- is an ideological project
- too what extent are our lives free under the western consumer society
- we believe that through consumption the desires we have will and can be met
- the legacy of Bernays can be felt in all aspects of the 21st century society
Freud was the inventor of a method of treatment focused n the interpretation of dreams as a way of accessing the subconscious mind. Our desires (sexual forces and animal instincts) that need controlling are incompatible with society today as we are consitently going against what we truly want to do in oder to comply with the society. If we believe that our desires are being met then we are momentarily happy.
Freud saw the conscious mind as the tip of an iceberg. The conscious is contact with the outside world. THe Pre-Subconscious is material just beneath the surface of awareness. The unconscious is the difficult to retrieve material well below the surface of awareness.
1891-1995 Edward Bernays -->
Freuds nephew produced propaganda during WW1, he used his background in propaganda and knowledge of freuds theory. He created a new form of advertising to manage public opinion. This was the birth of public relations.
Public relations is a mix of freuds theory and propaganda to persuade a group of people to believe something which then in turn makes companies more popular.
Fordism -->
he use in manufacturing industry of the methods pioneered by Henry Ford, typified by large-scale mechanised mass production. This is where society becomes filled with things, overproduction becomes a crisis as market becomes overstated - thus meaning that people no longer want to buy. Brands then become very important as companies need to distinguish their product from that of their competitors by giving their products individual identity. TO do this they give products names such as a persons name making the product more human and hand made.
Bernays -->
A way to sell was to give off the impression that something you were selling would give increase something that was desired by the client. For example selling a car to a man with the impression that it would increase their masculinity.
Some products are marketed on the potential for you to realise your unconscious desires.
1920 -->
Walther Lippmann. Advertising government on society to avoid wars, stop eruptions of society and revolution. Theories can be applied to organise the society instead of just marketing.
1917 -->
The rise of comminism, creating a world where we seem happy. Due to inequality there is an extent to where we can do this. The quality of life shows that people in the west aren't really happy at all.
