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Bloomberg News, Hispanic,
12-98
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Advertising, as
many people say, is all about money. In this unit we will use the
critical analysis provided by Berger in Ways of Seeing to look
at the role ads play in capitalism. Both Berger and William Myers
in "The 'Hidden Persuaders' Get Down to Business" argue
that as cultural forms, ads taken together define a certain way of
looking at ourselves and society. |
PEA Assignment 1: Analyze the quotes below, then write a paraphrase
of them. Discuss what sorts of ads and advertising practices might
illustrate their points. Do you agree with their point of view? Why or
why not?
**Remember that by 'publicity' Berger means advertising.
| Publicity is the culture of the consumer society.
It propagates through images that society's belief in itself.
(Berger 139) |
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| ...Ad Alley's wizards have firmly established themselves
as the creators and controllers of our consumer culture. (Meyers
4) |
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When we consider
the roles that ads play in capitalism we need to bring in the concept
of a society's ideology. That
concept provides a convenient intellectual context for the analysis of
ads. We believe we live in a free, democratic country with lots of choices
to make us happy.
Ads are tied to our conception of freedom: consumer
choice and the producer's opportunity to benefit from entrepreneurial
skill. But for Berger, the choice of which brand of shoes or car to buy
is a sham democracy, a substitute for the real thing. But it's such an
effective substitute, it even makes us feel free!
| Publicity turns consumption into a substitute for democracy. The
choice of what one eats (or wears or drives) takes the place of
significant political choice. Publicity helps to mask and compensate
for all that is undemocratic within society. And it also masks what
is happening in the rest of the world. (Berger 149) |
Barely There, Vogue, 6-99
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This woman's underwear makes her
happy. Click on the image to read the revolutionary claims
made by the ad's copy. |
On a more serious note, some ads subtly
appeal to members of oppressed groups by appropriating issues they are
concerned with.
PEA Assignment 2:
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Click on the picture at the
left to see ad samples and discussion questions. |
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Compare the two pictures below.
The one on the left is of Rebecca, a real woman
living in Newark in 1994. The right one is of Nicole Kidman represented
as a wealthy woman in the tradition of portraits by John Sargent.
Study Berger's argument about the contrast
between the Badedas ad and the news story about Bangla Desh in
Ways of Seeing, pages 151-53.
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Berger says: "The contrast between publicity's
interpretation of the world and the world's actual condition is
a very stark one. . ." (151)
- Does the picture on the left reveal a "stark" reality,
a world very different from that suggested by the glitter of
advertisements?
- Would you agree that the world of Rebecca is one that ads
make invisible?
- Does the contrast between the two illustrate Berger's perspective
that ads are an ideological cover for what is really true?
- What do you think Berger is trying to show about the nature
of advertising and our society with his argument?
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Click the book cover to read
a review of Ways of Seeing in which discusses Berger's argument
that advertising and oil paintings "speak in the same voice about
the same things." (135) |
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PEA Assignment 3: Study Berger's analogy
between oils and ads in Ways of Seeing, pages 134-142. In light
of Berger's argument, the comparison below should be illustrative.
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Click the picture on the left to see larger
images and answer some questions.
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russellk@cortland.edu
snycorva.cortland.edu/~russellk
Created by Kathryn Russell
SUNY Cortland - Philosophy
Last modified on 1-14-00 |
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