Saturday 20 October 2012
Thursday 18 October 2012
Exploitation of
subculture by mainstream brands
Definition of exploitation
noun
• 1 [mass
noun] the action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit
from their work: the exploitation of migrant workers
• 2the action
of making use of and benefiting from resources: the Bronze Age saw
exploitation of gold deposits
the fact of making use of a
situation to gain unfair advantage for oneself: the Government’s
exploitation of the fear of crime.
Definition of subculture
noun
a cultural group within a larger
culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger
culture: in what ways does the social environment predispose certain
individuals to join delinquent subcultures?
Definition of mainstream
noun
(the mainstream)
• the ideas, attitudes, or activities that are shared by
most people and regarded as normal or conventional: they withdrew from the
mainstream of European politics
• (also mainstream jazz) [mass noun] jazz
that is neither traditional nor modern, based on the 1930s swing style and
consisting especially of solo improvisation on chord sequences: it was a
form of jazz that had strayed away from the mainstream
adjective
• belonging to or characteristic of the mainstream: mainstream
pop music
• (of a school or class) for pupils without special
needs: children with minor handicaps would be able to attend mainstream
schools
verb
[with object]
bring into the mainstream: vegetarianism
has been mainstreamed
Introduction.
Chapter
1
Sub
culture theory/how they form?
What
they mean to those involved.
Working-class
Youth Subcultures: Resistance and Exploitation in
Criena Rohan's The Delinquents and Mudrooroo's Wild Cat
Falling
Ian
Herbertson
Selling
Ourselves Out
bubble up process
http://www.tedpolhemus.com/main_concept6%20467.html
A remarkable social and cultural
inversion has occurred in the last fifty years: where once culture was the
monopoly of the upper classes, it now, more often than not, bubbles up from
those on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’. This transformation has been
especially evident in the world of style - with the authenticity of streetstyle
challenging and then toppling the dictatorship of High Fashion.
bussiness as usual the
exploitation of hiphop
women in hip hop.
trickle up and down effect.
The Rap Attack: African Jive to New York Hip Hop by
david troop.
FRESH
Hip Hop Don't Stop
By Nelson George,
Sally Banes, Susan Flinker and Patty Romanowski
HIP HOP
By Steven Hager
Monday 26 March 2012
Hyper reality.
An example of hyper reality in our culture is the celebrity taking on invented personas. A great example is 'The Hoff' aka David Hasselhoff. An actor most famous for shows such as Baywatch and Knightrider. His notoriety is from these shows and consequently has ruined his credibility as an actor and singer. David disappeared for a while but came back reinvented as 'The Hoff'. David was and probably still has a serious outlook on life however once 'The Hoff' was invented there was no going back. 'The Hoff' in the public eye is a man who drinks a lot, has a lot of fun, says what he wants when he wants and generally tries to be the exact opposite of the characters that have have stuck with him from his earlier days. 'The Hoff' is Davids alter ego. From releasing ridiculous songs to drunken rampages. He has reinvented himself and to be fair he deserves a pat on the back, not many people can do this successfully. Its nice to know that amongst all of his ridiculous stunts, he is hopefully just having a laugh and not actually believing himself to be 'The Hoff'. When being interviewed by Pierce Morgan, David is quoted as saying "No one wants to hire David Hasselhoff anymore they want to hire the Hoff" . He knows this and his playing up to it all. But if it works for him then he has succeded fooling everyone.
Ponopticism.
A docile body described by Michael Foucault- "one that may be subjected, used, transformed, and improved. And that this docile body can only be achieved through strict regiment of disciplinary acts". Focault argues that we cannot choose to enter modern society; we are controlled by it through its technologies of power. In a sense we almost being turned into Robots. Doing exactly what we are told. "The penetration of regulation into even the smallest details of everyday life through the mediation of the complete hierarchy that assured the capillary functioning".Who monitors the people doing the monitoring. That is the question that worries me. How do we know what is being done with these CCTV evidence. Or how much of it is being ignored.
The more we rely on technology to protect our lives the more we become complasent about the invasion of our privacy, its a necessary evil of our modern society.
All quotes form Michael Foucault.
Bibliography.
“Advertising appeals to
a way of life we aspire to but have not yet achieved. A publicity picture
suggests that if we buy what it is offering, our life will be different from
what it is... Not only will our home be different, but all our relationships
will become radiant because of our new possessions; but we can only achieve
such radiance if we have money. And so publicity also works on our anxieties
about money, urging each of us to scramble competitively to get more. Making
money appears as if it were itself magical... According to the rules of the
dream, those who do not have this power, and those who lack glamour, become
faceless, almost non-existent. Publicity both promises and threatens this play
upon fear; often the fear of not being desirable, and of being unenviable. It
suggests that you are inadequate as you are and consoles you with a promise of
a dream” .
