The wonderful world of televised consumerism READ THIS PLEASE

So I thought for my 420th post, I'd do my part and bring up an issue that I think is a major plague on our society. I'm actually really high right now, so WHOOHOO :) , and I don't know I tend to really analyse things when I get baked.


For a long time now I've secretly cringed whenever somebody says "oh, I love this commercial!". Nobody seems to see the problem in this, but it's bothered me for a good while. I've just come to the point where I won't watch any TV commercials, and I hate that movie theatres are now doing it.
I know there are some really funny commercials now and again, but still, I sincerely believe we need to ignore ALL commercials on T.V., or at least don't watch it more than once just to know about the product that's out there.
I mean has anybody really thought about it? How many minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, YEARS for some, of our lives have we given to these consumer-culture assholes? We have an economy that has basically based itself on brainwashing the populace into thinking they should take a huge piece of this blink in existence we get, and waste it on companies trying to sell us things. A "good commercial" is just a craftier method of making you waste your time convincing you you need the next marketplace indulgence.

Guys, seriously, this is our lives. This is the 70-100 year blink in existence, or at least this existence, that we get. And instead of making the best use of it, expanding our minds, exploring our lives, figuring out how to better life for humanity, we focus a huge portion of our lives feeding a consumer machine that creates an economy where the faster we use up the Earths resources, the better our economy. It's not good for your mind, or you "soul" if you so please, to hand over our minds to industry and government. What they're trying to sell you, or tell you to believe, or what medication you "need", has so ingrained itself in our society that we're distracting our minds on pointless indulgence, and wasting so much potential within ourselves. It's shutting off our brains, making us stop asking questions, and I for one just won't listen to it any more.

Just consider this, please. Is watching a funny commercial actually worth giving over your thought processes and time from your life? What if we actually just... stopped watching?

Oh man, + rep. I totally agee with oyu on all points. Haven't watched television for years now. I'm just so disillusioned with the way the world is run now...

Well said

Great thread. You've made some very strong points, that really made me stop and think:)

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Originally Posted by Gandalf_The_Grey

A "good commercial" is just a craftier method of making you waste your time convincing you you need the next marketplace indulgence.

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I disagree. There are plenty of commercials that I find funny or catchy and I don't go out rushing to buy their product. One example that pops into my mind is that I find Anheuser/Busch company commercials usually funny. You will hardly ever see me with one of their products in my hand though. For domestics I prefer those from the Miller company. For me it is about taste and not about the commercials.

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Originally Posted by Gandalf_The_Grey

It's shutting off our brains, making us stop asking questions, and I for one just won't listen to it any more.

Just consider this, please. Is watching a funny commercial actually worth giving over your thought processes and time from your life? What if we actually just... stopped watching?

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If you are giving up your thought processes just because the commercial has you mesmorized, maybe you need to do more things that engage your mind instead of watching tv.

If you want to make a stand against commercials, buy a DVR and record everything you want to watch. Then when you actually watch your show, fast forward through the commercials. Hell I think some delete commercials.

oh wow. i totally agree with you gandalf. i refuse to allow myself to focus and process tv ads, and it really bothers me when the people around me are actively doing so. as a result, it's been hard for me to watch tv at all for the last couple years.

the worst part is that everyone else doesn't seem to understand why processing the advertisements is bad for them, and that's why advertising works.

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Originally Posted by FakeBoobsRule

I disagree. There are plenty of commercials that I find funny or catchy and I don't go out rushing to buy their product. One example that pops into my mind is that I find Anheuser/Busch company commercials usually funny. You will hardly ever see me with one of their products in my hand though. For domestics I prefer those from the Miller company. For me it is about taste and not about the commercials.

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Nah man you're missing my point. Don't worry it's my fault for not clarifying; I'm saying it has nothing to do with whether or not you buy into the commercial, it's just the fact that you're watching it. Just the fact that somebody trying to sell you something, especially when you don't even want it, is not something you should voluntarily waste your time on.

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If you are giving up your thought processes just because the commercial has you mesmorized, maybe you need to do more things that engage your mind instead of watching tv.

