Thesis suggestion for next semester

I find recently that I have been fascinated with commercials that try to sell us more than just a product. There are commercials that sell us the American life. What I mean by this is that many commercials show us a product juxtaposed against a depiction of happy Americans living an idealized life style. We, the viewers, are not just supposed to want the product, we want to live and interact the same life as the actors on the screen. I think many commercials attempt to say that if we buy this product, our lives will begin to reflect this idealized world. What happens in reality is that people focuses on the idealization regardless of the product. So many commercials depict the same kind of idealizations, that it seems off that so many artists attempt to create the same kind of idealized perception of perfect American life. I will take this though another step farther, and suggest that these advertisements are similar by more than coincidence. I suggest that these idealizations are orchestrated by individuals and corporations who wish to enforce the concept that these.

I have to introduce the concept of commercial genre. As I said, advertisements often create worlds in which their products exist. I have noticed that these worlds develop and evolve based on the number or target audiences exist. The house wife, the rebellious teenager, the man of the house, these are all different worlds that commercials attempt to create for us. The strange fact is that nearly all these worlds are depictions of middle class nuclear families. There are exceptions, but many commercials attempt to present this specific idealization of our world. I want to mention that not all commercials use this world to sell products. Many advertisements use fictional cultural references and humor independent of cliché family life to sell things. The problem is that these feel scarce and overwhelmed by the vast collection of adds that use the nuclear family theme. That is why I will be focusing on them.

Description of composition.

The composition will consist of several monitors mounted on a wall. Each monitor will present clips from a specific type of commercial.  My preferable minimum four, but I will include more if I can think of other fictional worlds of consumer idealization. Individually, each monitor will represent one aspect of this world. Many of the channels will show the nuclear family. Some may stray outside this fairly wide confine, but my focus will be this almost universal target. As a group, they will represent a bombarding advertising. A collective of media that forms a world of idealized American life. Over this ideal universe, I will project another video.  This video will not show commercial clip. It will present images of corporate logo’s of companies who are known for owning large amounts of money and media outlets. Preferably clips of the CEO’s of these companies will also be present in the video. This final channel will be projected on top of all the other monitors. It will be an ever present force that overshadows the other monitors, but can not be seen easily.

Description of the individual channels

This is a description of the individual channels and the sensation they give me, or the world they attempt to create. I’m summarizing everything I have seen, and describing the elements these commercials have in common within the individual genres described below.

Adult Women Channel:

This channel shows the mother figure in the nuclear family. She is pretty in a homely way, always managing to combine the modern perception of beauty and funnel it into a homemaker. In these commercials, she is often seen cleaning the house with whatever new appliance the commercial is trying to sell. This format also exploits the mother looking after her children. Oddly enough, she never seems annoyed that she has to work in these clips. She is only annoyed that her miracle product has not  arrived to make her work easier. These commercials are often accompanied with bright colors that illustrate a happy almost care free depiction of being a home maker. This is her depicted world: cleaning with a smile as white as the kitchen tiles, earning time for a free afternoon after acquiring a new wonder cleaning product. Her car commercials are based on whether there is enough room to cram all her children and their friends. She is the soccer mom. And she loves every adorable moment of it. This interpretation seems a little sad, but it feels like an accurate interpretation of what the world of commercials likes to portray.

Daughter Channel:

These commercials seem to be training little girls to fill the role of a dossal princess for now, while simultaneously preparing them to become homely housewife mothers. Some commercials aimed at this demographic tell girls that they are meant to be saved by a handsome prince, wear impractical dresses, and love the color pink. They are not just taught that they must keep themselves clean, but that they are supposed to prefer to keep clean. They are told that they must not be rebellious, and not stand up for any courses they believe in. One could argue that these commercials are simply the latest rendition of fairy tales were similar lessons are enforced. Sleeping Beauty is a classic tale of a girl who literally did nothing for one hundred years waiting for a prince to save her. Modern commercials tell a similar story. Be the princess, be saved, and swoon at the prince. Even when a commercial depicts a proactive young women playing sports, the image feels watered down. There is almost a sick undercurrent or subtext that tells us to not take this image to seriously. Sure, this child is playing at being a hero now, but that will wear off and she will go back to exploring girly pass times.  As one internet reviewer pointed out in a video review of a movie that showcased this mentality: Media aimed at this demographic tends to not involve conflict. The characters go through a bad time, but everything just works out. On the preparatory side of this demographic, the girls are also being trained to become mothers. Many toys for girls are dolls that the child has to care for almost as if she were responsible for a child. There are even dolls that are designed to urinate and defecate that come with plastic toilets. These toys appear to be telling young girls that this kind of child rearing activity is desirable and expected.

Son Channel:

The young man is often showed with toys that reflect his need for excitement and adventure. In this way, this demographic is almost liberated. Sometimes this group is shown struggling through middle or high school, but he learns that after a time every negative aspect of his life will turn out fine. He is shown getting dirty outdoors, playing sports, playing with toy cars, playing video games. He is told that hi is a simple creature. He likes swords and guns and shoulders and monsters. Boys are told that they are simple creature.

Adult Male Channel:

For some reason, men are not shown as fathers as often as women are shown as mother. This maybe because the commercials are trying to appeal to the stereotype that men feel excitement for a free lifestyle. Even in a commercial for a safety razor, the man is depicted with a beautiful wife, but not always surrounded by his children. The adult male is often depicted leading a glorified dangerous life. His car commercials are filmed almost like car chase scenes. His idealized world is full of danger and sex. He is the James Bond of his imagination. Adult male commercials also have a humorous side.  This branch is probably supposed to appeal to the college fraternity trouble maker mentality. There is not as much to say because men also have the stereotype that they are not supposed to over think about their actions due to their more primal nature.

After thoughts of nuclear family channels.

These commercials show us an idealized life where everyone has their well defined role that they are suggested not to stray from. Boys are told to be a little rebellious in youth, adult men are sold on the fact that they should be good looking and will live for a little danger. Adult women are told that they love staying at home to clean and rear children. Young girls are attacked the most shamelessly. Like the young boys, they can not fully comprehend how that are being manipulated, but boys are given a massage that is almost empowering. These demographics are given their place. In reality, I think we reflect this mentality to an extent. The question is can we break away from this dated idealization.

Overlay channel:

This final channel solidifies the others in place and connects the entire piece. The video consists of several corporate logos that represent the companies who own the mainstream media. I will also write phrases like: “know your place”, or “know the place we allow you to live.” The text will only be present if I feel that the massage is not clear enough. This channel will be projected onto the wall in such a way as to cover all the monitors. This channel’s coverage will represent its wide range of control over the media of America. This coverage will also represent the corporations influence over what we, the people, are supposed to act and think. The projector’s image will be defused and faded because of the relative brightness of the other monitors. This fading will represent the almost invisible hand that guides the idealized lifestyle of the people.

Plato’s cave analogy.

Plato’s Cave is a reference to one of Plato’s writings in which he compares people in a society to a group of people in a cave who think life is nothing more than staring at a wall looking at their our reflections. This is a very brief description. Plato then describes what happens to a person in this society who has the courage to turn around and discover that: there is an opening to the cave, source of their light, and a whole world to explore outside. After this hypothetical man tries to describe his discovery to the rest of the society, they shun him and suggest that he is insane. They may even feel a need to euthanize him for the safety of others.

The projector in my piece will be placed low to the ground. Any person who attempts to stand in front of the piece will block the projector. The symbolism behind this that the piece can only be fully comprehended when the viewer takes a step back to see the entire picture. In order to see the entire world, they need to step away from the one channel they have been focusing on, and see the full network of manipulation that so many people miss.