Google has more hits for the string "paris hilton" than for "global warming". 91,900,000 compared to 69,900,000. For my money global warming is actually more important. One of these is "Go away Paris" and heaps of others pouring heaps on to the princess. There is also an online petition calling for her release. Yes there are fans who really think Paris has been mistreated. There are comments from a certain sort of feminist that what Paris, Brittany and Lindsay represent is female power and their detractors represent threatened egos and prudes.
While the world is consumed by an heiress who has travelled the same road as many a less famous and less wealthy offender; drink driving, driving on a suspended license, breaking parole conditions of a suspended sentence after nonetheless driving and getting caught a second time, then going into the slammer for it. The path of Paris is self destructive, tragic and narcissistic.
Paris meets most of the criteria for narcissism. Attention seeking, deluded of her own importance, believing herself to be immune to the same consequences as everyone else. narcissists do not take responsibility for their actions. A narcissist reacts very badly when their deluded world is crashed. The narcissistic person is then left as nothing more than a frightened child. All that they are is an unreal shell. We all saw the wall of tears streaming down Paris' face. She screamed out her her mum.
But Paris is not a narcissist in a normal society, she is a narcissist is a narcissistic society, albeit a very extreme example. She would fall on the far end of a distribution curve of narcissism. She is not different from most of us other. She is simply more extreme in her dysfunctionality. She is a concentrated extract of the same syrup as our culture. The being the western materialist tradition. Our collective afluenza. Our whole economy depends on it.
The whole marketing strategy is to make us feel less than whole, make is feel incomplete and appeal to the worse aspects of ourselves. Appeals are made to our fears, envy, insecurity and the "cure" or "shopping therapy" is brands that give momentary relief. A happy citizen is not an easy marketing target. "Paris Hilton being treated unfairly" is not too far removed from "the American way of life is not negotiable" (no matter the cost to the earth and to world peace), only one is a celebrity and the other a collective nation headed by narcissistic president whose own youth mirrored that of Paris in many aspects. Americans are likely to react very badly when peak oil starts to bite and the tears are likely to replaced by missiles.
There is an argument that we should ignore Paris, since any publicity will give her oxygen, even negative publicity. Yes I know this blog will become Google hit number 91,900,001. But if we are all narcissists then Paris won't just go away by our pretending she isn't there. She would only go away if we go away from who we are. We may be able to deal with Paris' wall of tears but what of our own when our world comes crashing in. The consumer society is not sustainable.
Furthermore Paris is crowding out so much real news. This point is made at the Gallery of the Absurd with some brilliant artwork. Check them out.
http://tinyurl.com/2ok5s3
http://tinyurl.com/34j93c
http://tinyurl.com/2ss4lv
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Sunday, 7 January 2007
"Intellectual Property" or dumb property
Everyone has heard the term "intellectual property". It includes things like copyright and patents. But it also includes "brands". Those images, feelings, and associations around a name or logo. Those territory markers left by corporate dogs to scent mark their territory. Those neurons in your brain occupied by overlords, masters not of your choosing and message content not of your choosing. That is interior branding.
There is also the big stuff outside. The billboards, the ads in papers, magazines and on TV. But it is the stuff inside that is really ugly; as ugly and all as the big exterior stuff is. Why buy a pair of Nikes? There are plenty of perfectly good shoes that cost a lot less and do the same job. No, Nikes come with a an association of feelings. Nikes are cool. Nikes are to be recognised. This is the value of a brand. The shoes themselves are made cheaply in some third world country in slave like conditions. Nike does not sell a product, it sell a brand - brand Nike. The value of the brand is the difference between between the product shoe made by a sub contractor in a third world country and the price you buy them at. The product component of the price is minimal.
The reason for buying Nikes reflect this value. Nikes are brought by people who want that feeling. They want to fill that void in their lives with something and that something offers itself as a brand. The shoes are in your house and the brand is in your head.
The same is true of a 100 other images and jingles in your head. From Disney to The Gap, to Nokia and so on.
When you buy a brand you are, in effect, buying hot air. Something that is only collectively imagined. Something that does not really exist. But something that is felt as a real need. You are also failing to exercise good judgement of your own needs.
This is not a "well examined life" to quote Socrates. This is the life of herded sheep.
So I leave with this thought that "intellectual property" is misnamed because it is essentially dumb property. For marketing it comes down to a scam something like the "Emperior's New Clothes".
