Have you ever been doing something and thought to yourself, "Hey, this sure is like [TeeVee show/movie/commercial]."
Do you ever find yourself talking like someone you've seen in the media? For instance, you're talking about sports and you use words like trample, vanquish, topped, et cetera? Do you ever notice the things you say to other people sounds a lot like what you heard on the news or in a program somewhere?
The reason I ask this, is because I've gotten two email now asking me to explain how the media influences us. The both pointed to my constant berating of the media. They're thoughts run along the lines of, "If I know they're trying to program me, doesn't that cancel it?"
Short answer: No.
Being a creature of the media, I am quite guilty of using movie quotes and advertising tag lines. I've written quite a few of them myself. I try to sprinkle some real literature in for good measure, and whenever possible, I plug really high-quality movies, but I rarely resort to TeeVee programs, unless it's Star Trek.
The point is, even though I am trained in media, am fully aware of how it is used and why it works, and am fully cognizant of the mind control that comes out of the TeeVee and movie screens, I'm still susceptible. I just got cable installed in my home office so i can watch the other-than-US news, though that's increasingly hard to find.
Last night, my wife and I were watching Ang Lee's Hulk, which I consider to be high art, and I noticed that my wife was gripping my arm and actually buying into the movie. She was sucked into the suspense and action. I laughed, which nearly scared the life out of her, because I haven't been able to watch a movie like that in decades. About the only thing that can actually get to me is Apollo 13. Makes me cry when I see the parachutes...every damn time.
Anyway, back to my point. The media use a tool that Madison Ave. figured out years ago, and which most media rats know about. It's something called 'template implanting.' What the media does is bury behavioral 'templates' deep in our minds. Even if you think you are blocking it, you're not. What happens is that when you are confronted by a situation, you will tend to react using one of the implanted templates.
When I was in grade school, I actually ran track...after a fashion. As part of my psych-up, I would envision the 6-million dollar man so that I could run at 60mph. The result was I ran just like Col. Steve Austin...in slow motion. The thing is, I was using media-implanted templates to guide my real-life actions.
Maybe you've used lines like, "Where's the beef," or "I'm lovin' it," or "Just do it!" You used those lines to imply something you learned from the media. A template was implanted in your sub-conscious, so that when you wanted to express a certain idea, the only way you could come with to express it was an ad tag line.
Watch movies really closely, and by that i mean turn off the sound. Focus on the pictures. How many brand-names can you identify in the average 10-minute reel time? How many are being touched or used by the stars?
Have you ever purchased a product because someone famous that you looked up to or admired promoted it? Why do you give someone you've never met any credibility at all? You really have no idea who they are or what their motivations are.
The upshot of all this is, your behavior, at least in groups of 100 or more, is completely predictable. Why? Because you've been imprinted with templates that control how you will react in just about any given situation. It's part of the supposed 'mind-reading' machines that security agencies are deploying. Your behavior can be predicted by your body language and the general context in which you find yourself. It's just a few algorithms to calculate your most likely future actions in any given situation, based on how you move and react.
The thing is, cave-dwelling 'terrorists' who never watch TeeVee or movies are less predictable than you are. So who do think all those surveillance toys are really intended for?
Is there any hope?
Yes. You can deprogram yourself. Be very careful what you allow to enter your eyeballs and eardrums. Surround yourself with art and fine music and good movies. Avoid violent content and seek things with high language, not the ghetto trash that passes for dialogue in most 'entertainment' now. When you're wondering what to do for entertainment, consider the museum or a live play, rather than recorded media. It's much easier to program 'templates' when someone can edit the visuals and audio for just the right effect.
I hear many people wondering how so many folks could willingly give up their rights and liberty just to get on a plane. It's because nearly everyone in the world now has a template implanted. The constant barrage of images of planes flying into buildings has implanted a sub-conscious fear of being one of the people on a plane like that. Even if you hate the TSA, you are willing to submit because the behavioral template in your mind tells you that if you don't, you will die when your plane crashes into a building. The actual chances of that happening are nearly zero, but fear is not rational.
Want another example? Why do you think of government employees as 'authorities'? They have no more clue about the world than you do, but you are more prone to believe someone you are told is an 'authority,' than any old person on the street. Obama is using a fake SS#, has a house that he has not paid taxes on, gave the people an obiviously fake birth certificate, has violated just about every clause of the US Constitution, and yet I still read where he's an authority, since he (let me finish laughing here) Constitutional law.
There are thousands of examples of behavioral templates. I guarantee if you think about it, you will catch yourself reacting with a template at least a couple of times a day. Hell, when you want to come off as romantic to your squeeze, what do you think of? Flowers? FTD. Cards? Hallmark. A drive in your hot wheels? Chevy. Candy? Hershey. You've been programmed.
Another good way to deprogram is try not to buy anything in a package with a logo. Buy fresh veggies and get meat at a proper butcher shop wrapped in white paper. Why? Because when you buy Ragu sauce and enjoy it, you are re-enforcing the programming by associating good experiences with a brand. If you can break that cycle, you can start defeating the templates.
One more thing. If there are extension classes near your house, think about taking a course or two in media and advertising, or film and art history. Learn where our cultural symbols come from. Learn about the thing that invades your mind 24-hours a day. Take the mystery out of it and learn how it works. There are some great books, too. Check out Marshall McLuhan. It might interest you to know that much of modern theory about advertising originated with Nazi propaganda and freaks like Sigmund Freud.
Know your enemy.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to leave your own view of The Far Side.