What do you think? Is he right? The first time I saw this vid featuring Craig Ferguson, I didnt laugh once. I SMILED, but I didnt laugh. I found every word captivating. Humor is his signature, but I dont largely think hes joking. What hes really talking about here is the power of rhetoric, via ads that began to target youth and, via persuasive imagery, words, etc., shape the way people think and what they think of as being important -- namely the quality of being young -- and later, arguably,stupid. I do think theres some credence to the deification of imbecility, and the appeal of indefinitely avoiding the effects of age (which we do NOT largely escape, biologically -- the only way to rage against it effectively is in our minds). With age comes experience, and historically, responsibility. The deification of beauty is something different, yet equally if not more rhetorically powerful than the chief message here; it comes up regularly in COMM classrooms. I swear, though, over the course of the past 10 years especially, I seem to identify, via ads, via the messages that Hollywood sends and more, a sense of lets stay young, crazy and stupid for as long as we can. If thats true, what IS that? Is it REALLY representative of a genuine shift in values, particularly being embraced by Millenials (arguably)? Is it JUST the effects of rhetoric on culture? HAS society been largely convinced that unending youth IS what should be important? ARE we afraid to age....? If so, why? Or is Fergusons message itself all just empty rhetoric that falls flat when scrutinized? Its worth discussion. youtube/watch?v=UKUZ42T9diU
Posted on: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 09:00:38 +0000
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