Friday, April 29, 2011
Family Activity: Making Up Questions for the Final Exam
It is time to start the process of making up questions for the final exam, as you did for the midterm. I am not going to include all the detail I did in describing the types of questions I want you to come up with, since you've been through this before and you've taken the midterm exam, so you should know the kinds of questions I am looking for. The latter half of the course began with my final comments on "Affluenza," beginning specifically with Chapter 26. Anything covered in class or posted on the blog, such as my follow-up comments on "Advertising and the End of the World," will be fair game. I will give you some class time over the next couple weeks to confer about this with your family members. As you did before, I want each family to come up with SIX short-answer questions and answers, and submit those to me in writing or via email (NOT ON THIS BLOG) NO LATER THAN NOON FRIDAY, MAY 13TH. I will then consider them and select at least three questions from each family. For each additional question I accept, that family will earn a bonus point and have the added advantage of knowing more of the exam. I will then post the questions and answers I accept on this blog NO LATER THAN MONDAY, MAY 16, BY 4PM, so you will have them in plenty of time to study for the exam. This activity is worth 5 points to all PARTICPATING family members, with the possibility of earning 3 additional bonus points.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Comments on "Advertising and the End of the World" & Family Activity on "Consuming Kids"
"Advertising and the End of the World" with Sut Jhally
I. Advertising and Culture
A. Clearly, advertising is a key aspect of our culture, given how it has infiltrated almost all aspects of our lives, especially our media systems. Advertising tells stories about our hopes, dreams, aspirations -- our way of life.
B. Anthropologist from Mars would conclude from studying advertising that ours is a culture dominated by a belief in MAGIC: things or goods have immense powers. (parenthetically, this Martian anthropologist might also conclude that we have sex on the brain, given the pervasiveness of sex to sell stuff.)
II. Capitalism has remade the world
A. No economic system has ever been so productive as industrial capitalism, churning out an immense number of products. The problem of capitalism is not really production, or even distribution, but CONSUMPTION -- how to sell all the stuff produced. Hence, we've created a whole industry devoted to the business of consumption -- ADVERTISING, which is a $175 billion/yr. industry (as of 1997) and represents the greatest propaganda effort in human history.
III. Wrong and Right Question
A. The WRONG question is: does an ad help sell a product? (Of course, this question is the "right" from the market standpoint, but we're interested in advertising's impact on the broader culture.) So, the RIGHT question is: what impact does advertising have on culture? And we can get at this by addressing how advertising answers some basic questions.
IV. Three basic questions
1. HOW DO WE BECOME HAPPY? Every culture has a story of happiness. Advertising's answer is that commodities make us happy, economic growth. Also has to do with the FREEDOM of choice (which is why the former Soviet Union was so dismal).
a.) Is it true? According to so-called happiness surveys going back to 1945, apparently not. Have a lot more stuff today, but we are not any happier (subjectively).
b.) Most people place so-called SOCIAL VALUES (love, friendship, family) above material ones as the basic elements of the "good life." Recognizing this, advertisers try to market products as if they will help us attain those social values, which is really a "CRUEL ILLUSION."
2. WHAT IS SOCIETY?
a.) Advertising addresses us as INDIVIDUALS, seeking to satify our wants and desires. Consistent with Margaret Thatcher's statement -- no such thing as society; society is just a bunch of individuals acting on their own. (Which, I would stress, is contrary to the view of society I developed earlier in this course.)
b.) By its nature it encourages greed, selfishness, and not a concern for broader social issues: issues such as poverty, environmental pollution, etc. are pushed to the margins.
3. FUTURE?
a.) Advertising is all about the PRESENT, just as business in general is very short-term oriented. The problem is we are facing resource and environmental issues that are by their very nature LONG-TERM. Can't address these issues individually; they are a matter of collective social responsibility. Going to require long-term planning, sacrifice, and leadership, NOT immediate, short-term, self-interested approaches which is what advertising is all about.
V. What to do?
A. Mr. Jhally cited a statement of an Italian thinker, Antonio Gramsci, who said we need to have a "pessimism of intellect and optimism of will." That is, be realistic and critical about the current situation, yet optimistic and hopeful in acting to change the situation.
REMEMBER TO COPY OR PRINT THE ABOVE COMMENTS. I MAY ASK A QUESTION OR TWO ABOUT THESE POINTS ON THE FINAL EXAM.
