Study Task One - Century of Self.

Ten most important points raised in the documentary 'Century of Self':

1. Power of Freud's ideas - threat to control and the empire in Vienna hundreds of years ago, started to unearth powerful emotional and sexual forces that were repressed and believed couldn't be shown
2. Controlling of government - through presidential popularity and election propaganda
3. Changing wants to needs - tricked into irrational needs
4. Overproduction crisis - making people want spare products so companies don't go bust
5. The basic reasoning of the mass mind - mass control of groups, easier to direct people to products and ideas
6. Democracy through consumerism - believe we're free, was compared to sedative drug. Through doing this makes people believe there needs are being met so remain docile and don't complain
7. Change in democracy - citizen to consumer. 'Consumerism and consumption'
8. Shift in advertising - went from demonstrating practical values to linking products with emotions
9. Smoking experiment - discovered associations with objects could be changed. By finding out what cigarettes meant to women he could break the symbol that was associated with them and apply it to the female psyche
10. Bernay's skills - covers very vast areas such as government, PR, stock markets, brands, publishing, economy etc.

Image from the mass media that focusses on consumerism, desire and unconscious:

I have decided to focus on these two advertisements for Tom Ford eyewear, both are focussed towards different genders so the connotation taken from each are very different. The first of the advertisements is definitely aimed towards men and shows the male model in a very dominant role. Whereas the female is extremely submissive from her lack of clothing to her combing the mans hair. This ind of imagery will appeal to mens sexual desires and make them believe that by purchasing these products they to could be part of that kind of lifestyle. The second image has a very strong idea of a dominant women, extremely phallic imagery has been used and the fact she is biting it with her teeth lends itself to 'vagina dentata' an innate male fear that a women's vagina could contain teeth, leading to pain or castration during intercourse. Imagery like this appeals to women as it shows them in a powerful manner over men and gives a response to the 'penis envy' theory.