Meta Irony? MTV Makes My Brain Hurt (from The Sietch Blog)
Posted by keith on September 17th, 2008
This video is from MTV, and is basically about the evils of green washing. If you want to know all about green washing you should check out The Unsuitablog, Keith does a fantastic idea of pointing out the hypocrisy of many of the worst offenders.
But this has got to be one of the most ironic, perplexing video’s ever. MTV purveyor of all things over the top, all things gluttony, all things bling, and all things more more more, telling us to be green. I like how they mention not to trust people who put a slick ad campaign filled with celebrities over their bad behavior…
This is not just ironic, this is ironic irony, or meta irony. This kind of irony requires a whole new kind of math, and special computers, and a chart to figure out. Sorry MTV good try, but so long as you have Pimp My Ride, and shows about silly rich kids buying everything under the sun, and endless stories about this or that rich celebrity buying this or that you will not be green.
[from The Sietch Blog]
Thanks to The Sietch, The Unsuitablog was given a home, and for that I am eternally grateful. Cheers, Naib.
November 8th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
For me, the Media do not become Green by looking at news and articles, like you or me.
I think the Media just want to make echo of to trends and fashions because they obey the same “laws” than standard companies : they only consider to sustain numbers of spectators and readers, their “shareholders” in a way.
So, there is absolute no conceptual contradiction from their point of view to speak about Green attitude and stuff and, in the middle, to put advertising about any polluting stuff or after, to show clips of Bling-Bling Rap Stars.
That is why you will soon acknowledge that it will be more and more rare to see the Media talking extensively about ecology while the main concern will be economy and money.
To be green means sacrifice and people will already think themselves as sacrificed.
[I partly disagree with your first comment, because the media are most definitely mouthpieces of the system as a whole – they not only follow trends in order to maximise income (like any corporation) they create interest in whatever the system requires interest to be created in, and refute, or ignore, those things which the system finds distasteful. Both things are mutually-reinforcing. I think this makes your subsequent comments even more meaningful. Keith]