fame sucks" - not "we should lessen the importance of the media in our lives" or "isn't it nuts how everything we do is being recorded" but "fame sucks" - Yet, we're told by critics that the movie is an allegory for what happens when everyone wants fame.
The critical distance I spoke of earlier is thus actually created by the media.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
More in a few minutes.
Self-reflexivity occurs, at least for our purposes, when the media talk about themselves and their impact on us. It seems strange at first - ripping yourself - but the intent is the same as an ad or a news story - get the audience to pay attention.
So for example, when an ad pokes fun at the company doing the advertising, or the practices of advertising, or the excesses of the media - that's self-reflexivity, advertising-style.
When a movie like "The Truman Show" arrives on the scene - same thing. Or when a news reporter covers the "media feeding frenzy" that develops during a story like the Michael Jackson trial. Or a TV show like "Sports Night" - boy, was I sad to see that go off the air.
The problem with so much self-reflexivity is that it crowds more original, less media-oriented ideas. This happens, by the way, in all fields.
It sells us back our own skepticism of the media, of advertisings. We end up forgetting how to really experience things, how to grasp history and culture.
It's also insular - kind of "don't go outside the compound" mentality. All the answers are right here, in our own little world.
Our memories become cluttered with useless media references (trust me, I know this), and our collective memory includes far more than its share of media references.
More process, more "back stage" behind the scenes stuff pops up.
All of this, it should be noted, is easy - easier than coming up with challenging ideas, easier than thinking critically.
It also damages the distance between a work of fiction and the audience - it is necessary to create a sense of strangeness, alienation - an aura around the work. If you remind the audience of how artificial something is, it denies them the pleasure of escaping our crazy world for a time. In a warped way, it empowers us, too.
Now, the cynic is possibly saying: isn't more interpretation a good thing? Yes, if it's your own. If you take the direction suggested by a media content producer, then you're just being drawn into the dialogue. Let's go back to The Truman Show - what's the message of the film?
To me, it's "fame sucks" - not "we should lessen the importance of the media in our lives" or "isn't it nuts how everything we do is being recorded" but "fame sucks" - Yet, we're told by critics that the movie is an allegory for what happens when everyone wants fame.
The critical distance I spoke of earlier is thus actually created by the media.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
More in a few minutes.
posted by Ron Bishop at 6:49 AM
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