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An interesting short film:

LOGORAMA
2010 Oscar Best Animated Short

Part I


Part II


Though, when you think about it, it is quite sad that we would recognize most of these references implanted in the film. According to UCSUSA, the average American is exposed to around 3000 advertising messages a day, and that corporations around the world spend over $620 billion a year on advertising. Again, this is according to one study, I wouldn't be surprised if the real values exceed that number.

Also, according to this one podcast that I listened to, NASA's annual budget, is < than the money tobacco companies spend on advertising...

It's just something to think about. I mean, for most, the immediate reaction would be; Materialism! Evil! Die! But then again, it's pretty much a way of life already. It might be 'bad', but we're so accustomed to it I don't think we would be able to live without it (these generations anyway, who knows what may happen in the future). Yes, they do manipulate people, play on our instincts, our desires, and obviously there many arguments against this materialistic world that we live in. But does it necessarily have to be a bad thing? I'm just trying to think of some arguments for materialism. In the argument of materialism verses spirituality - unless we all go and live like monks for the rest of our lives, I believe that there are only a few in the people around us, that would achieve great spirituality. There was a time, when there weren't as many 'evil' corporations, and most people were poor, and thus still suffered regardless of extreme materialism - look at the 3rd world today. I'm not saying that companies are what enables us (in MDCs) to live in relative comfort, but to have a world where everyone's happy, sans corruption, sans corporations, and total spirituality? I think it's safe to say that the dream of an utopia died out decades ago. In reality, to have what we have now, things would have to be sacrificed. And for a lot of us in the western societies, it might just have to be some spirituality and personal and mental freedom. Yes, all this materialism only gives us a momentary high, but in this fast paced world, do we really care?

***

Birthdays: Guiseppe Torelli, Henry Fielding, Vladimir Lenin, J. Robert Oppenheimer
Deaths: Ansel Adams, Richard Nixon
Date: Earth Day

*Note: personally I'm not a follower/fan of this materialistic society, but I'm not a major critic of it either (I think that I've got a good grasp of who I am, other people can do what ever they want, I really don't care) This is merely an exercise, for the lack of a better word, to see some points from the other side.