There's nothing more frustrating than having to sit through another advertising ploy while watching a channel entitled Music Television. MTV will never be a channel I depend on to find out about excellent music out there. They try to trick us young people again and again by making this wierd anti-advertising advertising, if that makes sense. The teens of the 90s could no longer be fooled by the athlete just standing in his locker room telling everyone to drink a Sprite. How relatable is that? Nowadays you will ads geared toward kids that have an alternative style. They may feel outside or alone. Since so many teens go through this during this time in their life, it feels great to have someone other than themselves understand, or appear to understand, rather. This gets kids to buy the clothes and listen to the music associated with "the outsiders" or the "misfits" and believe that they are individuals when in all reality they are falling into the same trap everyone else is falling into. WHy do you think our televisions run so many ads? WHo are these ads geared towards? The young children, the young teens. There are not that much ads that run to try and get older folk to buy something, it exists, but there is not such a battle over their minds, they already like what they like, its hard to convince their aged wisdom. As for us young people, we want so much to be a part of something, and buying into these images and labels give us a false sense of independence, psuedo-independence, if you will. All the reality shows, all the clothing stores with american eagle, hollister, amber-crotchy and fish showcasing this image laced with all sorts of prejudice, exclusion, and offensive view points. These things are a distraction. A distraction from what? From what is really going on in the world. The fact that many kids that are 16 and 17 do not know the war in Iraq continues or that Sarah Palin is running for Vice President, or that the Bailout plan is a mistake and America's economy is set up for implosion should call for the applausal of NewsCorp and The Walt Disney COmpany, AOL Time-Warner etc. because they have their stuff on lock. They know what they are doing, they know how to sell to you so that you won't have that chance to save your country from downfall, to expose the corruption that has plagued this country for years and future years if our generation continues to be distracted. The fear of protesting has been instilled in us upon learning of the powerful 60s generation. CIA killed and dismantled many antiestablishment groups that challenged the government because they were tired of being controlled and being treated as mindless people. Don't worry, no need to be fearful, the government fears us too. If we step out and fight for our rights, then the government would have to give us what we need to function in this country, how can they take us all when we come together? Just asking.
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I don't know. I guess the real problem is that it is very hard to move the majority. There are enough people who think they have it great and don't really have time to fight for anything better because they're too busy making money to improve their lives. You would have to come up with something that can motivate the masses. Rights won't always do it because there are lots of people who fear additional power given to the people and enough out there who just don't care about anything outside their own little lives.
Great article. However, there are too many who chose to stay igorance of reality. They rather live their life by taking order from the television. But still, change have alway come from the few as history have shown. Keep up the great work.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin