The reflexive project of the ‘self’

The reflexive project of the ‘self’, identified by Anthony Giddens as a hallmark of modernity, has become a distinct kind of labour under post-Fordist capital in the form of ‘self-branding’. Self-branding involves the construction of a meta-narrative and meta-image of self through the use of cultural meanings and images drawn from the narrative and visual codes of the mainstream cultural industries. The function of the branded self is purely rhetorical; its goal is to produce profit. Different inflections of self-branding can be traced across several mediated cultural forms that directly address the constitution and celebration of the ‘self’ as such.” (p194; or p295 of course materials)

The nexus between the branded self image and the consumer seems to be established through a reflexive desire: the consumer desires the value system projected by the ‘branded-self’ and the ‘branded self’ tailors this image so as to encourage the consumer – the two feed each other:

The material brand is the ultimate image-commodity: a fetish object par excellence, pursued and paid for by consumers who wish to become a part of its fabricated world of purloined cultural meanings. Branders, as the apotheosis of Barthes’s bourgeois myth makers, ‘are addicted to borrowed equity from babies to breasts, from heart-wrenching melodies to lame jokes, from leafy roads to grandiloquent cliche’s about the “road of life”’(…); they steal images, stories, and language to constitute brand identities. This leads to another inflection of the brand as a specific cultural resource through which individuals and communities define themselves. Brands, both as trademarked image-objects and as sets of relations and contexts for life, become the ground and comprise the tools for the creation of self and community (…). (pp195-6; or p296 of Course Materials)

In order to anchor these statements into our immediate, contemporary, cultural context. If we consider only the explicit means of displaying the branded-self, the majority of advertisements make a point of illustrating consumers using their product. It is not enough to show the product itself! This ranges from people drinking Coca Cola (relatively straight forward) to the increasingly more obscure fashion industry ads (e.g. a woman practically engaging in sexual intercourse with a handbag (the subject matter of the ad; though certainly not the focal point resting on a table in the distant background) (On a side note, have you ever noticed that the majority of model poses are strange? They appear to either be incredibly vacuous or look as though they have a serious urge to urinate; their legs are limp and strangely crossed whilst standing; and they look so serious too. I cacked myself when I saw a new add for “industrie kids” (or whatever) featuring what must have been a five year old boy, staring blankly at me from an ad mounted on the back of a bus. It’s like they are normal people, then when they’re told “hey we’re going to take some snaps of you” they assume this “I’m-a-serious-model-that-is-not-the-least-bit-curious-as-to-why-they-make-me-stand-like-a-moron” pose. I say this as someone who has modelled extensively. Why don’t I model anymore, because it’s hard to stay in such an industry when you have a brain and too many questions where a brain and too many questions don’t belong. I’ve been told to pose like that, when I asked why, they said “Because it’s the way we do it now. People like this.” (or words to that affect) Not to get picky but that’s not actually an explanation, that’s just a dismissive declarative. I’m telling you, it’s not to be taken seriously in the least! (and it pains me greatly to think of all of those people that are literally killing themselves to emulate the fashion industry…It’s all a big joke. I said we’d get off topic a tad, but this is right off the map. Back to business.

Anyway, the reason for showing people consuming their product is because they are trying to sell us a story, albeit a short one. If we just saw the coke bottle we wouldn’t have much to go on. However, if you set up a context (value system) around the product, suddenly you have conjured a culture. This culture, in order to be anchored into the consumer market must not just appear, it must have a connection to the consumer. Thus, as stated by Hearn, they borrow stories, clichés and knick knacks from our lives and piece them together. Now we want the coke because young, fun-loving people drink coke. If you are young and fun-loving you should probably drink coke, it is the ‘customary’ or ‘traditional’ drink of your people.

