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Enough! Center for A New American Dream newsletter
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Selling discontent
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Sports for sale
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Wealth, well-being and the new American Dream
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The truth campaign
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Short on time, take yours back!
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Consuming with the environment in mind
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Affluenza
The newest “disease” in America.
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ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ARE VIDEOS WITH AN ACCOMPANYING FACILITATED DISCUSSION. The descriptions are taken primarily from their websites.
Please email projectcash@unh.edu or call Project CASH at 862-3823.
The Ad and the Ego
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This presentation involves one of the most provocative films ever made about advertising’s impact on individuals and our culture. Peer Educators will show the film and then facilitate a discussion on the impact of advertising on our spending choices. Are we influenced by advertising? The average American is exposed to over 1500 ads every day. But, like the air we breathe, we pay little attention to it. By using the style, techniques and images of modern advertising, the film skillfully mirrors the neural network of ads that connect us as a society, educating us about who we are and who we should be. The film de-mystifies the consumer culture which underlies our overspending addiction and makes us all so susceptible.
Merchants of Cool
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This video features media critic Marc Crispin Miller who states "You know, advertising has always sold anxiety and it certainly sells anxiety to the young. It's always telling them that they are not thin enough, they're not pretty enough, they don't have the right friends, or they have no friends...they're losers unless they're cool. But I don't think anybody, deep down, really feels cool enough, ever." “Merchants of Cool” provides an overview of the sophisticated and expensive techniques designed to reach the hottest demographic in America – youth. It is described as an “anthropological approach to studying teens and analyzing their every move as if they were animals in the wild.” After viewing this video, I guarantee the prominent question will be whether the youth culture today is defined by youth or the “merchants of cool.” View this film and participant in a fascinating discussion.
Behind the Screens
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Susan Douglas of the University of Michigan said "When advertising and marketing are the defining logic of an age, it affects everything, including the movies." In this video featuring interviews with prominent media observers, this Media Education Foundation looks at the consequences of Hollywood going "hypercommercial." Have you heard the term “product placement?” An early example is ET and Reeses Pieces. However, in the current climate, product placement is big business and has hijacked the industry, according to some. In a review, [http://associates.ucr.edu/skenevideo1101.html] it was stated that this video has illustrated the many ways in which movies have been changed and reduced to promoting product. This description captures the essence of the underlying message, and provides lots of material for discussion. Especially for those who love the movies!
Money For Nothing
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Of all mass cultural forms, popular music has historically been characterized by the greatest independence for artists and allowing access to a broader diversity of voices. However, in the contemporary period, this independence is being threatened by a shrinking number of record companies, the centralization of radio ownership and playlists, and the increasing integration of popular music into the broader advertising and commercial aspects of the market. This film goes behind the business of pop music to show how the recording industry is managed. ”Money for Nothing” succinctly explains how popular music is produced and marketed, and offers an accessible critique of the current state of popular music. Warning - you will never see the music industry in the same way again. Great topic for discussion since music is such a dominant part of youth culture.
Advertising and the End of the World
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In this provocative film, Professor Sut Jhally of the University of Massachusetts Amherst explores the impact of advertising on our culture and our ecology, asking us to imagine a different and more sustainable future. Focusing directly on the world of commercial images, he asks some basic questions about the cultural messages emanating from this market-based view of the world: Do our present arrangements deliver what they claim-- happiness and satisfaction? Can we think about our collective as well as our private interests? And, can we think long-term as well as short-term? Making the connection between society's high-consumption lifestyle and the coming environmental crisis, Jhally forces us to evaluate the physical and material costs of the consumer society and how long we can maintain our present level of production. This video will spark some lively discussion and analysis.
Affluenza
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This PBS video deals with the social and environmental costs of materialism. Through revealing personal stories, expert commentary, hilarious old film clips, dramatized vignettes, and "anti-commercial" breaks, “Affluenza” examines the high cost of achieving the most extravagant lifestyle the world has ever seen. Last year, Americans, who make up only five percent of the world's population, used nearly a third of its resources and produced almost half of its hazardous waste. Add overwork, personal stress, the erosion of family and community, skyrocketing debt, and the growing gap between rich and poor, and it's easy to understand why some people say that the American Dream is no bargain. Many are opting out of the consumer chase, redefining the Dream, and making "voluntary simplicity" one of the top 10 trends of the '90s.
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