SUBTEXT SO WHAT QUESTION EVERYTHING v When we

SUBTEXT SO WHAT? !

QUESTION EVERYTHING v When we were children, we went through that infamous phase in which we questioned everything. Why? Why?

QUESTION EVERYTHING v Unfortunately for us (fortunately for our parents), we outgrew it. • • We became accepting. We lost that investigative spirit. We no longer held people accountable. When was the last time you did any of these on your own, outside of school, regarding some serious societal issue: • examine, investigate, probe, inspect, scrutinize, assess, research, explore, …. QUESTION v We have become as credulous as “reality” show viewers: • accepting fictions as reality

QUESTION EVERYTHING v Now, I want you to get into the habit of questioning everything once again: • • • advertisements, commercials, infomercials news reports, event coverage medical, legal, governmental reports music videos, music image/personae, movies, shows clothes, designs, costumes

HEAR THE LANGUAGES v Language is more than words. v We communicate in various media: print & visual. • written, spoken, drawn, photographed, filmed, painted, worn, … v So we need to realize that not only the words we use, but also the images (still & moving) we see & the clothes we wear transmit messages on both overt/direct and covert /implicit levels v …whether or not we’re conscious of those messages.

SEE THE MATRIX v Reality is a construct. v It is planned, designed, devised, organized, made, created, fashioned, formed, assembled, … fabricated. v So our task is to see the “code” that forms our existence.

THINK CRITICALLY v “Persuasion is a subtle art. ” v We need to “pick up on” the nuances, the subtleties, the cunning methodologies, the implicit presentation of information. v We need to practice analyzing “the psychology of argument. ” • Analyze • Synthesize • Evaluate

STUDY ARCHEOLOGY v Since language has layers, levels, strata, or tiers v Critical Thinkers must • learn to use the tools of “Argumentative Archeology” & • dig through in order to unearth hidden meanings, values, beliefs, or attitudes. • excavate beneath the obvious layer of what is overtly presented • to uncover & expose the concealed layers of what is subtly and covertly presented (in the subtext). v DIG

CURE LCD v Don’t settle for appeals to the “Lowest Common Denominator” • easily recognizable symbols, characters, stances or viewpoints • clichés, pat expressions, … STEREOTYPES • the conscious & unconscious understandings that the culture at-large has formed & can quickly identify v These are forms of intellectual shorthand. • Subtext is not proof. • Subtext is not conducive to critical thinking. • * Subtext fosters ignorance *.

THE AMERICAN RUG v We aspire to be an evolved, highly enlightened society (unwarranted claim) v Yet we have swept under the subtextual carpet all our ills (the -isms): • age-ism, sexism, racism • overgeneralizations, typecasts, stock/flat characters, labels, preconceptions • bigotry, chauvinism, prejudice, discrimination v We must not permit this cultural filth to fester in our subtext, for it • repeats, disseminates, proliferates, • condones, & reinforces • sexual, racial, religious, age- & class-related STEREOTYPES v We need to clean under the American rug.

OR DON’T v Miss the treasure lying beneath your feet. v Sink like the Titanic (or miss the boat altogether). v Be a sucker & fall prey to marketing schemes. v Think as a child. Act as a child. Be treated as a child. v Be the “ugly American. ” v Join the “idiocracy. ”

OR DON’T v Be a wind sock (blown by the prevailing winds). v Be a “space monkey. ” v Be a stereotype. v Be a “useful idiot. ” v Be an “American Idiot. ” v Be part of the Sheeple.

JOURNALS v What is the American Subtext? v What is the Psychology of Advertising? v What Analogies are there to the POA? v What if the world were as it is in advertisements? v What if sex were used for good?

THE AMERICAN SUBTEXT v Sexual, racial, religious, ethnic, age, class stereotypes v Sex. v Dumb it down. v Keep it short, like our attention span. v The cultural mentality of a 13 -year-old boy. • Generation Jackass. • Beavus & Butthead rule the world. • Idiocracy

THE AMERICAN SUBTEXT v sexism, racism, classism, age-ism v greed, materialism v cut-throat, out-for-themselves egotism/self-centeredness v shallowness: appearances-only, style over substance v gullibility: lack of critical thinking

THE AMERICAN SUBTEXT v ** over-eat, over-drink, over-spend YET under-think ** v hyper-individualism: • entitled, indulgent, spoiled, ungrateful, selfish, egocentric • The i. Generation v 7 Deadly Sins: • • wasteful, gluttonous; lazy prideful, vain; lustful, hypersexualized temperamental, wrathful (like a spoiled child) greedy, materialistic; envious, covetous