Sorry, this blog today is bringing out too much of my cynical side. I do love my cynical side, but when you type unopposed by another person’s opinions or reactions, it becomes difficult to gauge when one should put their inner cynic back in the box. Put simply, I have always been cautious regarding any advertisement, and I chose the above quotes because I felt they so elegantly summed up the genesis of the advertising campaign (though such mechanisms may also find application elsewhere). These quotes show, so cleanly, where the ‘puff of smoke’ originated.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Proyek refleksif 'diri', diidentifikasi oleh Anthony Giddens sebagai ciri modernitas, telah menjadi semacam berbeda buruh di bawah modal post-Fordist dalam bentuk 'diri merek'. Branding diri melibatkan pembangunan meta-narasi dan meta-image diri melalui penggunaan makna budaya dan gambar diambil dari kode narasi dan visual industri budaya mainstream. Fungsi yang bermerek diri prasangka; Tujuannya adalah untuk menghasilkan keuntungan. Berbeda infleksi branding diri dapat dilacak di beberapa bentuk-bentuk budaya ditengahi yang langsung alamat Konstitusi dan perayaan 'diri' seperti itu." (p194; atau p295 dari bahan-bahan kursus)Pertalian antara yang bermerek citra diri dan konsumen tampaknya menjadi ditetapkan melalui keinginan refleksif: konsumen menginginkan sistem nilai yang diproyeksikan oleh 'merek-diri' dan 'bermerek diri' penjahit gambar ini untuk mendorong konsumen-dua feed satu sama lain:The material brand is the ultimate image-commodity: a fetish object par excellence, pursued and paid for by consumers who wish to become a part of its fabricated world of purloined cultural meanings. Branders, as the apotheosis of Barthes’s bourgeois myth makers, ‘are addicted to borrowed equity from babies to breasts, from heart-wrenching melodies to lame jokes, from leafy roads to grandiloquent cliche’s about the “road of life”’(…); they steal images, stories, and language to constitute brand identities. This leads to another inflection of the brand as a specific cultural resource through which individuals and communities define themselves. Brands, both as trademarked image-objects and as sets of relations and contexts for life, become the ground and comprise the tools for the creation of self and community (…). (pp195-6; or p296 of Course Materials)In order to anchor these statements into our immediate, contemporary, cultural context. If we consider only the explicit means of displaying the branded-self, the majority of advertisements make a point of illustrating consumers using their product. It is not enough to show the product itself! This ranges from people drinking Coca Cola (relatively straight forward) to the increasingly more obscure fashion industry ads (e.g. a woman practically engaging in sexual intercourse with a handbag (the subject matter of the ad; though certainly not the focal point resting on a table in the distant background) (On a side note, have you ever noticed that the majority of model poses are strange? They appear to either be incredibly vacuous or look as though they have a serious urge to urinate; their legs are limp and strangely crossed whilst standing; and they look so serious too. I cacked myself when I saw a new add for “industrie kids” (or whatever) featuring what must have been a five year old boy, staring blankly at me from an ad mounted on the back of a bus. It’s like they are normal people, then when they’re told “hey we’re going to take some snaps of you” they assume this “I’m-a-serious-model-that-is-not-the-least-bit-curious-as-to-why-they-make-me-stand-like-a-moron” pose. I say this as someone who has modelled extensively. Why don’t I model anymore, because it’s hard to stay in such an industry when you have a brain and too many questions where a brain and too many questions don’t belong. I’ve been told to pose like that, when I asked why, they said “Because it’s the way we do it now. People like this.” (or words to that affect) Not to get picky but that’s not actually an explanation, that’s just a dismissive declarative. I’m telling you, it’s not to be taken seriously in the least! (and it pains me greatly to think of all of those people that are literally killing themselves to emulate the fashion industry…It’s all a big joke. I said we’d get off topic a tad, but this is right off the map. Back to business.Anyway, the reason for showing people consuming their product is because they are trying to sell us a story, albeit a short one. If we just saw the coke bottle we wouldn’t have much to go on. However, if you set up a context (value system) around the product, suddenly you have conjured a culture. This culture, in order to be anchored into the consumer market must not just appear, it must have a connection to the consumer. Thus, as stated by Hearn, they borrow stories, clichés and knick knacks from our lives and piece them together. Now we want the coke because young, fun-loving people drink coke. If you are young and fun-loving you should probably drink coke, it is the ‘customary’ or ‘traditional’ drink of your people.Sorry, this blog today is bringing out too much of my cynical side. I do love my cynical side, but when you type unopposed by another person’s opinions or reactions, it becomes difficult to gauge when one should put their inner cynic back in the box. Put simply, I have always been cautious regarding any advertisement, and I chose the above quotes because I felt they so elegantly summed up the genesis of the advertising campaign (though such mechanisms may also find application elsewhere). These quotes show, so cleanly, where the ‘puff of smoke’ originated.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 2:

