Now I may be ignorant of current affairs, but someone posted on Facebook that Stephen King will have his own left-wing radio show. It is to counter all the right-wing radio shows.
Now what I want to know is where in the political schema has Stephen King become an authority, who can speak on behalf of the “left-wing.” I suppose someone could point the finger at my zany essays and say what gives you the right? But I write this down, I don’t take callers and expound on green living. I don’t see PhD of Political Affairs next to Stephen King’s name. I see a horror writer who’s a juggernaut of a star. What that picture of Stephen King and few lines about right-wing v left wing was really was a promotional deal. And it did make headlines. And people think things like that make a difference.
Current affairs are in motion and history tells its truth. We can look at this or that President now, but in hindsight, we can see the truth or falsity of their Presidency. So many people get caught up in current affairs that they forget to do anything about them, except write a bitchy line or two. To do something is uncool and you’re defeated even if you think about it.
See, the promotional tactics automatically will never get people really moving. I’ve never walked out of a documentary and seen people picket the White House. Who does that? That’s because you can tell a salesman a mile away. They are selling Stephen King to you.
In the 1950s, as we all know, the advertising groups decided that they would target a new market: teenagers. It was a new concept. Instead of a woman showing off a washer and dryer or the latest gizmo, commercials on TV would show teenagers riding in cars, hitting the malt shop, and doing 50 teenager-type things. Teenagers not only had cars, but they had money. And eventually they had credit cards. This is critical, if you didn’t know this. Because, ever since then, all advertising is really aimed at the 13-20 crowd or some age range like that.
This is why, by the 1980s, you have John Hughes as King of Hollywood, influencing the minds of teenagers all across America. But it doesn’t even stop in the 80s. The 1990s had a Reality Bites-type of MTV, with glorified videos. And we all grew up with this and we all ate it up, so much so, that there are so many sublevels of irony and mimicked films, directors now can’t even make an original teen movie or horror film.
This is the current affair—Teenage Wasteland. And while the US teenager and the immigrant teenager who wants the credit card as well, you have “adults” making decisions.
You know who I really respect, not Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, or the Beatles, but those gray haired reporters who asked them rather insightful questions. Who were those men, I wonder? What are their life stories? They were the old guard that saw these young artists as punks. And in actuality, they were. Worshipped punks. For example, one reporter said that John Lennon said he was shy. Then he showed the picture of Yoko and John naked on the cover of The Plastic Ono Band. John still denied and said he was shy. It was bald face lying to the reporter.
Those gray-haired thick-rimmed anti-rock ‘n roller reporters will always go down in history as a mystery to me. They wanted clarity, but the new vanguard and their worshipped youth could say the sky was a microphone and it was legit. While we don’t have a Jim Morrison any more, we are left with derivative rock, fourth generation Doors. And it is about time advertising and journalism divorce and go their merry ways. For the secrets aren’t in Stephen King or Rush Limbaugh or anyone who runs his mouth till its dry, and does aside commercials for gold or solar panels to keep the radio going.
In fact, what I want to see is the real thoughts behind the journalist, in essay form, analyzing all there is to be seen. Why doesn’t a journalist just come out and say, this isn’t the news, this is dead-on promotion. I guarantee that over half of the news is promoting something. Britney Spears just cut a new single. Michelle Obama’s new clothes were designed by so-and-so.
I’m not saying I am the ultimate authority on media. I’m saying that a hardcore revision needs to overhaul the Mass Media.
No comments:
Post a Comment