"The truly ‘mysterious' object is beyond our apprehension... not only because our knowledge has certain irremovable
limits, but because in it we come upon something inherently ‘wholly other'... and before which we
therefore recoil in a wonder that strikes us chill and numb." - Rudolph Otto
It's amazing what some fun music and intermittent slow motion face shots can make one believe. I didn't realize that this type of advertisement had become such apart of our culture that without any critical thought I immediately responded to the signifiers that I'd obvious seen before (the music and type of camera shots and method of mixing a narrator with personal statements). If this ad had come on TV and I wasn't paying specific attention to it, I never would've realize that it was a satire.
Some of my favorite parts include the line "what if the cost of power
was so affordable that you could spend your money on more important
things" followed by a shot of a Hummer emerging from behind a slow
motion American flag and the final coal slogan: "Cheap. Abundant.
Cheap." Although instead of reading "cheap" the second time the narrator
says "clean" as the word "cheap" appears. Give it a watch.
this video was made by the New York base sketch comedy troupe Free Love Forum . Also check out the MS Paint spot by Free Love Forum on rednoW.
this is sheer, sad genius, Matt. Thanks for shining the spotlight on the sly (not so little) lies we continue to tell ourselves. We're slowly waking up. Maybe one You Tube user at at time... Too late? Time will tell.
Isn't it amazing how much the production of the ad affects how we understand it... It's almost HOW it is said that is more important than WHAT is said. I give credit to the creators of this video for understanding that and being able to pick apart HOW ads mean.
Steve, that ad you mention seems incredibly manipulative and SO ignorant.
Sadly I've seen some energy industry ads that are that crazy AND are meant to be taken seriously. All fall we saw one here about 'carbon dioxide, not a sign of pollution, but a sign of life." It used soft images and moving music as well. The argument being:
live humans exhale carbon dioxide plants ingest carbon dioxide therefore, all carbon dioxide is a sign of health in the environment
UNMENTIONED is when that carbon dioxide is in quantities millions of times greater than what humans naturally emit and plants naturally ingest.
It's amazing what some fun music and intermittent slow motion face shots can make one believe. I didn't realize that this type of advertisement had become such apart of our culture that without any critical thought I immediately responded to the signifiers that I'd obvious seen before (the music and type of camera shots and method of mixing a narrator with personal statements). If this ad had come on TV and I wasn't paying specific attention to it, I never would've realize that it was a satire.
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Thanks for shining the spotlight on the sly (not so little) lies we continue to tell ourselves. We're slowly waking up. Maybe one You Tube user at at time... Too late? Time will tell.