_____________________________________
FAMILY ACTIVITY ON "CONSUMING KIDS," THE VIDEO
Next week Tuesday (4/12) we'll be seeing the video program, "Consuming Kids," based on the book we are currently reading. After seeing this program, I want the two families to discuss it in the context of the following passage from the book (which we'll begin to talk about next Thursday). Susan Linn observes: "In the long run, our children's immersion in this commercial culture has implications that go far beyond what they buy or don't buy. Marketing is designed to influence more than food preferences and choice of clothing. It aims to affect core values such as lifestyle choices: how we define happiness and how we measure our self-worth. Meanwhile, the very traits that today's marketing encourages -- materialism, impulsivity, entitlement, and unexamined brand loyalty -- are antithetical to those qualities necessary in a healthy democratic citizenry. Instead of being a mainstay of American life, intensive advertising to children may be eroding its foundations." (p. 8)
I would add to this, that you should not only consider how marketing may undermine the creation of a democratic citizenry but also, more broadly, may be undermining the health and well-being of individuals as well as the larger society. So, in that broad context, I want each family to identify any THREE points from the video that support that broad argument. I also want each family to come up with ONE critical point; that is, one point which you believe the video may have overlooked or downplayed which would represent a challenge to Ms. Linn's point above.
I will give the families time in class to confer about this after the video on Tuesday and then on Thursday. A representative from each family will be called upon to present your family's findings to the rest of the class on Tuesday (4/19), and someone from each family (not necessarily the same person who presents the findings in class) will post your family's findings as a comment on this blog post. I may use this as a basis for a question or two on the final exam.
This exercise is worth 5 activity points, and you must participate to earn those points.
I. Advertising and Culture
A. Clearly, advertising is a key aspect of our culture, given how it has infiltrated almost all aspects of our lives, especially our media systems. Advertising tells stories about our hopes, dreams, aspirations -- our way of life.
B. Anthropologist from Mars would conclude from studying advertising that ours is a culture dominated by a belief in MAGIC: things or goods have immense powers. (parenthetically, this Martian anthropologist might also conclude that we have sex on the brain, given the pervasiveness of sex to sell stuff.)
II. Capitalism has remade the world
A. No economic system has ever been so productive as industrial capitalism, churning out an immense number of products. The problem of capitalism is not really production, or even distribution, but CONSUMPTION -- how to sell all the stuff produced. Hence, we've created a whole industry devoted to the business of consumption -- ADVERTISING, which is a $175 billion/yr. industry (as of 1997) and represents the greatest propaganda effort in human history.
III. Wrong and Right Question
A. The WRONG question is: does an ad help sell a product? (Of course, this question is the "right" from the market standpoint, but we're interested in advertising's impact on the broader culture.) So, the RIGHT question is: what impact does advertising have on culture? And we can get at this by addressing how advertising answers some basic questions.
IV. Three basic questions
1. HOW DO WE BECOME HAPPY? Every culture has a story of happiness. Advertising's answer is that commodities make us happy, economic growth. Also has to do with the FREEDOM of choice (which is why the former Soviet Union was so dismal).
a.) Is it true? According to so-called happiness surveys going back to 1945, apparently not. Have a lot more stuff today, but we are not any happier (subjectively).
b.) Most people place so-called SOCIAL VALUES (love, friendship, family) above material ones as the basic elements of the "good life." Recognizing this, advertisers try to market products as if they will help us attain those social values, which is really a "CRUEL ILLUSION."
2. WHAT IS SOCIETY?
a.) Advertising addresses us as INDIVIDUALS, seeking to satify our wants and desires. Consistent with Margaret Thatcher's statement -- no such thing as society; society is just a bunch of individuals acting on their own. (Which, I would stress, is contrary to the view of society I developed earlier in this course.)
b.) By its nature it encourages greed, selfishness, and not a concern for broader social issues: issues such as poverty, environmental pollution, etc. are pushed to the margins.
3. FUTURE?
a.) Advertising is all about the PRESENT, just as business in general is very short-term oriented. The problem is we are facing resource and environmental issues that are by their very nature LONG-TERM. Can't address these issues individually; they are a matter of collective social responsibility. Going to require long-term planning, sacrifice, and leadership, NOT immediate, short-term, self-interested approaches which is what advertising is all about.
V. What to do?
A. Mr. Jhally cited a statement of an Italian thinker, Antonio Gramsci, who said we need to have a "pessimism of intellect and optimism of will." That is, be realistic and critical about the current situation, yet optimistic and hopeful in acting to change the situation.
