Visual Design, Propaganda, and Consumer Culture

Why Did I Just Watch A Film About

Sigmund Freud's Nephew?

What has that got to do with Appreciating Art?

Edward Bernays is the father of Marketing Psychology aka Advertising

The Invisible Government might mean the actual

political system. Or it could mean Corporate interests.

Jedi vs SithArtists and Advertisers

• Artists use the elements and principles of design to communicate certain ideas the viewer.

• So do Advertisers. But unlike Artists, Advertisers have an ulterior motive: Sell you vast amounts of -usually worthless- stuff you don't need in order to enrich themselves and Corporate Interests

• Governments benefit directly and indirectly from a populace that is invested in buying unnecessary things.

• Artists know that it is not too hard to create what you need for yourself with just a little bit of effort.

• And that's what makes us dangerous. We don't buy into the whole "Stuff" paradigm.... except for Jeff Koons. Did I mention that I hate Jeff Koons?

Did you know that diamonds are worthless?Yes they cost a lot, but have almost no value. You might as well wear a piece of

gravel

Why do they cost so much then? Cartels and Successful Advertising.

Cartels agree to only let a certain amount of product into the market, driving up prices. Advertisers work with them to create a pent up demand.This same process is applied to everything from shoes to McRibs

What's wrong with buying stuff I don't really need?

• I get stuff, Corporations and Shareholders get my $$. Win/Win. HOORAY CAPITALISM!!!! Right?• Ummmm... not so much• Too much food is bad for the

body. Too much stuff is bad for the planet.• Interestingly, for much the same

reasons.

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Most "stuff" and a lot of pre-packaged foods are a toxic stew of chemicals. Mostly thanks to our reliance on plastics of all types 5 reasons to avoid plastic containers.

Midway Albatross

1.Compounds In Plastic Can Make You Sick.

Linked to diseases like cancer to infertility

2. There’s No Such Thing As a Safe Plastic.

Not even the BPA free type.

3. Plastics Can Cause Reproductive Issues.

Plastic chemicals have a negative effect on immunity and hormone regulation

4. Chemicals in Plastic Can Lead To Obesity

Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), may actually cause stem cells to become fat cells

5. Plastics Are Terrible For Our Planet.

Having similar effects in a wide variety of species, including marine animals. They are made of petrochemicals, an energy-intensive process that itself creates lots of pollution and toxic discharge

Other toxic chemicals we are adding to the planet:Fracking Chemicals

aka - "cheap" fuel for Corporations and "consumers"• Toxic Chemicals, Carcinogens Skyrocket Near Fracking

Sites

• Potential Health and Environmental Effects of Hydrofracking

Risks and Concerns of Fracking

• Contamination of groundwater• Methane pollution and its impact on climate

change• Air pollution impacts• Exposure to toxic chemicals• Blowouts due to gas explosion• Waste disposal• Large volume water use in water-deficient regions• Fracking-induced earthquakes• Workplace safety• Infrastructure degradation

And this is how Corporations usually respond to people interested in the common

good-

-by smearing those who disagree with them. (using propaganda or talking points)

Corporations have money and political power. This means they can buy all the favorable laws and limited Democracy they want.

Herbicides aka Weed Killers $$ for Monsanto and Corporate Farms or "Agribusiness"

• Monsanto's Roundup Linked to Cancer - Again

"The change in how agriculture is produced has brought, frankly, a change in the profile of diseases. We've gone from a pretty healthy population to one with a high rate of cancer, birth defects and illnesses seldom seen before. What we have complained about for years was confirmed and especially what doctors say about the sprayed towns and areas affected by industrial agriculture. Cancer cases are multiplying as never before in areas with massive use of pesticides."

• Heavy use of herbicide Roundup linked to health dangers-U.S. study

Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.

The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.

According to other research recently published in Free Radical Medicine and Biology, exposure at much lower doses (0.036 ppb) for 30 minutes causes infertility by causing Sertoli cells to die in rat testes.

Sertoli cells are known as “nurse” cells within the testicles, as they are responsible for maintaining the health of sperm cells. These are required for normal male sexual development.

