Captain Quackenbush's
And Your Point Is?
RECEIVED Fri., June 18, 2004
Dear Editor,
It has been reported that the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 will receive an estimated $10 million for marketing efforts leading up to its U.S. debut. This is an unprecedented amount of money for a full-length documentary and further evidence of a major trend in our society.
Philosophers have long argued over the relationships people have with mass media. Jean Baudrillard and colleagues went as far as to say that the correlation between individuals and their television sets dictate their socioeconomic class. Whereas the lower classes treat their television as a shrine, placing it in the middle of the room as its focal point, the bourgeois shutter it in a cabinet and rarely allow visitors to know that it exists.
Although this sweeping generalization has some merit, the augmentation of mass media over the past two decades has blurred the lines between socioeconomic classes much as it has removed our ability to distinguish between the spectacle and the real. Before the dawn of "reality TV," base programming dramatized for effect was largely appealing to the lower classes of American society (you didn't see a CEO watching Days of Our Lives); however, in today's society populations from every rung of the ladder will tune in simultaneously to watch Trump and his cronies play with the fates of aspiring materialists. Finally, the blurred line of meaning has successfully removed socioeconomic class as a determinant for viewership – tasteless and tasteful have joined en masse.
The lucrative silver screen is the latest realm for mass media to infiltrate. As recently as five years ago, documentaries were largely entertainment sources for the socially couth. However, with foreseen profitability, the people who brought us Temptation Island are on the verge of destroying any ability for us to discern reality from spectacle in the full-length documentary format.
It has been reported that the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 will receive an estimated $10 million for marketing efforts leading up to its U.S. debut. This is an unprecedented amount of money for a full-length documentary and further evidence of a major trend in our society.
Philosophers have long argued over the relationships people have with mass media. Jean Baudrillard and colleagues went as far as to say that the correlation between individuals and their television sets dictate their socioeconomic class. Whereas the lower classes treat their television as a shrine, placing it in the middle of the room as its focal point, the bourgeois shutter it in a cabinet and rarely allow visitors to know that it exists.
Although this sweeping generalization has some merit, the augmentation of mass media over the past two decades has blurred the lines between socioeconomic classes much as it has removed our ability to distinguish between the spectacle and the real. Before the dawn of "reality TV," base programming dramatized for effect was largely appealing to the lower classes of American society (you didn't see a CEO watching Days of Our Lives); however, in today's society populations from every rung of the ladder will tune in simultaneously to watch Trump and his cronies play with the fates of aspiring materialists. Finally, the blurred line of meaning has successfully removed socioeconomic class as a determinant for viewership – tasteless and tasteful have joined en masse.
The lucrative silver screen is the latest realm for mass media to infiltrate. As recently as five years ago, documentaries were largely entertainment sources for the socially couth. However, with foreseen profitability, the people who brought us Temptation Island are on the verge of destroying any ability for us to discern reality from spectacle in the full-length documentary format.
Rad Tollett
[Ed. Note: Just a clarification, the wording "Fahrenheit 9/11 will receive an estimated $10 million for marketing efforts" is a bit misleading. Some might believe that "will receive" indicates funding from outside sources. Any money spent on the campaign will be charged to the film's revenue. Moore is the most commercially successful documentary filmmaker of recent times; the film has gathered an extraordinary amount of publicity. The $10 million, although unprecedented for a documentary, is not unreasonable given the film's likely box office performance. If initially it doesn't do as well as expected, then a lot less money will be spent on marketing.]