REMEMBER TO COPY OR PRINT THE ABOVE COMMENTS. I MAY ASK A QUESTION OR TWO ABOUT THESE POINTS ON THE FINAL EXAM.
_____________________________________
FAMILY ACTIVITY ON "CONSUMING KIDS," THE VIDEO
Next week Tuesday (4/12) we'll be seeing the video program, "Consuming Kids," based on the book we are currently reading. After seeing this program, I want the two families to discuss it in the context of the following passage from the book (which we'll begin to talk about next Thursday). Susan Linn observes: "In the long run, our children's immersion in this commercial culture has implications that go far beyond what they buy or don't buy. Marketing is designed to influence more than food preferences and choice of clothing. It aims to affect core values such as lifestyle choices: how we define happiness and how we measure our self-worth. Meanwhile, the very traits that today's marketing encourages -- materialism, impulsivity, entitlement, and unexamined brand loyalty -- are antithetical to those qualities necessary in a healthy democratic citizenry. Instead of being a mainstay of American life, intensive advertising to children may be eroding its foundations." (p. 8)
I would add to this, that you should not only consider how marketing may undermine the creation of a democratic citizenry but also, more broadly, may be undermining the health and well-being of individuals as well as the larger society. So, in that broad context, I want each family to identify any THREE points from the video that support that broad argument. I also want each family to come up with ONE critical point; that is, one point which you believe the video may have overlooked or downplayed which would represent a challenge to Ms. Linn's point above.
I will give the families time in class to confer about this after the video on Tuesday and then on Thursday. A representative from each family will be called upon to present your family's findings to the rest of the class on Tuesday (4/19), and someone from each family (not necessarily the same person who presents the findings in class) will post your family's findings as a comment on this blog post. I may use this as a basis for a question or two on the final exam.
This exercise is worth 5 activity points, and you must participate to earn those points.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Affluenza Wrap-up & Reminders
Since I did not manage to finish my commentary on "Affluenza" yesterday in class, I will do so now.
Chapter 28: Political prescriptions
A. Michael Jacobsen opens with a simple, but profound, truth -- "Our country is set up structurally to oppose voluntary simplicity." (p. 221) The authors then warn the reader this is going to be a longer chapter, and they acknowledge something that I have stressed all along -- social ills such as affluenza won't be cured by personal action alone.
B. So, let's touch on some of these larger actions they see as necessary to really come to grips with this epidemic.
1. A very important step would be to allow workers to take back some of the TIME they've earned due to increased productivity.
a.) See top p. 224. Juliet Schor describes what has happened since World War II. They go on to discuss some interesting proposals, all of which would necessitate government intervention (as govt. intervened in 1938 and established the 40hr workweek).
b.) It is amazing how far behind the rest of the world we are, and not just other rich countries. See bottom p. 226 "Americans can do better...."
c.) Work-sharing during recessions, and other times, makes sense.
2. One of the big public policy changes that would greatly facilitate these other changes would be adopting a single-payer, universal health care system. See middle paragraph, p. 228.
3. Also, they float some interesting tax proposals.
C. They admit upfront that given all this stress on cutting back, spending less, etc. may cause the economy to collapse. Perhaps, and I would say if it does, then good riddance -- let's build something new based on other principles.
1. Other countries have made peace with slower or no growth -- I like what a former Dutch prime minister said. See bottom, p. 232-233.
Chapter 29: Annual check-ups
A. Back to the medical analogy, just as we could use annual check-ups, so too the community. And of course to do that we have to develop instruments to measure the community's health.
1. Fever Index interesting.
2. Asking ourselves basic questions, as if we only had another year to live -- are you really doing what is important?
3. Community check-up illustrated by Seattle which came up with 40 sustainability indicators. p. 238.
B. National check-up provided by some more realistic measures of health and wealth, rather than the GDP. They make a very good point about all the negative things the GDP counts as positives. See bottom paragraph, p. 240. GPI (or Genuine Progress Indicator) factors out the negative and measures things that should really count.
Chapter 30: Healthy again
A. In this concluding chapter, the authors underscore our need to acknowledge how sick we are.
B. We need to "Dream a New Dream" -- not a dream of more and more, endless economic growth, etc., but a dream of restoring QUALITY to our lives. Really a dream of SIMPLICITY. The authors then quote Betsy Taylor of the Center for a New American Dream. See middle paragraph p. 245.