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Well that is the whole point of the thread....
Dude, I'm just saying, commercials shouldn't be entertainment. You're not giving up your thought processes because they're literally stolen from you, it's because you're distracting your mind with crap, when in all that wasted time you could actually be using your brain or just spending your time actually doing something fulfilling.

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If you want to make a stand against commercials, buy a DVR and record everything you want to watch. Then when you actually watch your show, fast forward through the commercials. Hell I think some delete commercials.

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Actually I just download all my shows now. I watch Law and Order SVU, John Doe, Prison Break, and House all commercial free on my computer. The internet can be a sweet thing, it's why I don't even need a television anymore:D.

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Originally Posted by screwedcork

oh wow. i totally agree with you gandalf. i refuse to allow myself to focus and process tv ads, and it really bothers me when the people around me are actively doing so. as a result, it's been hard for me to watch tv at all for the last couple years.

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Man, it's nice to see you and others on this board know what I'm talking about:jointsmile:

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the worst part is that everyone else doesn't seem to understand why processing the advertisements is bad for them, and that's why advertising works.

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haha, and do your friends get annoyed too if you mute the commercials? Mine sure do.

I disagree, it's not like you watch the tv for the commercials but they get shown in the middle of a program. So If they're funny or catchy or something I like them. I don't see the problem. It's not like people ask for the commercials but they pay the bills for the show you want to see. Unless you actually pay the bills for them and watch premium channels like HBO they'll always be there.

well, it's not something i've made a big point of with my friends, it's just been an issue i've been thinking about for a while now.

what bugs me the most is when people use commercial jingles and such in everyday conversation. that to me is proof that advertising is truly effective. when i do watch the commercials i analyze them as far as what message they're trying to embed in my mind and how they are conveying it.

i guess i just can't "turn my brain off" and watch tv passively like most do

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Originally Posted by Gandalf_The_Grey

Nah man you're missing my point. Don't worry it's my fault for not clarifying; I'm saying it has nothing to do with whether or not you buy into the commercial, it's just the fact that you're watching it. Just the fact that somebody trying to sell you something, especially when you don't even want it, is not something you should voluntarily waste your time on.

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Thanks for clarifying that but it doesn't change much for me. Welcome to the world of free market capitalism and marketing and advertising and competition and supply and demand. You've been bombarded with it for years, are you just now noticing it? None of these companies are holding you down with tape holding your eyelids open while you watch their commercials. You have a choice. Even if you don't have a DVR or download programs to your computer, you can just change the channel during commercials breaks or mute the damn thing or even switch it off. I can just tune out commercials and think of something else or do something else instead of letting them take over my thought process. I just don't think it is that big of a deal.

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Originally Posted by screwedcork

i guess i just can't "turn my brain off" and watch tv passively like most do

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Yep, we're on exactly the same page. That's what's bugging me, people have learned to just turn their brain off and absorb like a spounge. It's not about whether or not the commercial suceeds in selling to you, they've already suceeded in convincing you to give them your time and thoughts for that moment. And those moments add up to a sizeable piece of time.

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Originally Posted by FakeBoobsRule

None of these companies are holding you down with tape holding your eyelids open while you watch their commercials.

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I know, that's the problem! The shere fact that we're willing to take it in.

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I just don't think it is that big of a deal.

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And understandable so, you've grown up with it. But it's the little things that matter, the things that everybody takes for granted. Environment shapes the mind, what you think about shapes who you are. I want a world that's more in balance, that doesn't waste its time thinking about useless crap, that doesn't get lulled into complacency by shallow entertainment. I'm not "just noticing this now" as you put it, everybody notices it, but it's when you actually think about it that makes a difference. I'm tired of just accepting the way the world is, we need to start thinking of what we want it to be. The mind is a precious thing.

and even if they don't succeed in selling directly to you, some amount of the information is going to be retained in your subconscious, which may very well affect your decisions in the future without you knowing about it.

but that's not what bothers me most. what bothers me most is watching the trained teenagers of my generation consciously absorb commercial messages, process them, and converse about them around me, and to know that i'm powerless to stop this on a small-scale, let alone the world.