Why does the advertising industry spend millions to make a 30-second ad to remind us we are animals?
http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/super_bowl_blog
How would it be different if Al Gore talked about the global warming instead? What would it do to feed the "animal nature" in us?
The following Super Bowl ads are a must watch, especially #3 and note the appeal to the inner animal and contempt for lame "societal control mechanisms."
Why will this always remain in top seller category?
Because most of us get the point, even the alpha male jerks. Few, relatively speaking, like to be abused/controlled by other animals.
If they dress up in cloth outfits and sound intelligent or powerful, we listen. Yet in the end, we may realize that, in spite of how others appear, no matter how noble, they are animals like us. That is pretty scary. What it often means is, "I don't trust myself to make those super-decisions about government, law, and social behavior, but I've found some other dog I can trust who can. " We routinely allow others to make all kinds of important life decisions, and we allow them to USE CARNAL FORCE on our behalf, if necessary, to "make it so." WAR.
We know we have to rise above the fur and the sweat. Most of our cultural societal control mechanisms teach that man is a sinner, or he is imperfect, flawed, like Klingons, etc. It is the "beast within us," and whether it is condemned as beastly, inhuman, selfish, egocentric, or evil, it is universally recognized as a struggle between the higher mind and the beast within us. A failure to seriously take this into account will smack us down in the end, since others will take advantage of our naivete' . Is religion that stupid, after all? Does eliminating religious thought solve the problem? Well, we have several regimes that have tried and failed, the Communists being an interesting example. Atheistic societies are more keen than others that they are really animals, once the thin veneer of humanity collapses. Humanism, in contrast, is merely another religion where "man" has replaced "god," with the result that they have a flawed view of man in the universe. Other animals, as well as the rest of life on this planet, are not fond of humanism. :-)
These Super Bowl ads WORK because...
1. everyone knows what it is like to "let your hair down" and chill, versus the tendency to FIGHT.
2. "putting on airs" is ATTACKABLE as artificial elitism
3. Humor is the BEST teacher nowadays
4. They establish a common ground, then motivate us to action, namely purchasing something that is useless but memetically significant (sugar water vs. a power attitude)
Three main classic character-types are seen in the classic Star Wars universe: Klingons, Vulcans, and humans (Romulans are a kind of hybrid meme).They simplistically represent the struggle in the human sphere between forces seen as animal (Klingon), versus intellectual (Vulcans), and the mess (humans) that occur when they combine genetically. The dissonance between the animal and the intellectual is always a paramount theme in Sci-Fi, religion, advertising, work, politics, and everything else touching our lives. It can't be eliminated by education or intelligence, and has to be heavily taken into account by any efforts of ours to get along with others.
Any thoughts on how media reveals the animal within?
Randy
re: Klingons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klingon
. In the original television series Star Trek, Klingons were typically portrayed with bronze skin and facial hair suggestive of Asian peoples, and possessed physical abilities similar to humans (in fact, Coon's only physical description of them in his "Errand of Mercy" script is "oriental" and "hard-faced".) The swarthy look of Klingon males was created with the application of shoe polish and long, thin moustaches; budget constraints would not allow any further creativity.[3] The overall look of the aliens, played by white actors, suggested orientalism, at a time when memories of Japanese actions during World War II were still fresh.[4] The production crew never came to an agreement on the name "Klingon"; Coon was adamant about keeping the name, and it persisted because no one else offered up a better name.[5]
The Klingons took on the role of the Soviet Union in opposition to the United States' future counterpart, the United Federation of Planets.[6] As such, they were generally portrayed as inferior to the crew of the Enterprise.[7] While occasionally capable of honor, this depiction treated the Klingons as close to wild animals.[5] Overall, they were shown without redeeming qualities—brutish, scheming, and murderous