2.7.07

Disconnecting.

I'm thinking with me going off to school in the fall, it'll be a good chance for me to disconnect from the consumer culture that we are immersed in.

I just watched the Transformers movie tonight, and while it was pretty cool (albeit aimed at a juvenile audience), I found it diconcerting the amount of advertising that was built into the movie. Granted, the entire Transformers show/movie/whatever was a product placement for a line of toys that were to be sold, so I shouldn't be entirely surprised. I still found it uncomfortable being nearly brainwashed into buying GM products or joining the army. I mean, almost all of the Transformers were General Motors vehicles. Transformers = cool, QED: GM = cool, right? Also, the US Air Force factored in heavily to the movie, showing off all their latest and greatest technology... and naming it piece by piece so that all the kids would be familiar with it. I'm an airplane nut. I am still a little kid when I see a jet go flying by. Vanessa asked me what kind of airplane was flying by at the beginning of the movie, and without hesitation I could tell her that it was a V-22 Osprey... but I digress.

I've been fortunate through certain plugins in my web browser to avoid the majority of the annoying ads that litter the Internet. As well, since I chose internet over cable TV, I don't see much live television. I think having been able to filter out the corporate media from my life (at least somewhat) I've become a bit hyper-sensitive to advertising and I find that it irritates the crap out of me. I don't like being brainwashed to like a certain product. It sometimes feels like I'm operating on a different wavelength than some people just because I don't pay any attention to the latest tv show, or movie, or whatever... If I find stuff I like, I go with it... if I miss out on something put out by the TV, I'm really not feeling like I've missed anything.
Blah. I'm rambling. Time for bed. Stay well everyone!