There is also the big stuff outside. The billboards, the ads in papers, magazines and on TV. But it is the stuff inside that is really ugly; as ugly and all as the big exterior stuff is. Why buy a pair of Nikes? There are plenty of perfectly good shoes that cost a lot less and do the same job. No, Nikes come with a an association of feelings. Nikes are cool. Nikes are to be recognised. This is the value of a brand. The shoes themselves are made cheaply in some third world country in slave like conditions. Nike does not sell a product, it sell a brand - brand Nike. The value of the brand is the difference between between the product shoe made by a sub contractor in a third world country and the price you buy them at. The product component of the price is minimal.
The reason for buying Nikes reflect this value. Nikes are brought by people who want that feeling. They want to fill that void in their lives with something and that something offers itself as a brand. The shoes are in your house and the brand is in your head.
The same is true of a 100 other images and jingles in your head. From Disney to The Gap, to Nokia and so on.
When you buy a brand you are, in effect, buying hot air. Something that is only collectively imagined. Something that does not really exist. But something that is felt as a real need. You are also failing to exercise good judgement of your own needs.
This is not a "well examined life" to quote Socrates. This is the life of herded sheep.
So I leave with this thought that "intellectual property" is misnamed because it is essentially dumb property. For marketing it comes down to a scam something like the "Emperior's New Clothes".
Tuesday, 2 January 2007
First post
Hi tout le monde,
What is with the name of this blog and who was Diogenes. Diogenes practiced and preached the philosophy of Epicurus over 2,000 years ago. Epicurus wrote over 300 books but sadly not a single one survives. Epicurus' philosophy is known to us through the work of Diogenes who wrote the "wall of wisdom" a wall or stoa in Oinoanda (SW Turkey) with 25,000 words for the people in the market place to read. The obstacles to personal happiness described by Epicurus seem strangely reminiscent today. Epicurus believed that the three main needs he identified as essential to happiness (Friends, freedom and personal reflection) were packaged up in market place place goods and misrepresented to us as being what we needed by confusing our needs for friends, freedom and reflection as being the things on sale.
This describes "branding", marketing and advertising so well. Epicurus lived over 2,000 years ago. How prescient indeed. He described so well how the brand of, for example, Nike, is sold as encapsulating all those elements needed for fulfillment customers life.
For background on "branding" you can not beat the book written by Naomi Klein called "No Logo". So this blog is about issues raised by Klein, the corporate culture and its antithesis towards any sort of personal autonomy even as these immortal citizens promise to deliver the same. It will examine how removed from the "well examined life" so prized by Soctates is a distant memory of history and an actual enemy of the modern corporation.
Most people can appriceate how friends and freedom may be needed for happiness but Epicurus' third incrediant, reflection, is not so obvious. In fact reflection has through history been the enemy of authority. "The devil makes work for idle hands" reflects the church'es fear of ordinary people entertaining thoughts of their own independent of them. The sad legacy of the prodestant work ethic is another expression of the fear authority for personal reflection. Corporate brands could not exist in the presence of collective "well examined lives". So reflection is really closely related to freedom.
au avoir
Peter
What is with the name of this blog and who was Diogenes. Diogenes practiced and preached the philosophy of Epicurus over 2,000 years ago. Epicurus wrote over 300 books but sadly not a single one survives. Epicurus' philosophy is known to us through the work of Diogenes who wrote the "wall of wisdom" a wall or stoa in Oinoanda (SW Turkey) with 25,000 words for the people in the market place to read. The obstacles to personal happiness described by Epicurus seem strangely reminiscent today. Epicurus believed that the three main needs he identified as essential to happiness (Friends, freedom and personal reflection) were packaged up in market place place goods and misrepresented to us as being what we needed by confusing our needs for friends, freedom and reflection as being the things on sale.
This describes "branding", marketing and advertising so well. Epicurus lived over 2,000 years ago. How prescient indeed. He described so well how the brand of, for example, Nike, is sold as encapsulating all those elements needed for fulfillment customers life.
For background on "branding" you can not beat the book written by Naomi Klein called "No Logo". So this blog is about issues raised by Klein, the corporate culture and its antithesis towards any sort of personal autonomy even as these immortal citizens promise to deliver the same. It will examine how removed from the "well examined life" so prized by Soctates is a distant memory of history and an actual enemy of the modern corporation.
Most people can appriceate how friends and freedom may be needed for happiness but Epicurus' third incrediant, reflection, is not so obvious. In fact reflection has through history been the enemy of authority. "The devil makes work for idle hands" reflects the church'es fear of ordinary people entertaining thoughts of their own independent of them. The sad legacy of the prodestant work ethic is another expression of the fear authority for personal reflection. Corporate brands could not exist in the presence of collective "well examined lives". So reflection is really closely related to freedom.
au avoir
Peter
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