As my interest in digital studies wanes a bit and my interest in consumer culture intensifies, I've been paying more attention to sites and blogs that deal with this issue. A project spearheaded by a Concordia University professor is making the issue of product placement in entertainment media a central area of inquiry and the project's website is very illuminating.
This area is one I find very interesting. I tend to turn brand spotting into a critique game that I play when I watch TV or go to movies -- I'll notice how often brands appear and then critique whether the brand shown was realistic in its context. As an example, does Apple really think that we believe that FBI agents would use a Powerbook, as seen in a recent episode of Numb3rs?
Even more interesting is how this tendency carries over into the digital world, particularly in video games. While many PS2 games use spoof ads and products, Kelly tells me that this is increasingly giving way to real products appearing in digital worlds. I'm not as interested in the economic spin to it, the way Costranova would be. I'm more interested in ideas such as how it contributes to a feeling of realism and how it alters or strengthens power relations between players and world designers/owners.
Ok so maybe my interest in the digital hasn't waned - it's just slumbering, waiting for a new focus and passion to emerge. Is this it? Wait and see.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
You should do a masters in Marketing at Concordia. You would do very well. Unless youre one of those communist types who thinks marketing is pure evil and corporations should be destroyed so that governments can rule the World to death and destruction...
OH the madness, madness indeed.
Anyways, think about it. I think you would enjoy marketing and if you think corporations are evil then you can always do marketing for non profit organizations!
Post a Comment