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Lears , Schudson , and advertising

Lears , Schudson , and advertising. Reviewing Lears. Thesis: “In this essay, I shall argue that the crucial moral change was the beginning of shift from a Protestant ethos of salvation”(4). Reviewing Lears. Three main points: What is the therapeutic ethos 10-46 (great summary 44-45-46)

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Lears , Schudson , and advertising

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  1. Lears, Schudson, and advertising

  2. Reviewing Lears Thesis: “In this essay, I shall argue that the crucial moral change was the beginning of shift from a Protestant ethos of salvation”(4)

  3. Reviewing Lears Three main points: • What is the therapeutic ethos 10-46 (great summary 44-45-46) • What was advertising’s role in this “fundamental shift” ie/ how did ad-men take or co-opt this change in social needs and adapt it to a corporate model? (47-82) • A case study of ad-exec Bruce Barton as an example (82 +)

  4. Reviewing Lears Conclusion: • The roots of the modern consumer culture can be found in the change in social values between 1880 and 1930 best represented in advertisements and their change in structure, focus, social role, and social value during this same period (76-77)

  5. Schudson • Advertising as Capitalist Realism • What’s in a title:

  6. A story in 3 parts 1) Are Ads Real 1-19- no they only represent reality • How ads work (1-10) • What is socialist realism (11-15) • What is real anyways (15-19) 2) Ads as state art 20-31 As the official voice of capitalism 3) What ads are NOT- 32- • Manipulative (30-32) • Religion (33-35) • Truth (36-45)

  7. Part 1 1) Are Ads Real 1-19- no they only represent reality

  8. Lears and SchUDSON • For Lears: (the shift in print ads) • the therapeutic ethos removed the referential • the image replaced the words • The use value was replaced by the symbolic value • For Schudson: (the shift in TV ads) • Ads are no longer specific • Ie/ to the consumer: Ads connect consumer not only to the item for sale BUT to a community (ads reflect all and none at the same time) • Ie/ to time and space: places, events, people.

  9. C.R compared to S.R Socialist Realism refers to art produced in USSR that was: • State sanctioned • State governed • Goal is to represent “real life” • Goal is to educate mass population • Therefore must meet certain aesthetic and moral demands • Ie. The 5 “art should”s (15)

  10. What is reality anyways • It’s a social and cultural construct • The point is not to represent “real” as it is lived, but instead “real” as it is desired • “Ads do not represent reality nor does it build a fully fictional world. It exists instead on its own plane of reality…called capitalist realism” (10) • “the advertisement does not so much invent social values or ideals as its own as it borrows, usurps, or exploits what advertisers take to be prevailing social values” (25)

  11. Part 2- ads as state art? • It is NOT officially state art • In fact, there is nothing official about it • What then gives it “state-like” authority? • Consumer agreement • Government passivity • It does not represent the state as much as it represents the lifestyles associated with the state

  12. What makes Us and USSR different? • Some social context please…. • what’s a cold war? • So, as Schudson raises: are these not images that suggest one way of life is better?(21) Is this different? (23) • American art privileges the consumer vs. Soviet art privileges the producer • Their focus is on the tractor vs. US focus on home entertainment center • Maybe not government-run but certainly socially sanctioned & omnipresent

  13. The issue is NOT about same and different… • Both US and USSR use this form of art as realism for political gain • Its about ideology • representation • hegemony

  14. Hegemony revisited • Lears on Hegemony • Social consensus (7) • what is normal gets represented/ what is not get outsider status • Not static, constantly changing (8) • Schudson on Hegemony • Ads reproduce and even exagerrate longstanding questions of ineqaulity (23) • Represents “rare moments” as normal instead of “capturing truth” (25) • ie/ couples in magazines (24)

  15. Part 3- what ads are & what ads arent • Ads are art- but not “real art” (29) • b/c they are too commercially successful • Ads are influential but not manipulative (32) • Remind us of inadequacies we have already felt • Ads foster belief but are not religious (34) • The represent the profane not the sacred • Ads make truth statements but are not truth (38) • It is precisely because people don’t take them seriously that they are effective … then what is it?

  16. Ads are art • They are art • Like state art or church art (45) • Art with an ideological function • “It brings some expressions and images quickly to mind and makes others relatively unavailable” (47) • “It flattens, rather than deepens experience” (48)

  17. Ideology – • Ideology- its obvious! • Works on two levels: obvious and hidden • Works best when invisible/obvious/common sense • Ideology and 5 levels for learning (43) • Ie/ walking home at night • Ie/ young people in a store • ie./ post 9-11 Islam • Ie/ students as lazy • For ads- the stages are not sequential • Truth is not necc.

  18. The conclusion • Schudson Asks the big questions • What is advertising? AND How do ads work? • He suggests that: • ads in capitalist society take on the role of state art (19) • As propaganda- but not truth • As a reflection- but not a mirror image • As representation- but not reality • Ads are capitalism’s way of saying I love you to itself (53) • BUT THAT DOESN’T STOP THEM FROM HAVING REAL CONSEQUENCES

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