Again, like the previous essays, this one doesn't really make an argument, so to speak, but rather an observation. However, the author is dead on that Harry Potter is not necessarily a genius book series, but rather one that is ingeniously marketed. The series itself, though captivating and adventurous, will no doubt be forgotten literarily; its marketing, however, may very well be studied for decades long since the book is watered down to an oversold novelty.
#2: Rebellion
The author of this article argues that modern corporations no longer sell products in and of themselves, but a lifestyle as well. Notably, rebellion. Keurociane beats and individualists can now purchase their individuality, and its clear from any given campus or store that this is wholly true. Look at the modern style now shared between girls and boys: converse shoes that taper up to tight jeans and out again to baggy, v-neck shirts, often covered by strangely bright florescent flannels, topped with ear gauges and a skiing hat worn on only the back part of the head. That's not to say there's anything wrong with this style--it's just as fine and fleeting as all styles, my own included--but if one were to wander into, say, Spencer's, one would find all these items in almost a starter-kit form. No matter how much we like to think it, even rebellion is a consumer product. It's not necessarily bad; just unexpected.
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ReplyDeleteehhh I don't agree that the book isn't a genious book series. I actually thought that the author of this essay didn't give enough credit to Rowling. I do think that consumer items were definitely made because of the book and this led to the books popularity, but i also believe that a lot of the consumer products created were so popular *because* people like the books, not the opposite way around.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, to each their own :p
and also i just submitted a blank post by accident so i deleted it. my b
I agree with your comments on the essay about rebellion in the fact that it is marketing a style; however, I believe this article is trying more to suggest that we are wearing out this idea of rebellion. The marketing use of rebellion and breaking the rules is not as influential as it was during the rise of this counterculture and I believe the author is putting more emphasis on how "breaking the rules" is now conditioned rather than as adventurous and appealing as it was decades ago.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Harry Potter is not influential because of it's genius writing style, but it has done something most books are not able to do. Capture a wide range audience, have devoted followers and be one of the most commonly read books in the world. So Rowling obviously did something right.
ReplyDeleteCorporations advertise their products in whatever way they can to make them sell. RIght now, I believe the new styles have a certain attitude of hardness, arrogance and "bad ass-ness". I think we are all feeling so scared and vulnerable as a country and depressed about our economic situation that we are looking for a way to feel confident about ourselves. So when shoppers buy the product they also think they are buying the image.