What of free speech in this day of mass media and psychological marketing

[Az]

We know a lot about human minds these days. We know that most of what goes on occurs at a level below our consciousness. We know many ways to directly access this emotional and reactionary part of the mind. In ways that our conscious mind has a great deal of trouble resisting or overcoming. And Corporations and those who desire power are aware of these levers to change people's minds. They can reach behind the curtains of our waking mind and pull the levers that make us react.

Remember the political ad the republicans ran in 2004 featuring the wolves staring straight into the screen and getting up to come at the cameras? That incites a fear that goes straight to the emotional centers of the mind. Its even worse than you think though.

One of the things we have found about the mind is that we gather more information in our subconscious than we were previously aware of. Our visual senses for example actually enter into our mind via two routes. One route is the one we experience with our waking mind. It is the vision of things we see about us. But a second and faster route exists. This feeds directly into our subconscious and emotional centers. Fear and other strong emotions link to this and can create reactions in our thinking even before we are consciously aware of what we are looking at.

So what of free speech in an age where those who control the major means of communication can inject such things into our mental stream of thought? Do we trust these social constructs who's only motivation is to increase their profits and power? And if we do not trust them then how do we limit them without limiting free speech? And what of the fact that these tools are available to anyone that has the understanding to use them?

[hfojvt]

1. I need some examples of this working on me

before I can consider it a serious problem.

Is there still a ban on subliminal advertising?

[Az]

2. Doesn't need to be subliminal

Just appeals to base emotions. Sex, death, threats to your children, and any other primary motivator. If reason is our hope it really doesn't bear much of a chance against this sort of propaganda. Scare the crap out of someone and you have their attention. Your children could be dying. News at eleven.

It is the marketing that causes the problem. Its not just information as it once was. It is crafted knowing how people react to images and ideas. It is a science.

Al Gore's book The Assault on Reason made mention of an incident he was involved in where the campaign adviser came to him and informed him that they were going to use a particular campaign form. He told Al what level of increase in polls he could expect. He nailed it.

Manipulating the public is what marketing does. It bends the supply/demand curve. It channels the public eye to what they want you to look at. It changes how we think.

Free Speech as the founding fathers saw it was about the exchange of ideas in reasoned discourse. But psychology and marketing have changed the equation. And mass media has turned the dialog into a one way conduit controlled by Corporations.

[hfojvt]

3. of course sex will get my attention

but no amount of sex is gonna make me buy Budweiser or even a Pepsi.

Of course, as I type this, windows messenger informs me that I got another email. It is from Amazon.com telling me about the book FUBAR. Targetted marketing. Has it increased my spending?

Alot of political information is not through marketing. It is from debates, Face the Nation, editorials, books, blogs, etc.

It depends on how significant and long-lasting the bend in the S & D curve is.

[Az]

4. You are an individual

You have innoculated yourself to some advertising. But marketing is a numbers game. They will do what affects the greatest number. The loss of your dollar is made up for by others who are not as resistant as you.

[hfojvt]

7. yes, it is the marginal people

drop the price of an item by ten cents, and some people will buy where they didn't before (at least in theory). They are on the margin and could be persuaded. How significant is the group that can be swayed by various marketing ploys?

Some of the mis-communication, in my view, is just old school lying. For example Tony Snow will write a column endorsing Bush tax cuts, Limbaugh will do a rant, and LTTE's and wikipedia will spread misinformation. So will the media in general, as some media, every year announce 'tax freedom day' without bothering to note that it might be in February for some people and in June for others, and things like that. The AP will talk about the deficit, for example, without mentioning FICA taxes. Alot though, is also pushing the fear of a ruined economy, a country that does not keep up with Japan or Sweden.

Things like spin and attacking critics are very old school too I believe. Krugman criticizes Bush tax cuts? "Pay no attention to him, he's just a partisan Democrat. Here are some phony numbers to answer his arguments." And as Krugman says "Bush will say vanilla is chocolate". The media will report that, and at best, and not even that in equal time it might report that "Reid says it is vanilla". But they do not dig to report the objective truth "Reid is right, and Bush is lying." (More often than not).

I think we still have to deal with the old school and the rich/corporate domination thereof.

[stillcool]

5. reminds me...

I have heard that many speakers color sound, but Bose speakers in particular are designed to produce a frequency directed at an emotional response or a 'feel-good'. The sound that is re-produced is not accurate, but soothing. Nothing wrong with that, if that's what your looking for....But until you experience accurate sound reproduction how do you know what you're missing?... kind of like 'information'. You can find accurate, clear, concise information if you look for it...and attempt to seek out the difference in the tonal quality. While it may not be what you bargained for, it is there for you to take or leave..and each time you return to it, you may be surprised to see something different..something you hadn't picked up on the previous go around. So much information is designed to produce an effect...be it inflammatory or sedating or anything in between. Not designed for accuracy...and in our consumer based society..it's all free, to produce and market for a price.

[Az]

6. Directed sound is another ploy being used

You may have seen them in stores already. They are video monitors with special speakers mounted below. These speakers beam a focused sound wave to a specific location. The effect of walking into this beam is that you experience a sound that seems to emanate from between your ears. That is it sounds like its being beamed straight into your head. It has a striking impact on someone walking through it. Creating far more impact for the product than the product would normally merit.

[stillcool]

8. Advertising has gotten so...

ugly, cheap, and crass. It is interesting who is dumping the money into television ads, and on what channels they appear. I try to avoid them as much as possible...because they piss me off..and because I still know by heart the jingles of 'Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one'... and 'Band-aids..cause they stick on bended fingers and they stick on bended knees'. God only knows what else is rattling around up there.

[bobthedrummer]

12. Voice to skull technology is patented and so are many other directed energy systems

http://www.mindjustice.org/wparticle.htm

[bobthedrummer]

9. Here's a refresher from January 2006-my views haven't changed much since then

and more people have come to share them as they wake up.

Waking up poses it's own challenge.

We become targets of information warfare, that's what happens when you are awake.

"Reality vs. perception management: the tinfoil controversy"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x71919

[blondeatlast]

10. tough question, because limiting such technology can have a stifling effect on art.

The technology you describe above (in the stores) is truly disturbing.

Perhpas the most effective tool for "controlling" this is simply to educate people about it. The RNC "wolf" ad went straight to many people's hearts because they had no idea that they were being played.

In a way, it reminds me of economics education--every student should have it, but since we don't, the financial markets are free to exploit our ignorance.

[Az]

11. Not only exploit but encourage as well

If an ignorant populace is easy to manipulate then what value educating them?