Advertising and the False Comfort of Cynicism

[forsyth]

In the modern world, there's no escaping advertising. Something like half the email in the world is spam. Webpages have pop over, under, around, and through ads. TV shows are at least a quarter ads. There's ads on buses, taxis, signs, buildings, supermarket floors, even over the urinals in men's rooms, or inside toilet stalls. You can't even PEE without somebody trying to sell you something. And besides the sheer annoyance of somebody always trying to sell you something, the thing that bugs me the most about this is what it does to people. When somebody's always trying to sell you something, you always have to wonder what somebody's trying to sell you. Even things that otherwise look awesome, you have to wonder who sponsored it, or if it was somebody really doing it. Here I'm thinking of those videos of "spontaneous" dancing, since flash mobs got hijacked. Or that Guitar Hero ad they made with the kid and the bike, and cheated it with CGI.

It's really hard NOT to get cynical when it's justified to constantly be suspicious of what anybody tells you. And that pisses me off. Cynicism is a false comfort. "Oh, if you don't expect anything better, you're not disappointed." Great, thanks. When did avoiding disappointment become a justification for enabling a half-assed civilization? The disappointment you "avoid" with cynicism and not expecting things to be better is a real slight comfort compared to the fact you weren't surprised because things SUCK. Way to go there. You keep your smug comfort. Me, I'm choosing the naive idealism that both we and the world can be better than now. Fuck your dystopias. We're gonna build a Star Trek future while you're busy letting the world live down to your expectations.

Comments

[forsythferret.livejournal.com]

Sorry it took so long, don't know what happened to the first one. The second one I screwed up. Glad it go there finally!

[leticia.livejournal.com]

I'm working on my time machine, but I think you should count me out! ('S okay. I would have wanted to come, but couldn't have made it. Not even money necessarily, but because I need all my limited vacation time for my wedding. ^^;)

[leticia.livejournal.com]

BTW, give me your address for the mailing of mine to you? =P Which I will hopefully be getting out soon!

[forsythferret.livejournal.com]

Did that have the Magnolia return address on it, or the Highway 80 one? 'Cause the Magnolia one's ours.

And I doubt I'll be able to make it to yours, either, mostly because of money, but limited vacation kicks in too, especially since there's three other weddings this summer we need to see if we can get to, including my sister's.

[leticia.livejournal.com]

Man, just one of those years, isn't it? Something in the water?

[leticia.livejournal.com]

Also, I'll check the envelope here in a bit and harass you more if I need a different one.