This is part 1 of an excerpted series for Reality Sandwich from the upcoming anthology The Immanence of Myth published by Weaponized. Myth's central importance does not end with our art or religions. It is not solely a dusty world of broken clay pots and tablets written in dead languages. Our myths determine how we engage with the world, how we enter into it. How we treat ourselves and one another. Far from being archaic relics of the past, myths will determine our future. Even if we are unaware of them, they will continue to affect us.
The advertising used to disseminate films, books and music shows the profound value that mythology has within modern markets. You just need to know what you're looking for. However, it does not end with the entertainment industry. A brand, any brand in an increasingly interactive media environment, is myth.
This role is made all the more pervasive thanks to the proliferation of instantaneous and virtually limitless communication mediums. Whether it is beneficial or dangerous is another matter entirely.
Despite this, myth is so entrenched in the nature of business that it is often overlooked within the advertising rhetoric of capitalism, even if the building of a mythology is the centerpiece of all effective branding. Though the commercialization of desire and fear, and creation of "false needs" is essentially coercive, it is the long-term cultural effects that must be considered once we understand the extent to which marketing and advertising are myth.
Demonstration of this fact clearly requires an understanding both of the function of myth and the function of a brand. Prevalent misconceptions in both of these cases has clouded what should otherwise be a self-evident thesis, so the purpose of this brief article is to identify these misconceptions and clarify our position.
(Read article)
Pre-order a copy of The Immanence of Myth, published by Weaponized. (Or sign up to be notified of its release on Amazon.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment