If you have never heard of "The Pied Piper of Hamelin", or if you don't remember the folk tale well. Allow me to give you a short version, of an unusual disaster that happened in Hamelin, Germany in the year of1284. The small town of Hamlin was suffering a rat infestation. A rat-catcher was promised a schilling for each head of a rat. The pied dressed rat-catcher picked up a pipe, began to play, and baited the rats out of town and into a river were they drowned. The town did not pay the rat-cathcer, because the rat heads were under water. The rat-catcher returned several weeks later to lure the children out of the town and into a sealed cave, by playing his pipe. The children never returned.
We fast forward from the year 1284, to the year 2006, and we find that this tragic tale continues to be present in our society. The difference in today's story of the pied piper is that the pied giant which stands towering over the city has become the big name brand corporations of our society. The pipe used by the giant, is now represented by advertisement and target marketing practices. Finally, the song that is played to lure children, youth, and adults in the present day society, is to the tune of pop culture. Since we follow the tune of pop culture, we have been trapped and sealed in a cave in which we are told what to buy, eat, hear, dress like and live in order to be socially accepted. Many individuals in our society have been able to break the hypnotic pop culture tune by taking control of their freedom to choose. Yet many others remain sealed, and they begin to develop socially ill perception of society.
We fast forward from the year 1284, to the year 2006, and we find that this tragic tale continues to be present in our society. The difference in today's story of the pied piper is that the pied giant which stands towering over the city has become the big name brand corporations of our society. The pipe used by the giant, is now represented by advertisement and target marketing practices. Finally, the song that is played to lure children, youth, and adults in the present day society, is to the tune of pop culture. Since we follow the tune of pop culture, we have been trapped and sealed in a cave in which we are told what to buy, eat, hear, dress like and live in order to be socially accepted. Many individuals in our society have been able to break the hypnotic pop culture tune by taking control of their freedom to choose. Yet many others remain sealed, and they begin to develop socially ill perception of society.
Music is a form of release for many youth. It is a way to express who they are, or they listen to music to feel understood. Few inner_city individuals have become rap stars, and through their music, they have been able to transcend their would-be tragic lives, into a pop success. Rap stars today create their own record label, which allows them to have full control of their content. The problem with these self made individuals is that they follow the big corporation's format on promoting their product. As you can see on the right, photos of 50 cents (a current popular rap star) that can be found within the CD covers. These photos glorify the gangster mentality and too frequently low-income inner-city youth perceive the images to be a reality of life. Because these images are consistently being advertised to the youth of our society through television, radio, magazines, and the peer pressure of their friends to know who these youth icons are, they become persuaded to act like a rap stars character. Some youth are persuaded to the extreme that they begin to live the life of a gangster by committing crimes that these rap stars talk about in their music. These youth them become negative role models of society, and the only accountability the rap stars have in part for persuading the young individuals to act out as criminals of society (and they do persuade; why else would these rap stars spend millions of dollars on advertising their hard core image) is a 1/4" X 1/2" sign that state "Parental Advisory Explicit content."
Another of our society's social ills caused by big corporations advertisements is our addiction with alcohol. Alcohol industries continually bombard us with advertisements on their products. Research studies have shown that the marketing skill used by alcohol industries do persuade individuals to consume alcohol. It is why in 2003, alcohol industries spent 1.6 billion dollars in advertising space. I believe that all responsible drinkers at some point become addicted to alcohol. Many are able to get help or gain control of their lives before it becomes too late. But for the members of our society whose lives are ruined by their addiction to alcohol, alcohol corporations share no personal responsibilities in the tragic lives of these individuals that cannot get over their addiction. A mere message that states "Drink Responsibly" or "Drink in Moderation" is not going to detour an individual that has been persuaded to drink. What is worse is that these same alcohol industries that say they do not persuade people to drink, advertise without any warning of their products, within bars. Of all places that actually need responsible business practices, the local bar. Where most individuals addicted to alcohol tend to spend their time. For example, the picture above on the left that I got at a local bar. Do you think it detours drinking alcohol or does it promote drinking alcohol? How about the picture below showing the inside of the same bar, what beer do you think is preferred at this bar?