1. Finally, I like what they have to say in "Moving at the Speed of Quality" --
"In a way, quality is to affluenza what garlic is to vampires. Durability, appropriate materials, and good design eliminate the need for mountains of stuff, without reducing overall value. It's a different kind of math, which asks not how MUCH, but rather how WELL." p. 246.
______________________________
That's it for "Affluenza." We'll be moving on to "Consuming Kids" next week. Read thru Chapter 3 (up to p. 60) for next week.
REMINDERS:
1. I will finish going over the midterm exam tomorrow (Thurs. 4/7).
2. ALL OF YOU NEED TO INDICATE WHAT YOUR TOPIC WILL BE FOR YOUR PAPER. THE DEADLINE IS TOMORROW.
3. We will be seeing another video tomorrow as well, "Advertising and the End of the World," which I plan to post some comments about on this blog following our viewing of this video.
4. Next Tuesday (4/12) I will show another video, "Consuming Kids," and in connection with that one, I will have a family activity posted on this blog by Friday (4/8), so check it out.
Chapter 28: Political prescriptions
A. Michael Jacobsen opens with a simple, but profound, truth -- "Our country is set up structurally to oppose voluntary simplicity." (p. 221) The authors then warn the reader this is going to be a longer chapter, and they acknowledge something that I have stressed all along -- social ills such as affluenza won't be cured by personal action alone.
B. So, let's touch on some of these larger actions they see as necessary to really come to grips with this epidemic.
1. A very important step would be to allow workers to take back some of the TIME they've earned due to increased productivity.
a.) See top p. 224. Juliet Schor describes what has happened since World War II. They go on to discuss some interesting proposals, all of which would necessitate government intervention (as govt. intervened in 1938 and established the 40hr workweek).
b.) It is amazing how far behind the rest of the world we are, and not just other rich countries. See bottom p. 226 "Americans can do better...."
c.) Work-sharing during recessions, and other times, makes sense.
2. One of the big public policy changes that would greatly facilitate these other changes would be adopting a single-payer, universal health care system. See middle paragraph, p. 228.
3. Also, they float some interesting tax proposals.
C. They admit upfront that given all this stress on cutting back, spending less, etc. may cause the economy to collapse. Perhaps, and I would say if it does, then good riddance -- let's build something new based on other principles.
1. Other countries have made peace with slower or no growth -- I like what a former Dutch prime minister said. See bottom, p. 232-233.
Chapter 29: Annual check-ups
A. Back to the medical analogy, just as we could use annual check-ups, so too the community. And of course to do that we have to develop instruments to measure the community's health.
1. Fever Index interesting.
2. Asking ourselves basic questions, as if we only had another year to live -- are you really doing what is important?
3. Community check-up illustrated by Seattle which came up with 40 sustainability indicators. p. 238.
B. National check-up provided by some more realistic measures of health and wealth, rather than the GDP. They make a very good point about all the negative things the GDP counts as positives. See bottom paragraph, p. 240. GPI (or Genuine Progress Indicator) factors out the negative and measures things that should really count.
Chapter 30: Healthy again
A. In this concluding chapter, the authors underscore our need to acknowledge how sick we are.
B. We need to "Dream a New Dream" -- not a dream of more and more, endless economic growth, etc., but a dream of restoring QUALITY to our lives. Really a dream of SIMPLICITY. The authors then quote Betsy Taylor of the Center for a New American Dream. See middle paragraph p. 245.
1. Finally, I like what they have to say in "Moving at the Speed of Quality" --
"In a way, quality is to affluenza what garlic is to vampires. Durability, appropriate materials, and good design eliminate the need for mountains of stuff, without reducing overall value. It's a different kind of math, which asks not how MUCH, but rather how WELL." p. 246.
______________________________
That's it for "Affluenza." We'll be moving on to "Consuming Kids" next week. Read thru Chapter 3 (up to p. 60) for next week.
REMINDERS:
1. I will finish going over the midterm exam tomorrow (Thurs. 4/7).
2. ALL OF YOU NEED TO INDICATE WHAT YOUR TOPIC WILL BE FOR YOUR PAPER. THE DEADLINE IS TOMORROW.
3. We will be seeing another video tomorrow as well, "Advertising and the End of the World," which I plan to post some comments about on this blog following our viewing of this video.
4. Next Tuesday (4/12) I will show another video, "Consuming Kids," and in connection with that one, I will have a family activity posted on this blog by Friday (4/8), so check it out.
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