VIEW ALL TEDDYVEGAS' BLOG ENTRIES
MEDIA ANALYSIS OF THE DAY:
As I watch the National League Playoffs the other night, two commericals strike me. Granted, I only see fragments of both. And, as I am watching in a loud bar, I cannot hear either. But something in the juxtaposition of the two spots strikes me as a singularly compelling portrait of present America. (The contradictions and dynamics of this historical aysmmetric moment. Advertising as asysmmetrical warfare on the psyche.) The first commercial, I really don't see much of. I only see the end logo with the tagline "Budweiser. This is beer." The consummate emptiness of the tagline is striking--even by contempory advertising standards. It's not even tautology. It's just the most rudimentary declaration. "This is beer." Either this is remedial education for a culture whose association between word and image has become tenuous at best. Or it's just a particularly transparent instance of a tagline saying "We have nothing to say." Either way, I applaud it in its eloquent poverty and take it to be somehow representative of where we are and who we've become.
The other commercial, which I see substantially more of, is much more jarring. It is a montage of American iconic feel-good images (Hula hoops, Summer beach scenes, Neil Armstrong's Moonwalk, Muhammad Ali beating Sonny Liston, Rosa Parks, Apple pies, etc.) interspersed with images of the phantom light towers at Ground Zero and the horrible aftermath of Katrina. Out of context, one might think it was a subversive political avante garde film (A la Kenneth Anger or something); an attempt to subvert or deconstruct the happy consumerist myths of our culture with the grim truths that they conceal. But, instead, the sequence of images ends with the claim: "This is Our Country. This is Our Truck. Chevy."
The attempt to fuse the triumphant and the traumatic into one seamless tapestry of American-ness is certainly striking--if somewhat unreadable. Is this a Whitman-esque affirmation of broad cultural unity? This is our country. This is our joy. This is our pain. This is our blood. This is our struggle. This is our adversity. This is our triumph? This appears to be the strategic intent. But there is something awfully troubling about such politically and emotionally charged images of recent tragedy (and, arguably, of political failure) being appropriated for explicitly commercial ends. (This is our truck.) But perhaps THAT is the statement. THAT is the critical distinguishing feature (and, of course, decisive contradicition) in this portrait of a nation. Yes, the ad is saying: America is struggle. America is joy. America is triumphing over adversity. America is agreeing to disagree. But in the end, America is--uniquely and irreduceably--pushing product. This is our country. This is our truck. Please buy it.
The relationship between politics, history and branding is fascinating. As a friend aptly observed "It seems anything can become a branding element as long as it's emptied of political content." And it appears that emptying can happen almost instantly. Indeed, what is striking isn't just that the commerical takes all of these very recent and very raw images of trauma and tries to braid them into a tapestry of feel-good, we're all in it togetherness --but it chooses precisely images of this administrations's great failures and repeddles them as great iconic moments. It is a brilliant Rovean propaganda technique--brought to you by Chevy. Indeed the piece of communication could readily run as a Republican propaganda ad by swapping out the tagline and logo at the end. In fact, it is already essentially functioning as a Republican propaganda ad, paid for and sponsored by Chevy.
In effect, there is no more truth or accountability in the culture. There is only iconography and branding. Eveything has equal value within the consumer imaginary matrix. As another friend remarked upon seeing this rivettingly bold and troubling commercial, "My God: People who actually care about truth and reality in this country really have the deck stacked against them."
Anyhow, something in the juxtaposition of these two commercials strikes me as representing something essential about the condition and character of our culture.
I'll probably have more to say about this at some point down the road. Really can't stop marvelling at it.
CURIOUS PHENOMENON OF THE DAY:
Not being able to nail my signature in the clutch--like for example, today, when I had to sign in the box on the back of my new credit card. I’m like the A-Rod of signers. When the pressure is off, I nail my signature all the time. It's always exactly and effortlessly the same. But when I have to lay down the original, reference, big time John Hancock—the one signature against which all the subsequent ones will be measured and judged —I spazz out and scribble something that just doesn’t look like my signature. And now I’m stuck with it. And no one's going to think it's my card.
It's funny. I guess it's that I'm suddenly self conscious of something I'm never usually conscious of. I suddenly feel the strange unnatural pressure to perfectly imitate myself. I feel a weird performance anxiety--like I am a fraudulent forger of my own identity. My arm suddenly feels different. Like it belongs to someone else.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE OF THE DAY:
The words say "Our goal is to make the most of your time" but the actions say "Our goal is to take the most of your time."
OBSERVATION OF THE DAY:
Waspy whininess is about the same as Jewish stoicism.
IF I WERE INCLINED TOWARD PARANOIA WHICH OF COURSE I"M NOT THOUGHT OF THE DAY:
I see that organic carrot juice has now been linked to botulism right after organic spinach has been linked to e coli. It feels like it's all part of a campaign by Dow Chemcal or Karl Rove or something to undermine the groundswell support for organic, healthy foods. Chemicals are our friends. Without chemicals, health foods themselves would not be possible.