( Jeremy Bulger- ‘Ways of seeing’). youtube
Publisher: Vintage, 1985 Ogilvy On Advertising Ogilvy & Mather was built on David Ogilvy's
principles: in particular, that the function of advertising is to sell, and
that successful advertising for any product is based on information about its
consumer. Found on his website I think…
David Olgilvy once
said, “Advertising justifies its existence
when used in the public interest- it is much too powerful a tool to use solely
for commercial purposes.”
I can not "think of any circumstances in which
advertising would not be an evil."
- Arnold Toynbee, quoted in
Eric Clark, The Want Makers: Inside
the World of Advertising, 1988, New
York: Penguin Books, p. 371.
It is stimulating people constantly to want things,
want this, want that."
-
- Malcolm Muggeridge, quoted in Eric Clark, The Want Makers: Inside the World of Advertising, 1988, New York: Penguin Books, p. 371.
“…people are threatened…the evil use of advertising
techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard work by
promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire."
- Pope John Paul II, quoted
in Eric Clark, The Want Makers:
Inside the World of Advertising, 1988,
New York: Penguin Books, p. 371.
From the book practises of looking- an introduction to visual
culture.by marita stuurken and lisa cartwright. Oxford university press.inc.
2009
“In the United States this
image carried the troubling connotation of the history of slavery and the use
of black women slaves as wet nurses to breast-feed the white children of slave
owners”
“In the
United States this image carried the troubling connotation of the history of
slavery and the use of black women slaves as wet nurses to breast-feed the
white children of slave owners.”
Jeremy Bullmore is quoted as saying “advertising doesn’t sell things; all advertising does is change the way people think or feel.'(2003).
“Appealing
to the publics conscious” (John Berger- ‘Ways of
seeing’)youtube
CTS essay
To what extent can
advertising be used as a force for positive social change?
Advertising is a
way of communicating with people. The majority of advertising is used to
persuade or encourage the audience to buy something. Some advertising is used
for political campaigns and some for a social change. Ideological advertising
is also very common. Brands can use advertising to generate sales and increase
consumption of their products. They do this by “shoving” their campaigns in our
faces in as many places and as many different ways as possible. Our world is
now polluted with TV adverts, billboards, posters and many other forms of
advertising, offering the latest things on the market. Advertising encourages
us to buy things that we don’t even need; and more often than not, somehow,
someway we are persuaded to buy into this product’s regardless of whether it be
a car, those new jeans, a watch, that new I-pod, phone or trainers. We always
do it. The reason for this is because:
“Advertising appeals to a way of life we aspire to but have not yet
achieved. A publicity picture suggests that if we buy what it is offering, our
life will be different from what it is... Not only will our home be different,
but all our relationships will become radiant because of our new possessions;
but we can only achieve such radiance if we have money. And so publicity also
works on our anxieties about money, urging each of us to scramble competitively
to get more. Making money appears as if it were itself magical... According to
the rules of the dream, those who do not have this power, and those who lack
glamour, become faceless, almost non-existent. Publicity both promises and
threatens this play upon fear; often the fear of not being desirable, and of being
unenviable. It suggests that you are inadequate as you are and consoles you
with a promise of a dream” .
( Berger, 1990).
‘Ogilvy and Mather’ advertising agency was built
on David Ogilvy’s principles’, “In particular that the function of advertising
is to sell”. With advertisers saying things like this, it’s no wonder that people
view advertising as a modern day evil. Arnold Toynbee stated, “I can not think
of any circumstances in which advertising would not be an evil,” (1988). Anyone
who shares this opinion would not be blamed for thinking so; The Pope John Paul
II himself is quoted as saying “…people are threatened by… the evil use of
advertising techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard
work by promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire” (1988). What the
Pope is trying to say here is that advertising tries to sell you a dream, an
idea, or a notion, that all of your worries and problems will be resolved by
purchasing something to fill a void in your life. However, in reality, this is
a short-lived dream, only giving the consumer a minimal amount of time with
whatever he or she has purchased. Unfortunately, the product the consumer has
purchased will be thrown out, run out, break or become obsolete eventually.
The advertisement above is a
great example of how the sole purpose of advertising is to sell. This Nike
advert is aimed at women and the point of the advert is supposed to be that, no
matter what, nothing will beat hard work. However, what this advert is really
saying is that with the help of the technology within these shoes and hard work
combined, you will find your ultimate quick fix to staying toned and fit. Yes,
the technology in these shoes may ‘activate muscles how they are supposed to’,
but the reality is that there is no quick fix. With most trainers you can stay
toned and fit; it’s about the effort you put into doing this and it is not down
to the trainers you are wearing. The slogan ‘the shoe works if you do’ is very
clever and targets an audience that likes to keep fit, but this slogan could be
applied to any other advert about a pair of trainers and still work. Nike is
selling a dream. The person purchasing these trainers may not even be
purchasing them to use for exercise purposes, they may just like the look of
them. Therefore this idea that advertising’s main function is to sell, “stimulating
people constantly to want things” (M Muggeridge 1988), is true for commercially
based advertising. Non-commercial areas of advertising however, are not solely
used for the purpose of generating sales; for example, in public service
advertising. Public service advertising is used in the public’s interest of the
general public, to encourage positive social change. Public service advertising
attempts to improve the world we live in, by making people aware of
environmental, social and ethical issues, through supporting charities. These
sorts of charities are usually government departments or donation-funded charities.
