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So... having been newly married, I'm sharing lifestyles with my s/o. She's much more into things that are popular than I have ever been.
Whereas the television was primarily used for video games a couple of times a week, it's now on 7 days a week...to watch actual television! (Don't get me wrong - she's a gamer, too, woohoo!). I like to watch sci-fi and adventure, she likes reality television. I listen to VNV Nation and Skinny Puppy, she listens to Justin Timberlake and Black-Eyed Peas. You get the point.
Anyways, I'm getting much more exposure to mainstream media. And I just have to ask - do normal people thrive on repetition? The radio plays the same 8 songs over and over again for a month, then throws them away and picks 8 new songs to play over and over again. Each commercial break yields the same few commercials that stopped being funny 30 showings ago.
In Stephen King's "Storm of the century", a character said "Hell is repetition", and I have to say that I agree. But the mainstream media is all about ratings, so I'm assuming that they cater to what the lowest common denominator enjoys. So do normal people just not notice the repetition, or does it just not bother them, or what?
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Joined: 9/25/2007
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Maybe the repetition is designed not to be noticed after a while. IOW it's designed to dull down the rational conscious mind, so the subconscious is more open to suggestion. They keep telling people over and over again they are free and then make you vote for who they want you to vote for and it's all achieved using inane meaningless catch phrases and sound bytes. We're doomed because it works perfectly on "Normal" people who form the majority. Saying that the brain washing doesn't work so well since the invention of the Interent.
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This is an interesting topic.
I can only put my own personal experiences into play with this, of course. I'm a 47 year old man, married for 23 years, with a grown daughter.
When I was growing up, contemporary top 40 music consisted of James Taylor, Carole King, Carly Simon and the like. Some of the more "hip" stations leaned toward Zeppelin and The Who and that sort of thing... But I do remember it seemed there was much more variety on the radio. Maybe it's just me remembering it the way I wish it had been, I don't know.
And as for television, we only had the "big three" networks when I was a kid (oh, your local UHF and PBS stations, but that was it). The programming was canned and planned, one whole minute commercials aimed at the target audience, and then you had Walter Cronkite on at six to tell you what happened all day. Advertising and programing today have to be different. Competition is everywhere, with 1000 channels, movies on demand, the internet, all competing for their share. Advertisers have to hit you, hit you hard, hit you fast, over and over, until you simply have no choice but to remember their product.
So repetition is the key, you'll see the same ten second, or maybe thirty second, commercial over and over until you can recite it in your sleep and that's what the advertisers want. It's all about money, of course. The programming is aimed at the target audience, the commercials geared for that audience, and repetition is the way to get that audience to remember and to (hopefully) buy. In that respect, it's really the same as it was thirty years ago. But with so many choices today of viewing and listening out there, the advertisers and programmers have to put a different spin on things. They narrow their focus to their target demographics, program accordingly, and yes repetition is the key. And of course they pander to the lowest common denominator. Mass appeal is the goal. But they know their audience (or they think they do), they know what sells.
For whatever it's worth, the mainstream audience has the attention span of a guppy, is easily bored, and wants instant gratification. The programmers know this, so yes, you do get the same eight songs played over and over for a week. The latest, greatest, hottest, hippest, freshest sound. Until next Monday when those songs are yesterday's news and make way for this week's batch.
Television is the same. The audience didn't tune in to Program X this week in record numbers like last week, so it's canceled and replaced, even though the show just started three weeks ago. But it doesn't matter, because it's being replaced with another clone of the same show to try to appeal to the same audience...
I don't know if all of this is good, bad, better than it was when I was a kid, or all just more of the same in a new package.
I think I'll pull out my old Beatles albums and play them while I think about it...
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Groups: ProSeller
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Thank you for the responses. It's nice to chat with people about this.
Most of my friends (also part of the "alternative" crowd who listens to goth rock and watches Anime w/ English subtitles) say things similar to you guys about mainstream brainwashing and the lowest common denominator having the attention span of a guppy. I guess I don't want to believe that most people are so shallow.
About the repetition, it's ironic because it has the opposite intended effect on me. If I can recite a commercial in my sleep, I will go out of my way to NOT buy that product.