OUCH IMAGE OF THE DAY:
White House Aide With Ties to Abramoff Resigns
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT 26 minutes ago
Susan B. Ralston has resigned from the White House in the wake of a report that she served as a conduit between Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove.
ORDEAL OF THE DAY:
Listening to my partner at work chuckle to himself incessantly as he IMs women on J-Date from the chair beside me. It's a sound no man should have to hear. He just admitted that he is only laughing at HIS side of the IM chats...and never their contributions. As he gently tries to hook them on the bait of his refined wit and electronically reel them in. Actually, it's not always his wit, he's baiting his electronic hook with--as he's often asking me for humor assistance. It suggests a skit character: The Mischievous Cyrano. Always giving highly dubious amorous counsel.
SKIT IDEA OF THE DAY/STRETCHING OF MATERIAL OF THE DAY:
The Mischeivous Cyrano.
MOTTOS OF THE DAY:
"Go Mets!!" and "You Gado Believe!!"
SPORTS-ETHNIC OBSERVATION OF THE DAY:
Shawn Green: The Jew with the biggest ears since Franz Kafka.
VIDEO OF THE DAY: W/SUBTEXT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCVxQ_3Ejkg
Chad:: Hi youtube this is Chad and Steve we’re the co founders of the site…we have exciting news for you..we’ve been acquired by Google.
Read: We are fucking billionaires!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!!
Steve: Yeah, thanks to every one of you guys who have been contributing to youtube the community …we wouldn’t be anywhere close to where we are without the help of this community.
Read: We are fucking billionaires!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!! And we couldn’t have done it without you poor losers with way too much time on your hands who made us billionaires and didn’t get a penny for yourselves!! Of course we're trying to contain our animal glee behind this appearance of sincere gratitude and continued customer commitment, but c'mon. Who are we kidding??!?! We're freaking BILLIONAIRES!!!
Chad: We’re gonna stay committed to developing the best service for you—providing you know developing you know the most innovative service and tools and technologies so you can keep having fun on our site.
Read: Blah blah blah blah…DID WE MENTION WE ARE BILLIOANIRES!!! And you’re not. Woo-hoo!!!
Steve: The most compelling part of this is being able to really concentrate on features and functionality for the community…etc,,,we certainly have been listening to the problems that have been coming in…focusing on the customer service..as well as developing new contesnt. we’re definitely keen on organizing all our efforts and energies on building out the community and resolving these problems you guys have been having…
Read: The most compelling part of this is being able to really concentrate on our yachts in the Carribean and our caviar and our harem of Slavic and Russian courtesans and assorted other women who are WAY hotter than we have any right to be near...let alone be on top of...he he….Woo-hoo!!! And we owe it all to you wonderful losers out there!
Chad: This is great. Two kings have gotten together and we’re going to be able improve the service and to build even more innovative features for you.
Read: We’re kings!! Billionaire Kings!! And you ain’t even serfs!! Woo-hoo!!!!! Bring on the ladies!!
Extended giddy "I-can't-believe-I-just-won-the-lottery" laughter.
Chad: Two kings have gotten gotten together and we’re gonna have it our way.
Read: Yeah, we’re having it our way all right, suckers!!!!! Woo-hoo!!!
SPECTACLE OF THE DAY: (ACTUALLY OF LAST WEEK)
Thousands of cop cars and ambulances jammed all the way up 3rd Avenue in response to the small plane crashing into the building on E. 72nd St. I wonder how many people weren't attended to because the EMS vehicles that would have been allotted to them were stuck in the traffic jam resulting from this huge if quite understandable over-reaction. . A small plane crashed into an upper east side building killing the pilot, three residents and 82 other New Yorkers who had acute medical needs that were not attended to because the ambulances were otherwise disposed.
Actually, as I watched the coverage for a few moments and looked out my office window at the sea of traffic, I had three thoughts. 1) It's been a long time since I heard the talking heads on CNN and the network news evince that kind of barely suppressed ratings-happy glee. That solemn, hushed shadenfreude. 2) The whole thing felt like a great terrorist decoy. A way of distracting all resources and attentions while a huge attack happens at the other end of the city. 3) It was sad to see such an outpouring of concern and well-meaning effort--all in vain. Somehow reminiscent of all the doctors waiting outside in their scrubs at St. Vincents Hospital on September 11 and September 12, 2001.
The fact that it ended up being an accident caused by a Yankee pitcher after the Yankees "sad failure" of last week, just added to the surreality of the whole event.
RANDOM SINGLE SENTENCE PORTRAIT OF THE DAY:
She was dirty but she cleaned up nice.
IRAQ GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY:
Chevy's "This is Iraq. This is Our Truck" campaign hasn't started running there yet.
Tags:
None
© All rights reserved.
Posted on 10/16/2006
(
Permanent Link
)
Read
415 Times
Send to Friend
