Scratch that, it's reality. So much of what you touch, smell, taste, hear, and see, is owned.
Forget sensory overload, think sensory ownership.
Perhaps you come to the table with some knowledge of intellectual property law. You are, in that case, a rarity. Most corporations tend to act under the premise that we, the general public, know little or nothing of cultural ownership. Sure, most of us are faintly worried about downloading a song or movie "illegally", but most of us are completely unaware to the extent of which our world is owned.
The facts:
McDonald's has a trademark on the smell its french fries. Harley Davidson has made attempts to trademark the sound of its engine ("potato, potato, potato"), likewise MGM owns the sound of its lion roar. According to an article from National Geographic, "20 percent of human genes have been patented in the United States, primarily by private firms and universities." You heard right, the very things that make us who we are, are privately held. Everywhere your eyes fall, you see ownership. From product placement in films (007 drives the car of the highest bidder, Jennifer Aniston drinks that Smartwater for a reason) to the green on BP's gas stations and the green of starbucks cups(no other similar company may use it). Chocolate isn't safe either, Toblerone owns the rights to using a triangular shape in the candy market in Europe.
According to the NY Times the average American sees somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 advertisements a day. While Stewart Hall and contemporary cultural studies theorists are correct in asserting human agency when it comes to the creation of meanings in consumption, it's difficult not to be bought and sold when you see logos and slogans everywhere you turn.
All this seems very disheartening, but there is hope. Power comes in numbers as well as with dollars. The more people who become aware of such laws and make attempts to fight them, the more likely the government and large companies are likely to respond. As explained in my previous post, one can always turn to the media a la Sut Jhally. Or
Take a page out of de Certeau's book and do a bit of textual poaching, turn the whole system on its massively inflated head.
Wow this is extremely interesting.
ReplyDeleteHow can I find out more information about this?
How can I be a more critical consumer?
Thank you so much for passing along this crucial information.
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also, KPBS Culture Lust is a frequent haunt of mine.
You have good taste.
It's interesting to thing of how much we see, smell, taste and hear is owned. I had a friend once that ate a restaurant and said she could easily make something that she was eating for half the price. Little did she know that if she tried to replicate the same taste and/or smell she would have a million dollar lawsuit on her hands.
ReplyDeleteIs slavery really dead? To me, it's not, it's just evolved into the slavery of our senses and capitalism is the slaver owner!
I like you inclusion of de Certeau...and especially if you think of his idea that consumption itself can be a tactic, a form of subversion, some space is created for undoing the overwhelming presence of capitalism and ownership.
ReplyDelete