I guess my thing is that I just don't care about what they have to say. So a celebrity endorses a product. So some hot chick tells me that I need to wear a certain deodorant to score with the ladies. So what? I mean come on... people don't actually believe this stuff, right? Oh please tell me people don't really believe that stuff!
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Mainstream media is hell. It's bad enough here in Germany but people ensured me it is even worse in the US. I can absolutely feel with you. There is qute some science and statistics behind this behaviour. They have to shove the same stuff over and over again in your face withing a short time since this is according to psychologic knowledge the best way to make sure you remember it. And it is designed in a way even people with an extreme learning disability get the message. For quick learners of course it is torture to watch it. So unless you are a masochist, better avoid it if possible.
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M_Cavet wrote:Mainstream media is hell. It's bad enough here in Germany but people ensured me it is even worse in the US. Well it wouldn't be so bad if they stuck to selling soap powder. But living in the UK I find the BBC worrying. Because it's basically run by the power elite, who are mostly global imperialists and in reality don't care at all about democracy they just want to rule the World. They are the traitorous minions of the NWO. The problem I find with the BBC is it "portrays" public opinion. The problem is there's no guarantee the portrayal of public opinion is true or false. In fact it may be totally misrepresented for divisive purposes. If the "will of the people" can be totally misrepresented there is no real democracy. Democracy is an illusion created by the media and the more centrally controlled the media is the more dangerous it becomes. Because it becomes easier to falsify the truth and get away with it. It way even be worse in the US, because private ownership of media outlets does perhaps create the illusion that the media is independent of government or centralized influence. Problem is most US media is a owned and run by the same power elite. E.g people like Rupert Murdoch who is probably typical of shape shifting globalists since he's managed to change his nationality about 5 times. People actually think shape shifting reptilians don't exist  . It's probably true that people don't change physically like they do in those silly Youtube videos but, there's certainly a shape shifting mentality in the global elite and their interests have nothing to do with democracy, their agenda is simple, total power, total wealth and domination of the entire planet.
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I was complaining about being lonely in my new house, and someone goes, "Turn on the radio." I said, "I did, but I can only listen to the same seven songs so many times before I want to throw my stereo through a wall." The vast majority of people in this country--and possibly the world--are sheep. They want to be told what to do and what to like. The stations that are the worst about repetition are "Top 40" stations--they play the same top 40 hit songs all day long, though after a while, it doesn't seem like so many as forty. Then when the list changes, their playlist changes, because they have found that the best way to make money for their station and to hang onto listeners is to mindlessly follow what the masses are mindlessly following. The commercials are bad too, I agree, and they're the biggest reason I don't listen to the radio anymore. I don't watch tv. At all. Unless I'm visiting family and meerkat manor is on... >.> So I really can't say anything about TV nowadays. Just give it time... Within a few years, the songs will be things like, "OMG, i ttly txtd u" and "I'm sad cuz mommie didn't buy me an iphone when I was six." Then you'll be looking back on the radio of today with nostalgia.
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Customizables wrote:Just give it time... Within a few years, the songs will be things like, "OMG, i ttly txtd u" and "I'm sad cuz mommie didn't buy me an iphone when I was six." Then you'll be looking back on the radio of today with nostalgia. Well, I'm already looking back on the 80s with fond nostalgia while lamenting today's music, lol. But not the 90s... I'm still mad @ Kurt Cobain for starting the grunge movement and effectively killing off the guitar solo. Ok, two things: 1) Your example isn't too far off from contemporary music. When I hear most of the popular "Top 40" stuff nowadays, I'm thinking "what ARE they talking about?" What is a boom boom pow, and why do the Black-Eyed Peas gotta get get it so bad? I like my music to have substance, either musically or lyrically. It doesn't have to be both. But today's music has neither. Every song seems to have fluff lyrics about hooking up, or some chick on a dance floor. Every song has music that I could swear was made on an old Casio keyboard from the late 70s, with their dinky drums sounds and minimal melodies. Let me give an example of one of the bands I listen to: Dream Theater. Each new album has an "Alcohol Anonymous Suite", that represents the 1 of the 12 steps that the drummer is going through. Also, each album has a song that discusses a controversial political topic such as stem-cell research, religious cults or 9-11. Their album "Scenes From A Memory" is a concept album about past life regression, that features a love triangle, a murder mystery and plot twists. To go from this, to turning on the radio and hearing "Womanizer womanizer you're a womanizer womanizer"... well, it's almost a literal shock to the brain. 2) Has anyone else notice that genres have shifted over the years? Country sounds more like rock, rock sounds more like punk, and pop sounds more like rap.
