I am the first to admit that I'm not what you might call a philosopher. Usually pragmatic, occasionally whimsical, always sassy, but deep? Not so much.
This week, however, in the interest of de-cluttering my life and my mind, I'm going to share some things that have been weighing on my mind of late.
This week, however, in the interest of de-cluttering my life and my mind, I'm going to share some things that have been weighing on my mind of late.
As a child of the '80s, I have been marinated in advertising my whole entire life. Even my granola-eating, PBS-watching parents couldn't protect me from the insidious mind-skewing effects of marketing.
An example: I recently read a blog post recommending unitards as excellent postpartum wardrobe staples. This does not apply to me at all- 1) my baby is over a year old, I'm not really "postpartum" anymore 2) I already own a unitard, and 3) unitards are not very breastfeeding-friendly, at least not how 5 does it. And yet I found myself on the American Apparel website (which I don't even like) shopping for unitards!!
No, I didn't buy one, I snapped out of it in time, but still.
An example: I recently read a blog post recommending unitards as excellent postpartum wardrobe staples. This does not apply to me at all- 1) my baby is over a year old, I'm not really "postpartum" anymore 2) I already own a unitard, and 3) unitards are not very breastfeeding-friendly, at least not how 5 does it. And yet I found myself on the American Apparel website (which I don't even like) shopping for unitards!!
No, I didn't buy one, I snapped out of it in time, but still.
So, today, I want to ramble on a bit about what I like to refer to as the difference between a friendly-word-of-mouth-type-gentle-endorsement and marketing. Especially in the age of the internet, with places like the blogosphere (I know, I try not to say such words...) sometimes the line is a little blurry.
Most of the blogs I read are full of gorgeous photography. Beautiful images portraying lives that we should all be so lucky to lead and people that we should all be so lucky to be. Clean, attractive, well-dressed children parented by handsome, fit, well-groomed mothers and fathers who never yell at each other and grow their own organic produce. You know what I mean.
Each blog post is like a little advertisement for how much better our lives would be if we could just manage to be a little more awesome.
What I really appreciate about most of these bloggers though, is that occasionally (and really, that's all we need) we get to see a little crack in the facade, a tiny window into the crying and the dirty dishes and unwashed hair that lets us see enough to know that we are not so different after all. They admit that the internet version of their lives is a glossier, more glamorous version of their lives. Not meant to deceive, merely to inspire - both us and them to be these people who are living creative, fully-engaged, mindful lives.
Each blog post is like a little advertisement for how much better our lives would be if we could just manage to be a little more awesome.
What I really appreciate about most of these bloggers though, is that occasionally (and really, that's all we need) we get to see a little crack in the facade, a tiny window into the crying and the dirty dishes and unwashed hair that lets us see enough to know that we are not so different after all. They admit that the internet version of their lives is a glossier, more glamorous version of their lives. Not meant to deceive, merely to inspire - both us and them to be these people who are living creative, fully-engaged, mindful lives.
Advertising is full of people who are not even people anymore after all the airbrushing and Photoshopping. We could never be the "people" who use these products because nobody actually looks like that. These marketers are selling us images that inspire us not to be better versions of ourselves, but to be constantly disappointed by our inability to attain such impossible perfection (and therefore awesome consumers).
I could go on and on about advertising, media, blah blah blah, but my point is really that I enjoy gentle endorsements from real people to be and do real things that just happen to look really good in photographs and I do not like "advertising".
The connection between the photos and the words is probably super obvious, but, just in case-
I was taking these pictures the other day while we were out skiing and I was thinking to myself that these photos were representative of the best possible skiing experience. Just looking at these photos, you can't tell that there are snot drips and wedgies whining about steep hills (yeah, that's me), it just looks like a serene winter wonderland populated by hardy winterized folk who chop their own wood and wax their own skis (I don't). But even if you are looking at them and thinking these things, you probably still know in the back of your mind that cold wind makes noses run and playing outside in winter will keep your more insulated parts feeling cold to the touch for hours. So you would probably not be disappointed if you then went for a ski and were not ready to join the Swedish Bikini Team.
I was taking these pictures the other day while we were out skiing and I was thinking to myself that these photos were representative of the best possible skiing experience. Just looking at these photos, you can't tell that there are snot drips and wedgies whining about steep hills (yeah, that's me), it just looks like a serene winter wonderland populated by hardy winterized folk who chop their own wood and wax their own skis (I don't). But even if you are looking at them and thinking these things, you probably still know in the back of your mind that cold wind makes noses run and playing outside in winter will keep your more insulated parts feeling cold to the touch for hours. So you would probably not be disappointed if you then went for a ski and were not ready to join the Swedish Bikini Team.
RSS Feed