These adverts still have to be funded and paid for. Some advertisers offer
discounted rates and some will do the campaigns for free as they are for a good
cause.
David
Olgilvy once said, “Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public
interest- it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial
purposes.”(1985). However, this shows he has relized the immense power when
used in a positive social change, which can be seen through public service
adverts David Olgivy’s agency have made, such as the WWF campaigns “What will
it take before we respect the planet.”
These adverts show a world where nature has
finally given in to its urban surroundings and the pollution of humans. The
graffiti from an urban city has defaced these animals. It is a reminder of how
close our two worlds really are, and the effect our world has on theirs.
There are already lots of campaigns out there
appealing to the good nature of people, hoping that they well take heed of the
messages they are seeing about issues that relate to people and creatures from
all over the world. They are not always just messages or acted out scenes; a
lot of these adverts use graphic imagery and real life photography to get their
point or messages across. Below are some
great examples of how public service advertising can use shock tactics to gain
publicity for their campaigns.
The graphic imagery in these adverts is quite hard-hitting
and horrific. However it is hard-hitting
and they are straight to point and make’s you take into consideration the
consequences of your actions. You would not see these images used to sell or
promote alcohol, cigarettes or knives. These adverts have been cleverly created,
relying on the fact that the graphic imagery will play on people’s emotions and
moral obligations not to do these things, in some cases to, donate or volunteer.
United
Colors of Benetton is a clothing company that have been producing thought
provoking and controversial adverts since 1986. All of the adverts that they
produce are very clever, and have important messages within them. The first
slogan that they used was ‘All the colors of the world’. It later changed to
‘United Colors of Benetton’. The adverts they produce are aimed at uniting
everyone no matter what your race.
These adverts are visually, very moving. I find
I have to look at them for a while to really to take in what is being said.
Theses adverts broke the mould when they were released, they were something
very different. They are not as visually upsetting as the previous campaigns;
but instead they have subliminal messages about uniting people of all skin colours
and races. Accompanied by their slogan.
This simplistic and clever approach has brought them recognition from
around the world.
“When Benetton produced this
advertisement in the 1990’s of a black woman nursing a white child, a range of
interpretations were possible. This advertisement was published throughout
Europe, but magazines in the United States refused to run it…” The image is
supposed to convey the relationship between mother and child… However “In the
United States this image carried the troubling connotation of the history of
slavery and the use of black women slaves as wet nurses to breast-feed the
white children of slave owners” (Sturken & Cartwright, 2009).
Advertising like this is made to provoke.
Because of the different interpretations of this advert, you can expect a
variation of responses. But this is the beauty of this type of advertising- because
selling is not the key element when designing for an advert like this, the
shock factor can be thrown in to get a reaction from the audience, “appealing
to the public’s conscious” (Berger- 1990).
Jeremy
Bullmore is quoted as saying “advertising doesn’t sell things; all advertising does is change the way
people think or feel.'(2003). And, in a sense he is right. United Colours of
Benetton adverts are great examples of a company that have taken advantage of
their advertising campaigns. They have done this, not for increased sales and profits,
but to convey a message; a message of bringing people together.
In conclusion I believe that advertising is a
necessary evil, from which a lot of good can come from. Although it’s primary
function is to sell, however when used it the interest of people, animals or
our environment it is a very powerful tool. It can help bridge the gaps of
racial divides, save peoples lives, make people aware of world issues. It makes
us think about issues that are far from our minds, things that we know are
happening but choose to ignore or forget about. These issues are only addressed
because they are brought to our attention through the same advertising
techniques used to sell a brand’s products; ‘communicating’ the message to the
public, ‘persuading’ the audience to take a moment to sympathise and it ‘encouraging’
people to help by making them aware about the problems in the world. So the
same techniques are used for a positive social change
Instead
of selling, this type of advertising asks for people to help themselves, help
each other, volunteer or donate. This type of advertising can change people’s
views and attitudes. By simply having these adverts out in public view people are
constantly reminded that there are problems that the world needs to address. So
to answer my original question ‘to what extent can advertising be used as a
force for positive social change?’ The best way of gaining support and
awareness for these type of campaigns is through the medium of advertising.
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