3 ms·

Doesn't the historic sucess of political propaganda, and the marketing successes of companies like Coca-Cola, illustrate the power of art to influence society,

Doesn't the historic sucess of political propaganda, and the marketing successes of companies like Coca-Cola, illustrate the power of art to influence society, to some extent? And it doesn't have to be an either or. They can both mutually shape each other.

duxup 5y ago
Advertisements and entertainment seem different from a creation standpoint. I don't doubt they both have influence, but why / how you write a cop show isn't why you make an ad for coke either.
- ARandumGuy 5y ago
  The motivations may be different, but how they convey their message is very similar. Advertisements, documentaries, and even propaganda, manipulate our emotions and subconscious thoughts using the exact same techniques as film and television. All of these can be used to subtly influence public perception and opinions.
  - duxup 5y ago
    I think the motivation influences what you do. TV show, I want to show people what they're going to watch. Showing them some congestive dissonance generally won't work. If I want to sell someone a burger I already made what they want "the burger" presumably to what they want to eat. Now I want them to know about it.
- garden_hermit 5y ago
  Andy Warhol and a million graphic designers might disagree :) I maintain that art affects society. Scorsese makes Taxi Driver, some crazy guy watches it, decides to shoot Ronald Reagan to impress Jody Foster. Would crazy guy have done the same thing regardless of the movie? Maybe. Would he have done it on the same day, at the same time, in the exact same way? Probably not. The world where Scorsese chose to make Taxi Driver is different than the one where the movie never existed; maybe the difference is trivial, but -some- effect is there. The remaining question is the extent of that effect. The fact that when I imagine a cop, I imagine "Bad Boys" and "Law and Order", even when I haven't watched these shows for over a decade, is a testament to art's effects. Maybe this image was born out of the crime waves of the 70s-80s, but the image persists, affecting how people feel on topics of policing.

duxup 5y ago

Advertisements and entertainment seem different from a creation standpoint. I don't doubt they both have influence, but why / how you write a cop show isn't why you make an ad for coke either.

ARandumGuy 5y ago
The motivations may be different, but how they convey their message is very similar. Advertisements, documentaries, and even propaganda, manipulate our emotions and subconscious thoughts using the exact same techniques as film and television. All of these can be used to subtly influence public perception and opinions.
- duxup 5y ago
  I think the motivation influences what you do. TV show, I want to show people what they're going to watch. Showing them some congestive dissonance generally won't work. If I want to sell someone a burger I already made what they want "the burger" presumably to what they want to eat. Now I want them to know about it.
garden_hermit 5y ago
Andy Warhol and a million graphic designers might disagree :) I maintain that art affects society. Scorsese makes Taxi Driver, some crazy guy watches it, decides to shoot Ronald Reagan to impress Jody Foster. Would crazy guy have done the same thing regardless of the movie? Maybe. Would he have done it on the same day, at the same time, in the exact same way? Probably not. The world where Scorsese chose to make Taxi Driver is different than the one where the movie never existed; maybe the difference is trivial, but -some- effect is there. The remaining question is the extent of that effect. The fact that when I imagine a cop, I imagine "Bad Boys" and "Law and Order", even when I haven't watched these shows for over a decade, is a testament to art's effects. Maybe this image was born out of the crime waves of the 70s-80s, but the image persists, affecting how people feel on topics of policing.