Reading the chapter from Storey's Cultural Theory and Popular Culture on Marxisms had a particular part in it that really caught my attention. On page 58 Storey brings up the new kind of car advertisements that have been seen for the past couple of years that depicts cars in both wide open spaces and in a clean, pollution-free environment. "This mode of advertising[...]" Storey argues "[...]is a response to the growing body of negative publicity which car ownership has attracted (especially in terms of pollution and road congestion" so "therefore, showing car in both nature (unpolluted) and space (uncongested [of traffic, etc]) confronts the claims without the risk of giving them a dangerous and unnecessary visibility" (Storey 58). Thinking about it, it makes a lot of sense. Take a look at the advertisements that Storey displays on pages 58 and 59 with the cars in these very natural scenes where there really is no traffic. Because people are beginning to feel so guilty about the effects cars have on the environment, car companies are starting to try and trick them mentally into believing: "Well, maybe this car isn't so bad after all..."
A perfect example of this can be found in this Toyota Prius Ad. Check it out- the ad does a very good job of depicting that the Toyota Prius is nature friendly and even....biodegradable? No, the ad is just trying to show the world that this car is good for the environment because it's a hybrid, and it can obviously be built from stick by a lake in the middle of nowhere by people who disappear...It's all very corny. Search for more Prius ads on youtube if you'd like, they're all very similar, it's kind of funny actually.
Going off that, there has been a very obvious boom in the hybrid department lately, but oddly enough it doesn't seem to be because of the depleting ozone layer or the pollution littering the air. Instead it is because (some) hybrids save money on gas, or rather allow the gas that they fill the car with to last longer than a non-hybrid car. Interestingly enough, I was browsing Yahoo! yesterday when I stumbled upon this interesting article. A car that can get 65 miles to the gallon? And it comes with a cute, sporty frame?? It seems like a dream come true, right? Well, they won't be selling it in the U.S. Why? Because it runs on diesel. The article tells you plain enough that "diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean or cleaner than gasoline and at least 30% more fuel-efficient." It surprised me too when I first read it because like many other Americans, I'm sure, I affiliated diesel with "a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor trailers." Despite it's amazing mpg and more ozone-friendly nature, Ford doesn't think it will sell in the U.S. as well as it will sell in the UK, where it is hitting the markets this November, because of its fuel of choice. It seems to me like the U.S. just needs to suck it up and look at the facts: diesel could be very good for our environment and possibly our economy if we were just willing to embrace it. Which leaves me with the question that the Toyota Prius commercial actually ended with:
"Why not?"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Katie, very interesting entry. I also wonder to what extent we can connect the appeal of hybrid cars to the attainment of a particular kind of class status in the U.S. I wonder if hybrids are the next step in reaching the American Dream (this is not to undermine their value in these days of environmental crises). I'm reminded of the South Park episode when Kyle's family moves to San Francisco and all their neighbors have hybrid cars, are well-to-do, and smell their own farts!
Post a Comment