Thursday, April 03, 2008

Re Post--collaborative Edit of Hailee's text

Bits and Pieces
by Hailee Danielsen

I must say out of everything that we have read or watched this semester the Persuaders has been the most influential. The reason is because they really focused on the consumer which is regular people like you and me. When I go into the store and by something I think it’s because I made my own decision. In actuality it is the advertisement that sold the product. They are trying to break through all of the clutter of other manufactures and reach out to us. An example would be the advertising skills that Macintosh uses for their ipod.
They try to get into the consumer’s head by creating an almost cult like atmosphere to their meetings in order to find a new way to break through. As crazy as I found it Macintosh must be doing something right. With their sleek little gadget they have created a multibillion dollar product that everyone wants. So, in other words I guess I really do not want that sleek small ipod that everyone else is raving about. But, it looks really awesome having the white cord against my black jacket and wearing the ipod ear pods walking to class.

So, I guess I need one because anyone who is someone has one.
coursing a person into choosing their side by showing them small video clips in person. They are trying to show us, the voters, that we are “important” and not just a “number” by going door to door. Also, they use video clips that pertain to certain views, cultures, and other important values that we have. What is scary is they know all of this because of the files that they have of what we have purchased in the past, to probably what our favorite color is.

This idea also pertains to the piece we had to read in class called the Word Lab by Nicholas Lemann.

The reason I find these two things so similar is because first of all they tap into the presidential elections, but also they are selling a “product.” They use certain words to not only protect themselves but also make things like tax cuts and wars sound a certain way so it does not seem that bad. For example, President Bush uses the words “climate change” instead of “global warming” because it sounds more positive. I guess with the word change in it people tend to think change is a good thing and therefore climate change is good even though all of the icecaps in Alaska are melting.
Another big issue that we had discussed in class and that is also touched on in George Lakoff’s book idea of “War on Terror.” The combination of these words means basically that president Bush can attack anyone that he feels is a threat to us. So, even though it was Osama Bin Laden that destroyed the symbols of America and our pride people still grouped Al-Qaeda with Saddam Hussein. As Lakoff says, “They believe this—in spite of the report by the 9/11 Commission. It is not that they are stupid. Those have a frame and they only accepted facts that fit that frame.” He continues by saying, “They still believe that by fighting the way in Iraq we are protecting the country from Terrorism.” To be honest when I was younger I felt the same way. I believed that fighting this war in Iraq had something to do with the connection of the attacks on us, but I fell for the expertly-worded trap that Bush used. I have come to the idea that we are a bunch of puppets that the higher authority has taken control of. As much as we feel that we are free in this country, the scary thing is we aren’t. There are millions of files on us in an unknown place that only certain people can look at. It is scary to think that just a few changes to the use of a phrase will make people act in a different way. This book and the few things that we have read have really changed my mind about how I view politics. I plan on paying more attention to not only the consumer world but also my choices on the upcoming election.
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