Proyek refleksif 'diri', diidentifikasi oleh Anthony Giddens sebagai ciri khas modernitas, telah menjadi semacam berbeda dari tenaga kerja di bawah modal pasca-Fordist dalam bentuk 'diri-branding'. Diri-branding melibatkan pembangunan meta-narasi dan meta-citra diri melalui penggunaan makna budaya dan gambar diambil dari narasi dan kode visual dari industri budaya mainstream. Fungsi dari diri bermerek adalah murni retorika; tujuannya adalah untuk menghasilkan keuntungan. Infleksi yang berbeda dari diri-branding dapat ditelusuri di beberapa bentuk budaya dimediasi yang secara langsung menangani konstitusi dan perayaan 'diri' seperti "(p194, atau p295 bahan tentu saja). The hubungan antara citra diri yang bermerek dan konsumen tampaknya yang akan didirikan melalui keinginan refleksif: konsumen menginginkan sistem nilai diproyeksikan oleh 'bermerek-diri' dan 'diri bermerek' penjahit gambar ini sehingga mendorong konsumen - dua pakan sama lain: Merek materi adalah yang paling image-komoditas: excellence objek par fetish, dikejar dan dibayar oleh konsumen yang ingin menjadi bagian dari dunia fabrikasi nya dari makna budaya curian. Branders, sebagai pendewaan pembuat mitos borjuis Barthes, 'kecanduan meminjam modal dari bayi ke payudara, dari menyayat hati melodi untuk lelucon lumpuh, dari jalan berdaun ke muluk-muluk klise tentang "jalan hidup"' (...); mereka mencuri gambar, cerita, dan bahasa untuk membentuk identitas merek. Hal ini menyebabkan belok lain dari merek sebagai sumber daya budaya tertentu di mana individu dan masyarakat mendefinisikan diri mereka. Merek, baik sebagai merek dagang image-benda dan sebagai set hubungan dan konteks untuk hidup, menjadi tanah dan terdiri dari alat-alat untuk penciptaan diri dan masyarakat (...). (pp195-6, atau p296 Kursus Bahan) Dalam rangka jangkar laporan ke dalam, konteks kita langsung kontemporer, budaya. Jika kita hanya mempertimbangkan cara eksplisit menampilkan merek-diri, mayoritas iklan membuat titik menggambarkan konsumen menggunakan produk mereka. Hal ini tidak cukup untuk menunjukkan produk itu sendiri! Hal ini berkisar dari orang-orang minum Coca Cola (relatif lurus ke depan) untuk iklan industri fashion semakin lebih jelas (misalnya seorang wanita praktis terlibat dalam hubungan seksual dengan tas (subyek iklan, meskipun tentu saja tidak titik istirahat fokus di atas meja di latar belakang yang jauh) (Di samping catatan, apakah Anda pernah memperhatikan bahwa mayoritas model pose yang aneh Mereka tampak baik menjadi sangat hampa atau melihat seolah-olah mereka memiliki dorongan yang serius untuk buang air kecil;? kaki mereka lemas dan anehnya menyeberang sambil berdiri,. dan mereka terlihat begitu serius juga saya cacked sendiri ketika saya melihat menambahkan baru untuk "anak-anak Industrie" (atau apa pun) menampilkan apa yang pasti seorang anak berusia lima tahun, menatap kosong pada saya dari iklan yang dipasang di bagian belakang dari bus. Ini seperti mereka adalah orang-orang normal, maka ketika mereka mengatakan "hei kita akan mengambil beberapa terkunci dari Anda" mereka menganggap ini pose. Saya mengatakan ini sebagai seseorang yang memiliki model secara ekstensif. Mengapa tidak saya model lagi, karena sulit untuk tinggal di industri seperti ketika Anda memiliki otak dan terlalu banyak pertanyaan di mana otak dan terlalu banyak pertanyaan tidak termasuk. Saya telah diberitahu untuk berpose seperti itu, ketika saya bertanya mengapa, mereka mengatakan "Karena itu cara yang kita lakukan sekarang. Orang-orang seperti ini." (atau kata-kata untuk yang mempengaruhi) Tidak untuk mendapatkan pemilih tapi itu tidak benar-benar penjelasan, itu hanya deklaratif meremehkan. Aku bilang, itu tidak dianggap serius sedikit! (dan itu sakit aku sangat memikirkan semua orang-orang yang benar-benar bunuh diri untuk meniru industri fashion ... Ini semua besar lelucon. Saya bilang kita akan mendapatkan off topic anak laki-laki, tapi ini adalah langsung dari peta. Kembali ke bisnis. Pokoknya, alasan untuk menunjukkan orang-orang mengkonsumsi produk mereka adalah karena mereka mencoba untuk menjual kami cerita, meskipun pendek . Jika kita hanya melihat botol Coke kita tidak akan memiliki banyak untuk pergi pada. Namun, jika Anda mengatur konteks (sistem nilai) sekitar produk, tiba-tiba Anda telah menyihir budaya. Budaya ini, agar dapat berlabuh ke pasar konsumen tidak harus hanya muncul, ia harus memiliki koneksi ke konsumen. Dengan demikian, seperti yang dinyatakan oleh Hearn, mereka meminjam cerita, klise dan pernak pernik dari kehidupan kita dan potongan mereka bersama-sama. Sekarang kita ingin coke karena muda, fun-loving orang minum Coke. Jika Anda masih muda dan bersenang-senang Anda mungkin harus minum coke, itu adalah 'adat' atau minuman 'tradisional' dari orang-orang Anda. Maaf, blog ini hari ini adalah membawa keluar terlalu banyak dari sisi sinis saya. Saya suka sisi sinis saya, tetapi ketika Anda mengetik dilawan oleh pendapat atau reaksi orang lain, menjadi sulit untuk mengukur ketika salah satu harus meletakkan sinis batin mereka kembali kotak. Sederhananya, saya selalu berhati-hati mengenai iklan apapun, dan aku memilih kutipan di atas karena saya merasa mereka begitu elegan menyimpulkan asal-usul kampanye iklan (meskipun mekanisme tersebut juga dapat menemukan aplikasi di tempat lain). Kutipan ini menunjukkan, jadi bersih, di mana 'kepulan asap' berasal.