Pesticides aka neonicotinoidsAlso $$$ for Monsanto, Bayer, and Syngenta

Pesticides aka neonicotinoidsNO BEES NO FOOD

Pesticides aka neonicotinoids

• Neo-Nics not only kill bees but disrupt human brain development

• That paper, published in PLoS ONE by Junko Kimura-Kuroda of the Toyko Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, and colleagues, found that both acetamiprid and imidacloprid triggered similar effects in cultures of rat neurons as are seen with nicotine. The authors point out that as nicotine may disrupt brain development in humans, so neonicotinoids “may adversely affect human health, especially the developing brain”.

Controversial pesticides linked to human neurotoxicity

Air Pollution

• Autism and Air Pollution: New Study Bolsters Suspected Link

Pregnant women may nearly double their risk of giving birth to a child with autism by inhaling smog spewed by vehicles or smoke stacks, according to a new Harvard study that could help unlock the deepest autism mysteries.

• Air Pollution and Heart Disease, Stroke

Studies have shown increases in deaths and hospitalizations when there are high concentrations of smog in Los Angeles, and research indicates this happens in other countries, too, Dr. Luepker said.

Pollution is also believed to have inflammatory effects on the heart, causing chronic cardiovascular problems.

Medical researchers are particularly concerned about pollution particles smaller than 2.5 microns, which are usually related to fuel combustion. Because they are so tiny, they aren’t easily screened and more readily enter the human body. They then begin to irritate the lungs and blood vessels around the heart. Data suggest that over time pollutants aggravate or increase the process of disease in the arteries.

Goods and Services we Buy = STUFF

Who benefits from all this pollution?

The usual: Stockholders and Corporations Just 90 companies caused two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions

Between them, the 90 companies on the list of top emitters produced 63% of the cumulative global emissions of industrial carbon dioxide and methane between 1751 to 2010, amounting to about 914 gigatonne CO2 emissions, according to the research. All but seven of the 90 were energy companies producing oil, gas and coal. The remaining seven were cement manufacturers.

• Half of the estimated emissions were produced just in the past 25 years

We are killing the Oceanswith chemicals and air pollution

• Global Ocean Commission an independent, international commission

"The ocean provides 50 percent of our oxygen and fixes 25 percent of global carbon emissions. Our food chain begins in that 70 percent of the planet." Unless we turn the tide on ocean decline within five years, the international community should consider turning the high seas into an off-limits regeneration zone until its condition is restored."

Decline Drivers •

"No ocean, no us!"

Waste and Want• The average American produces about 4.4 pounds of

garbage a day, or a total of 29 pounds per week and 1,600 pounds a year. This only takes into consideration the average household member and does not count industrial waste or commercial trash.

• Most of the stuff that fills the landfills is packaging, especially in the form of fast-food containers, but office paper, disposable diapers, Styrofoam inserts, and plain plastic bags also contribute an important percentage to the total waste production of the country. In fact, paper waste makes for about 35 percent of the total material filling up landfills.

• Recycling is a big part of the solution to the garbage problem. Newspapers, aluminum containers, and certain plastics can be recycled to reuse in a different form, thus saving space in landfills.

• Another way to help with the waste problem is to reduce the amount of garbage you produce.

• Buy less, buy things in smaller packaging, and reuse what you have.

• Buy used, which means you do not produce additional waste

• Donating things you do not longer want also helps. Rather than going to landfills, second-hand clothing, electronic equipment, and even furniture can be passed on to others to extend their usable life.

7 Ways to Deal With Your Trash

Ari Derfel didn’t throw anything away for an entire year. When he’d go to restaurants, he took his straw home with him. It may sound gross, but Derfel’s goal was to see how much trash one person can accumulate.

6th Mass Extinction? Humans Kill Species Faster Than They're Created

• The modern rate of extinction across species is 1,000 times that of the background rate before humans began altering the globe and thousands of times faster than the creation of new species, according to a new study in the journal Conservation Biology. The findings echo and expand on previous research published in the journal Science, which also suggested that humans are on the verge of causing a sixth mass extinction on Earth.

• Why? Because we are consumers. We are consuming the planet. Destroying habitat, wildlife, our ecosystem.

• And all because we have allowed Corporations and Advertisers to convince us the we need "Stuff". Which lines their pockets with our money and kills our planet.

So it's hopeless right?Nope. Not by a long shot.

You have the ability to learn when and how advertising is being used to manipulate you.

You can choose to ignore it, subvert it or fight it.

You can learn to creatively live with less than what they are selling you.

Be aware of being sold.

Understand the connection between indebtedness and economic slavery.

Even the littlest things can make a difference

Not only in the natural world, but in society