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I find repetition makes me totally zone out. If I see a commercial that I've seen too many times before, I stop watching - and possibly turn the channel. And there are some that I would avoid the product just because the commercial annoys me too much, too. I don't even bother listening to the radio much. (I just listen to the same MP3 CD over and over and over and over again.  Of course, it's almost 200 songs, so it is a little better than just rotating 8 or so.) On the other hand, there are all kinds of commercials I could probably describe, and still not have a clue what product they were for. (Remember the soap-opera-style commercials where the neighbours were falling in love after borrowing some coffee? Anyone remember what brand?) And our attention spans are so short, that it's possible we could see the same commercial four or five times before we actually notice it. (Communications experts say it takes us about six exposures to something to really remember it.) So, factoring in people watching different things at different times, and repetition only makes sense to advertisers. However, the same commercial in every commercial break of the same 1/2 hour show (and I've seen the same commercial twice in one commercial break several times), is just annoying. Can they not get more sponsors? Put me down for the 80s nostalgia, too. Modern music tends to grate on my nerves after a few minutes, but that's a whole other topic.  Patricia PR Prints
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I did most of my music listening from the mid 70s through the very early 90s. For me, grunge and whiny male bands got me to stop listening to rock, although I could go back to "fossil rock", Prince, Def Leppard, Metallica, etc. at any time. Only recently have I found 90s and current music that I could either stomach or actually like. What's changed is that we now have a variety of markets, but not a variety of music. I don't know how much deeper we can sub-categorize a type of music - how many classes of punk music can you really have, anyway? - but I think therein lies the problem. A demographic listens to one type of music, pigeonholes themselves into that class, then doesn't listen to anything else. Because of this, I think you'll never have another Beatles, Elvis or Michael Jackson. No offense to anyone, but I can only stomach rap and country in 15 minute increments. And no, not together. But I can still listen to it and appreciate it, then go back to my wife's Kinks and Moody Blues music, or to my GnR, Weezer, Bela Fleck, or They Might Be Giants tunes. We Americans like to be labeled. Why, I don't know. Even rebels and malcontents want to be affiliated with someone. I'm a bit of a contrarian by nature - if you visit my store, that will be obvious. My wife and I are teaching our kids to be suspicious of advertising of all types, whether it is for marketing or for politics. The kids need to learn to think for themselves, and that includes learning how to tune out the repetition.
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I listen to music from all eras it just has to be good, but I never listen to the radio anymore. I got my hair done yesterday and it was on there. Despite having not listened to it in ages, I didn't hear a single song I hadn't heard before. Is there really a reason for a them to be still playing what A girl wants?
I love music but I find it now through the web because I like to find the good new music. No wonder the music industry is in such big trouble. The charts no longer matter and TV shows never promote anything but stuff for 8 year olds. I know no one who would ever admit to listening to the Jonas Brothers or miley Cyrus but you turn on Extra and thats all they talk about. (except for Micheal Jackson)
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Yes, our collective attention span has..SQUIRREL!
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I pretty much quit watching television (except for news and documentaries) when I was around 30 years old. In my opinion, it's a major contributor to the "dumbing down of America".
Just this morning I was flipping through the channels, and stopped at the opening of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", just out of curiosity.
Mickey says something like "now we get to say the MAGIC WORDS to make the Clubhouse appear... meeska, mouska, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!"
And the clubhouse magically arises out of the ground. A few other structures magically pop out of the ground. Then Mickey goes inside, flips a switch, and a white glove FLOATS out of a hole in the ground and does something near the ceiling.
In my opinion, garbage like this is why kids grow up to become adults who think ghosts exist, 13 is an unlucky number, and magic is real if you just believe. Then you've got X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sliders, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Harry Potter, Ghost Hunters, an almost endless parade of more material to support superstition through adulthood. Not to mention the variety of religions available to choose from.
You watch CNN and it's "Miracle on the Hudson" instead of "Experienced Pilot Avoids Disaster."
Think about it. Our media is supporting and promoting mythology and superstition. I think it's highly irresponsible, considering that many viewers believe anything they see on TV.
