It's All Freud's Fault, Well. Sort Of

There is, or at least was, a group of people in the habit of blaming Sigmund Freud

for Everything Wrong with Modern Society. Well, while Freud's seeming emphasis on the Sex Drive being responsible for everything from choice of automobile to choice of whether or not to smoke certainly didn't make him any friends among the Status Quo powers of Early-20th-Century America, they did find enthusiastic support within the new Mercantile Class. Or so goes the premise of one episode of a BBC short series [four, one-hour episodes] that I discovered recently while cruising a social site [the series can be found here ].

Actually, the person responsible for the Cult of Consumerism wasn't so much Freud, as his American nephew, Edward Bernays. Forgotten today, he may have been the most important man of the 1920's in America. Bernays:

-translated many of Freud's observations into usable information for business. After the First World War, American Industry was running at near-top levels, from manufacturing war materiel for the Allies. Manufacturers wanted to keep their factories putting out product. But, to make that work, Americans had to be convinced to purchase for pleasure, not out of necessity. Bernays helped sculpt advertising that addressed those purposes, based on Freud's observations on what pleased humans.

- "invented" the concept of public relations; may have been the first person to call himself a PR expert. Bernays saw the Populace, in general, as something to be feared, as it could easily be "herded" by Authority [as he had just seen happen in World War I]. He hoped to turn the techniques of persuasion over to the Private Sector, who, he believed, would use the power for marketing their goods, instead of promoting political ideas [which, with few exceptions, is the way it's all played out].

-created the first "media events" for promotional purposes. Bernays was once hired by a major cigarette manufacturer, who had a little problem: in the 1920's, the link between cigarette smoking and cancer, emphysema, and other debilitating illnesses had not been discovered, but there was a traditional taboo which forbade women from smoking openly in public. In a famous experiment, Bernays hired a group of attractive women, and told them to join the line of march for New York City's Easter Parade. On a signal from him, they were simply to light up, and smoke in public. Then he sent cleverly-written press releases to local newspapers, alerting them that "attractive women" would be taking part in a "women's rights march", lighting "torches of freedom" during the parade! The papers, for the most part, got the hint, and wrote articles noting that women had smoked in public, without the Republic collapsing.

-created the concept of "product placement". When Bernays was at his peak, it was not unusual to see an actor or actress [whom Bernays worked for], promoting a product [whose manufacturer had also hired Bernays], in advertising [created and sold by Bernays], in popular magazines like Cosmopolitan [which Bernays was a consultant to]. The modern idea of interlocking promotions is at least 85 years old...

I guess what intrigues me the most about Edward Bernays is that, after creating most of the modern advertising culture we live in, he disappeared into the background, and is virtually unknown today. Well worth a few minutes of your time to watch the video hyperlinked above [besides, American Idol has only been on one night, and already I'm bored! Can't we just move along to Hollywood? Please?].

-Mike Riley

Every Generation Sends A Hero Up The Pop Charts

Sanjaya has survived yet another week on American Idol. What is America thinking?

Good Question. There is something going on beyond limited singing skills and a devotion to seemingly more and more bizarre hair styles at each performance. What drives the Sanjaya Machine?

A few educated guesses...

1. / His story is endearing. He's a 17-year-old who somehow made it to the hottest TV show in North America. He was devistated when his sister failed to make the cut, but has continued in competition. By becoming the lightening-rod for criticism on his performances, he has carved out the obvious "underdog" role among this year's competitors. And, let's face it; Among this year's crew, he may be the only one with a story.

2. / He's cute, in an "odd" sort of way. When I watch Sanjaya sing, he seems like a living caracture in action. His mouth and eyes in particular seem exagerated, as if drawn by a sketch artist(I suspect that a young Jerry Lewis [mid- to late-1950's era Jerry]clone could do some serious damage on the show. Especially if, unlike the real Jerry, he could actually sing...). And that hair! Early on, Sanjaya must have realized that the viewing audience would need some kind of "hook" to remember him by (Unlike Blake Lewis, who uses his "human beat-box" routine in almost everything he performs, he picked a constantly changing hairstyle.If you realize that you may not be the strongest singer, an Idol entrant can do worse than using his or her hair as a weapon...). The total package is memorable [think Rings Starr or, for children of the 80's, Boy George].

3. / He's non-threatening. This may be his strongest advantage. Ever since Lisa Simpson was first seen reading an issue of "Non-Threatening Teen Boy Idols" magazine, it's become obvious that appealing to the "tween" market [girls 8-14] is just good business. Sanjaya comes off as a "buddy", a "pal", not the teenager to start the "dangerous" hormones that scare most parents half to death.He's polite on TV, taking even the worst criticism from Simon Cowell in a respectful manner [Simon seems to have thrown in the towel on the Sanjaya Phenomonon; His most recent critique was along the lines of 'It doesn't matter what you sing, nobody really cares anymore, anyway'. And, in the interest of fairness, it should be noted that Sanjaya does seem to be improving from week to week. Or are we just getting, like Simon, more accepting of the Phenomonon?].

4. / His [Apparent] Fan Base, the already-referrenced "tweens" and Grannies, kept John Stevens on the show much longer than his talent should have allowed. John Stevens grew up, and still lives, as far as I know, just outside of Buffalo, NY, our home base. He is, by all accounts, pleasant and gracious. But there was NO WAY he should have lasted on Idol as long as he did. There seems to be much of the Stevens Factor about Sanjaya.

Could Sanjaya Win It All? In a season when there seem to be no compelling options, maybe. Will he have a career? He wouldn't be the first "low talent, high attraction factor" performer to do so, if he does...

Quoting Jim Morrison, "...the little girls understand".

-Mike Riley