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING v Lies: • to trick, con, deceive • to trap, ensnare, bait • by any means necessary • without conscience or remorse • and once so entangled • to keep us hooked • until all worth is drained • then: discard • because there’s always another dupe

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING v LCD: • the proliferation of stereotypes v Unreality: • the promotion of unrealistic body image, unrealistic situations, unrealistic behaviors, unrealistic promises/implications (by them), unrealistic expectations/inferences (by us) v Sexual objectification (esp. of women) • objectification of age, gender, race, religion, sex. persuasion, … v Sex sells: • gratuitous use of sex • sex as a tool to sell (widgets unrelated to sex) v Inappropriate dress, behavior

POA: ANALOGY v The philosophy/ideology, strategies, methods of advertising • = those of pornography ADS = PORN • the psychology of advertising = the psychology of pornography • the psychology of advertising = the psychology of drug dealing

WHAT IF v What if the world actually were as it is in advertisements? • • • What if all their claims were true? What would that world be like? What would or wouldn’t happen? How would people act or not act? Think or not think? Would it even be possible?

WHAT IF v What if the world actually were as it is in advertisements? • • • no free will: system to make decisions for us, no say dysfunctional, reckless, dangerous too fat or too thin man's world (women just for sex) anything goes, damn the consequences everybody would be drinking, smoking, eating, … all the time • when would they work? !

WHAT IF v What if the world actually were as it is in advertisements? • * rise in violence & crime B/C • of entitlements, selfishness • no boundaries, no respect for others • everybody wants what sees, other people have • no fear of consequences (Vegas 24/7) • no law & order; anarchy

WHAT IF v What if the world actually were as it is in advertisements? • “[…] You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire. You build egos the size of Cathedrals; fiber-optically connect the world to every eager impulse; grease even the dullest dreams with these dollargreen, gold-plated fantasies until every human becomes an aspiring emperor, becomes his own God. And where can you go from there? [. . . ]” • Al Pacino, in The Devil’s Advocate • hypermodernity • builds vanity, pride, a nation of egomaniacs, • of mean girls, Bratz, Gossip Girls, cliques

WHAT IF v What if sex were used to sell something culturally constructive? • What if, instead of being prostituted for unrelated items • It were utilized to promote something sexual & socially beneficial? • SAFE SEX • lower rates of STDs, AIDS, Teen pregnancy • Sexual dysfunctions (ED) • Breast & Testicular cancers awareness, testing • Loosen up, fewer sexual hang-ups • Not so quick to judge re: sexuality – “sins”

WHAT IF v What if Subtext was used in other media? • The same: • sexism, racism, classism, age-ism • materialism • RADIO: • • • non-visual medium BUT still sells; built-in target audience still relies on stereotypes perhaps even worse than the other mediums b/c non-visual

WHAT IF v What if you used your knowledge of Subtext for evil? • World Dominance! • manipulation, control, power • fame, fortune; court cases; sales person of the year, Mad Men • economic, political, and/or sexual conquest • Jobs: • Madison Avenue; Washington, DC • “Stiletto Feminism”: • lowered expectations underestimated power, control • speeding tickets, promotions, free drinks

SO WHAT? ! v SUBTEXT = CRITICAL THINKING • the ability to recognize, analyze, question, & refute • the subtext of a message or an argument • = a Critical Thinking Skill

SO WHAT? ! v SUBTEXT = CRITICAL THINKING • Subtext exposes the PORNIFICATION of AMERICA • & the HYPERSEXUALIZATION of our CULTURE

SO WHAT? ! v SUBTEXT = EMPOWERMENT • the ability to recognize the subtext of a message • especially when WE are the document • allows us to take control of the messages we emit • to change what needs changing • to enhance what we want others to focus on • ** Awareness = Empowerment **

SO WHAT? ! v STEREOTYPES = HARMFUL • “once race is seen, as Walter Lippmann said, the stereotypes our culture has about those groups ‘floods fresh vision with older images’” • AGE • RACE • SEX • GENDER • SEXUAL ORIENTATION • RELIGION • ETHNICITY • WEIGHT • CLOTHING - FASHION • HAIR STYLE • TATTOOS…

SO WHAT? ! v SUBTEXT = CURES SHEEPLE • • • Propaganda = CONTROL “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy sh*t we don't need. ” We've all been raised by television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars. But we won't…” “Right. We're consumers. We're by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty -- these things don't concern me. What concerns me is celebrity magazines, television with five hundred channels, some guy's name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra. ” “The things you own, end up owing you. ” “You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your f***ing khakis. We are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. ” • “You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else, and we are all a part of the same compost heap. ”