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Great... now I have Womanizer stuck in my head. Thanks a lot >.<
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urbanphotos wrote:
In my opinion, garbage like this is why kids grow up to become adults who think ghosts exist, 13 is an unlucky number, and magic is real if you just believe. Then you've got X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sliders, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Harry Potter, Ghost Hunters, an almost endless parade of more material to support superstition through adulthood. Not to mention the variety of religions available to choose from.
Well I hope the fairy dust in my bank account is real That's not superstition the entire monetary system is an act of faith.
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PRPrints wrote: (Remember the soap-opera-style commercials where the neighbours were falling in love after borrowing some coffee? Anyone remember what brand?) I don't remember the coffee brand but I remember him (sigh) he ended up playing Giles on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (sigh) I don't listen to any of the 'new music' and don't even know who half of the 'popular' artists (and I use the term loosely) are. I'd prefer the golden oldies, which in my case are real old (50's & 60's) Celtic, World music, Jazz and Blues urbanphotos wrote:Then you've got X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer You forgot Angel...one of my all time favs...and belive me I'm no kid. I love anything involving the supernatural but it doesn't mean I think it's real, it's just better than football.
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I'm just sticking my head in to express my relief over the fact that I'm not alone in my disillusionment with today's pop culture. The Idiocracy is here, people. My obnoxious, parole-violating, stereo-blasting neighbors are proof of that.
If anybody needs me I'll be curled up in the corner of my underground bunker, devouring cheesecake and geeking out on science documentaries to dull the pain.
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Talking about superstition I listen to Coast to Coast and the Kevin Smith show most of the time. Which are pretty much paranormal radio stations. Saying that I find alternative media does tend to examine the real science behind paranormal phenomena, they have interviews with all sorts of people including major scientists. It's interesting to hear different points of view, and get in depth discussion on things. The main stream media OTOH either tends to sensationalize anything paranormal or treat it as if it's some sort of joke and portray people who witness anything strange as either being insane or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. That's particularly true of UFO phenomena and ET visitation. E.g. Pretty much all the witnesses to the Roswell incident have testified that it was an ET crash, there are even major figures such as Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell who claim to have inside knowledge about what happened at Roswell, yet the main stream media still go on about "little green men" try to discredit witnesses and try to explain away UFO sightings as Chinese Lanterns as if they were talking to an audience with a mental age of about 8 living in a terracentric, flat earth fantasy world with a level of scientific understanding which is over 100 years out of date. The mainstream media often seems so out of touch with major issues and what is actually going on in the real world and the universe around us so poorly informed it's a joke. In fact the reluctance to examine anything "outside the box" makes you realize mainstream media is actually designed to keep people in ignorance, and maintain the status quo and is therefore at the end of the day nothing more than an oracle of propaganda and a means of social control.
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artberry wrote:Maybe the repetition is designed not to be noticed after a while. IOW it's designed to dull down the rational conscious mind, so the subconscious is more open to suggestion. They keep telling people over and over again they are free and then make you vote for who they want you to vote for and it's all achieved using inane meaningless catch phrases and sound bytes. We're doomed because it works perfectly on "Normal" people who form the majority. Saying that the brain washing doesn't work so well since the invention of the Interent. If anyone remembers Bernie Shaw, a former news anchor for CNN, during an interview remarked that "todays news is no longer news", speaking of CNN only. "News is merely the instrument used for the creation of a 24/7 talk show. Everyone's opinion on every topic is useless information. Just tell me what's happening in the world & let me decide what's what." CNN was all over the MJ story from minute one & still hasn't let it go. Talk about beating a dead horse, no pun intended. Watch CNN from 3pm till 11pm & you'll see the nothing but a continuation of the same story for 8 hrs. running, unless of course it's about the wars or anything else worthy of mention. So, just watch from 3pm to 4pm & you've seen the topic for the next 8 hrs. Then, of course we're not counting the endless days ahead of the repetition. I used to have a measurable amount of respect for this station but I must agree with Bernie. For news, CNN is worthless. IMHO.
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Gonna go watch some nice 80's family TV shows on DVD (no commercials! Yay! Think I'll try Full House today. Then I really should go outdoors. I haven't been there in ages.
Patricia
PR Prints
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