Study Task 1 - Context of Practice 2 -

TASK:

List the ten most important points raised in Adam Curtis’s documentary ‘Century of the Self’

Relate these points to a critical analysis of one image from the mass media which, in particular, focuses on the nature of consumerism, desire and the unconscious. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmUzwRCyTSo >>>>

Top 10 Points:

- The torches of freedom : Bern ays gave the suffragettes cigarettes amongst a protests which allowed him to promote cigarets to the female people.
- Propaganda
- Breaking the Taboo of Smoking
- Consumerism 
- Appealing to the masses
- Stopping Revolution 
- President (Re-vamp) 
- Public Relations
- Appealing to peoples wants, not needs, through selective mediums. 


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EXTRA INFO / CONTENT INFORMATION:

Ideas from New York Times: / Exact Narration for 'Century of the Self' - 

What Bernays had created was the idea that if a women smoked it made her more powerful and independent. An idea that still persists today. It made him realize that it was possible to persuade people to behave irrationally if you link products to their emotional desires and feelings. The idea that smoking actually made women freer, was completely irrational. But it made them feel more independent. It meant that irrelevant objects could become powerful emotional symbols of how you want to be seen by others.hat Bernays was doing fascinated Americas corporations. They had come out of the war rich and powerful, but they had a growing worry. The system of mass production had flourished during the war and now millions of goods were pouring off production lines. What they were frightened of was the danger of overproduction, that there would come a point when people had enough goods and would simply stop buying. Up until that point the majority of products were still sold to the masses on the basis of need. While the rich had long been used to luxury goods for the millions of working class Americans most products were still advertised as necessities. Goods like shoes stockings even cars were promoted in functional terms for their durability. The aim of the advertisements were simply to show people the products practical virtues, nothing more.

Commercial spot from 1920s featuring Mrs. Stillman, 1920s Celebrity Aviator:

There's a psychology of dress, have you ever thought about it? How it can express your character? You all have interesting characters but some of them are all hidden. I wonder why you all want to dress always the same, with the same hats and the same coats. I'm sure all of you are interesting and have wonderful things about you, but looking at you in the street you all look so much the same. And that's why I'm talking to you about the psychology of dress. Try and express yourselves better in your dress. Bring out certain things that you think are hidden. I wonder if you've thought about this angle of your personality. In 1927 an American journalist wrote: A change has come over our democracy, it is called consumptionism. The American citizens first importance to his country is now no longer that of citizen, but that of consumer.

The growing wave of consumerism helped in turn to create a stock market boom. And yet again Edward Bernays became involved. Promoting the idea that ordinary people should buy shares borrowing money from banks that he also represented. And yet again, millions followed his advice.

Peter Strauss - Employee of Bernays 1948-1952: He was uniquely knowledgeable about how people in large numbers are going to react to products and ideas, but in political terms if he were to go out I can't imagine he could get three people to stand and listen. He wasn't particularly articulate, he was kind of funny looking, and didn't have any sense of reaching out for people one on one. None at all. He didn't talk about, didn't think about people in groups of one, he thought about people in groups of thousands.

Bernays soon became famous as the man who understood the mind of the crowd, and in 1924 the President contacted him. President Coolidge was a quiet taciturn man and had become a national joke. The press portrayed him as a dull humorless figure. Bernays' solution was to do exactly the same as he had done with products. He persuaded 34 famous film stars to visit the White House, and for the first time politics became involved with public relations.

You appeal to their desires and unrecognized longings, that sort of thing. That you can tap into their deepest desires or their deepest fears and use that to your own purposes.

in 1991: And I lined up these 34 people and I'd say what's your name, and he'd say Al Jolson, and I'd say Mr. President, Al Jolson. The next day every newspaper in the United States had a front page story President Coolidge Entertains Actors at White House. And the Times had a headline which said President Nearly Laughed, and everybody was happy.






The image i have chosen to de-pic is one that is used quite predominately within media / mass media. The use