"There can be no doubt about it: the TV commercial, exactly as the oldest known types of theatre, is essentially a religious form of drama which shows human beings as living in a world controlled by a multitude of powerful forces that shape our lives. We have free will, we can choose whether we follow their precepts or not, but woe betide those who make the wrong choice!
The moral universe, therefore, portrayed in what I for one regard as the most widespread and influential art form of our time, is essentially that of a polytheistic religion. It is a world dominated by a sheer numberless pantheon of powerful forces, which literally reside in every article of use or consumption, in every institution of daily life. If the winds and waters, the trees and brooks of ancient Greece were inhabited by a vast host of nymphs, dryads, satyrs and other local and specific deities, so is the universe of the TV commercial. The polytheism that confronts us here is thus a fairly primitive one, closely akin to animistic and fetishistic beliefs. We may not be conscious of it, but this IS the religion by which most of us actually live, whatever our more consciously and explicitly held beliefs and religious persuasions may be. This is the actual religion that is being absorbed by our children from almost the day of their birth."
Martin Esslin 'Aristotle and the Advertisers- The Television Commercial as Drama' (1974) in "Meditations" pp240
This isn't a Christian speaking, but a secular drama critic. He argues that the commercials don't create these belief systems, but are highly sophisticated and scientifically developed responses to the beliefs of society.
In all our responses to various 'spiritualities', surely this one is neglected the most.
Where would I be without Bob Goudzwaard?
1 day ago
2 comments:
Fascinting point. I assume the 'our' here at least includes the AS sermon series of earlier this year?
Hmm, I guess we did hammer consumerism pretty hard at church didn't we. I was thinking more of discussions about different spiritualities at college. When discussing the notion of 'spirituality', the class wanted to define it positively as the way we shape our lives before God, rather than simply attempts to connect with something supernatural. However when it came to critiquing spiritualities, we only critiqued those that were making explicit claims for supernatural connection. We ended up ignoring the many powerful ways our lives are shaped by practices that don't explicitly claim religious or supernatural connection, yet function in ways very similar to religious practice.
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