Want
On a recent trip to Whole Foods, where Baba and I ate lunch, I was compelled to buy an issue of Adbusters magazine. The cover really caught my attention:
And Baba gnawing on some raw broccoli:
The "freedom from want" really struck me. Of course, now I want to read the previous issue, which had a very controversial essay about hipsters and hipsterism.
The magazine reminded me again how surrounded we are by ads and brands. So, like the list I made of roadside debris, I made a list of all the advertisements and brand names visible in my car, in no particular order:
- Kia
- 365 brand (bottled water)
- California Scents (air freshener)
- DMC (planner)
- CVS (shopping bag)
- Sony (car radio)
- Banana Sport (sunscreen)
- Whole foods (paper bag)
- Bic (pen, which I used to write the list)
- Sanyo/Sprint (cell phone)
- Personal Care (generic hand sanitizer)
- Rubbermaid (plastic container)
- Graco (car seat base)
- PAGE (lanyard)
Those were just in my field of vision in the front seat. Yick.
2 comments:
Comforting isn't it? I've been watching ads trying to see what they're really saying...like if you drink this beer then you will be a magnet for super-model like chicks....unfortunately, that's the industry I'm in...but I try not to make my ads like that.
I feel very free from want by reducing my exposure to advertising. Advertising totally works, to fleece us of our hard earned cash for the sake of some corporation. Unlike Ari, I am not trying to decipher the ads. I've learned that even television programming is selected to target an audience simply to get that audience to buy things advertised during the program, which is one of the reasons even our favorite programs can end up canceled. The point is not entertainment - the point is consumption. I am, of course, still a consumer, but I feel so much better over the past couple of years when I have consciously attempted to ignore or take the influence out of my life. It's not healthy, which is why I agree with all the folks saying that young kids shouldn't watch TV.
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