Capitalism and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Capitalism and Culture - Essay Example ived out of modern production.5 Separation is the beginning and end of spectacle.6 This is akin to the Marxist concept of alienation. In the Marxist concept of alienation, for example, the worker’s alienation from his product enabled the capitalist to appropriate the product for himself and in so doing was able to use the product to exploit further the proletariat. However, in the Debordian concept of spectacle, spectacle can be interpreted to have originated from the alienation of the proletariat from his produce and, at the same time, the Debordian perspective that spectacle would lead to further alienation suggest that a spectacle serves to alienate the proletariat and whole of society further away from their lives. Spectacle within society reinforces the reproduction of alienation.7 In a figure of speech, Debord said that â€Å"the spectacle is capital to such a degree of accumulation that it becomes an image.†8 In particular, Debord pointed out that â€Å"the spec tacle is the moment when the commodity has attained the total occupation of social life.†9 The spectacle arises because of tendency of use value to fall and the consumer has to become a consumer of illusion through spectacle.10 The spectacle is associated with the abundance of commodities under modern capitalism.11 In this society of the spectacle, the historical mission is to install truth.12 II. Class Lecture’s on Debord’s â€Å"Society of the Spectacle† Our class lectures on capitalism and culture have pointed out that the idea of a consumer society was popularized sometime after World War II. Consumer societies have been pointed out to have emerged in the mid-1950s when consumer objects and products became more widely available. The â€Å"Situationist† perspective or â€Å"situationism† is a response to the emerging consumer society immediately after World War II. Our class lectures have pointed out that the perspective originally develop ed out of artistic avant-garde. Our class lectures have also pointed out that the movements that opposed have become commodities themselves after World War II as rapid industrialization required skills and a tremendously large labor force. Our class lectures have pointed out that for Guy Debord that life as spectacle has become real throughout capitalist society. Our class lectures have pointed out our ideals for living have been defined by the mass media through the direct and subliminal messages they have injected in our minds through what we read, see on television and movies, and through the messages that we derive from street advertising and billboards. The magazines, the literature, the movies, the newspapers, and the media created representations of what an ideal life in our society consist of. Living has become a spectacle and the spectacle has become more real than our actual life. For example, our class lectures have pointed out that we know more about Bradd Pitt than we k now of our immediate

Today Media Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Today Media - Research Paper Example Advertisements can distort reality. It is a one-sided stand in order to obtain corporate goals. Lastly, some audience does not have enough ability to understand advertisement’s purpose. Based on these reasons, the proponent was able to use important journal articles, and books in line with understanding the very nature of advertising and its impact on the society. Furthermore, other important related concepts in other fields such as psychology, and social science are integrated within the concept of mass communication and the social media. In doing this, further justification of the use of advertising as effective approach in conveying information is justified. The important implications of advertising in the society are also discussed based on other relevant and practical examples commonly observed in common and various ads. Introduction Certain ads are effective in conveying information to the extent that consumer persuasion is at a higher level. This persuasion at a higher level is very influential in trying to convince people of certain ideas. For example, tobacco marketing is associated with youth smoking, their behaviors towards it and their intention to smoke (Hanewinkel, Isensee, Sargent, & Morgenstern, 2010). However, anti-tobacco media campaigns are found helpful in smoking cessation (Biener, Reimer, Wakefield, Szczypka, Rigotti, & Connolly, 2006). Furthermore, anti-tobacco television ads using fear and disgust contents have been found significant on resources intended for message encoding, recognition memory and emotional responses (Leshner, Bolls & Wise, 2011, p. 77). These only show that advertising is effective way of communicating ideas, information and other relevant social concerns. In particular, advertising activities are integral parts of marketing and other related social interactions that aim to promote certain ideas, opinions or products and services. For a long period of time, ads are used to convey significant information and peo ple are learning many things from them. The very proof why ads are effective is their continuing existence in the media, and other related mass communication today. If they are not that effective, then they should have been long banished and should never be the primary options on the list among marketers and some people. However, certain ads should be banned in the interest of health, morality, annoyance – alcohol, cigarettes, prescription meds, etc due to the following reasons. Advertisements distort reality The advancement of technology makes it possible for advertisers to distort reality by creating much of virtual reality (Frith & Mueller, 2010). It has long been contended that advertisements tend to distort the reality, but the availability of much advanced technology has become the doorway to create more virtual reality. There are many available animated commercial advertisements today that try to distort the picture of reality. What the advertisers try to promote is th e product itself and not the entire concept of the social reality. These highly animated commercials are without question attractive to the extent they can actually catch attention. Some of them moved out from the bound of morality and other relevant social issues. These ads might be considered the reality among children so it is important to consider that unrealistic ads should be totally