The Selling (Off) of the Humanities

I was sitting in traffic the other day and saw a car called a SONATA and I wondered just what a piece of music has to do with a Korean automobile unless the horn plays the "Moonlight Sonata" or something. Then again, if Mozart can be used to sell chocolates, why can’t Beethoven be used as a front for cars? Or his own brand of chocolates for that matter. Or maybe Tosca, La Boheme, or Cosi Fan Tutti candy bars? Painting hasn't faired much better. Why can't advertisers leave the poor Mona Lisa alone? The woman who famously doesn't show her teeth has been reduced to lending her name to a bunch of dentists with the tag line "Dentistry is a work of art. Timeless beauty." No one has been more mined than Shakespeare to make a buck. The Folger Shakespeare Library has a great gallery showing the use (or misuse) of the Bard. While using Falsaff for brussel sprouts seems absurd, using the same character's name for beer is more insidious. Sure Falstaff was a good time guy in Prince Hal's youth, but King Henry rejected his old drinking buddy in later life, partially because of his drinking. Romeo and Juliet may be a Valentine's Day staple but I have a bit of trouble with them being associated with wine--doesn't anyone remember that Romeo died by drinking poison? And let's not even consider what the star-crossed lovers have to do with laser hair removal. Othello--a wife murderer--shares his name with a popular board game. In final Jeopardy, if the answer is "Othello" which question is more likely to be given: "What is a Mattel board game" or "Who is the Moor of Venice"? Using all of above for the names of products makes economic sense: the composers/artists/writers are long dead and so there are no copyright fees, etc. to deal with. As an example of more recent artist, Hemingway's family licensed his name to a line of furniture after Papa blew his head off.
All of the above might seem to be a bit absurd but you can see how it builds. So where is the harm? To be clear, I am not talking about parody, which I believe is a valid art form. The situation is pervasive. What is happening is that advertisers are plundering our cultural capital for profit. In doing so, they separate the original work from its greatness and make it a joke. Why study Romeo & Juliet if that is where you go to get your legs waxed? Eventually, it is possible that the play will be forgotten and the only thing that will be remembered is that those two crazy kids, Romeo and Juliet (along with Beethoven and Mozart) sure do make a great box of chocolates.

Just A Thought...

During an age when 2 million emails are sent every second and the time it took to find this information on the Internet took 10 seconds, it is understandable that today's workforce and youth expect stimulation instantaneously. This situation has lead to an increase in fast paced action films, electronic books, video games (GUITAR HERO III!!!) and even mp3 players that will not only hold an array of 10,000 songs, but play movies, check emails, act as a cell phone and provide us with an arcade at our disposal. Now I'm not saying any of this is all together detrimental to our well-being, and I even occasionally enjoy the vast amount of videos on YouTube.com (I was not paid to say that!) But seriously, how many people do you know actually sit down and read a book in a few days. Attention spans in Americans are next to nil and we will compromise quality any day for a quick fix... And trust me, entertainment and business entrepreneurs have had the quantity available. I'm not speaking about all Americans either, just those of you who fit the description and you know who you are. Okay, this is all fine and dandy but how does this situation really affect America as a country. I mean, just because we get everything at the tip of our fingers doesn't mean we are lazy and inept as people. I simply feel that the time it takes to watch a great film, read an enlightening book, or listen to a cd is becoming next to extinct in America. This hasn't been the case yet, but if things keep going the way that they are, with people and business concerned solely about saving time and multitasking, we are in a heap of trouble culturally. I personally feel that music, film, literature as a whole has been compromised in a way as an effect of the technological age. The only way we as Americans can avoid this dismal technological future, which I can picture looking like a bad scene in "Demolition Man" (which by the way all the scenes are bad LOL), is to slow down our lifestyles and pay attention to what really counts. We need not to pay too much attention to our new computer, ipod, phone, car, or even platinum bluetooth ear pieces (HAHA they do exist) but to the great music, movies, and literature that IS out there to which we've turned a blind eye...