I am unable to get my hands on a camera to do a video blog, so I will have to do the Orwellian advert analysis with the written word, rather than speech. Looking at adverts with the specific intention of criticising the way in which they use the English language was quite interesting, with it being a common occurrence for things that Orwell disapproved of to appear.
The first line for this Fifa 10 advert: "10 thousand hundred heartbeats skipping..." wastes no time in using too many words. Why not just say "1 million heartbeats skipping"? This pattern continues throughout, with "10 hundred thousand scarves need knitting" being the next line. The whole advert seems intent on opposing Orwell. The use of similes and metaphors is also common. Stating that the game has "more wall than China" and "more battles than Genghis"....really? I don't think so. The slogan of both the advert and EA sports itself both come into criticism, when analysed: "How big can football get?" - a total ambiguous question. It wouldn't make me any more likely to buy the game and seems like a total waste at the chance of including a decent slogan. EA Sports' famous line "Its in the game" also doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Whats in the game?
I will also analyse a couple of other adverts briefly. Firstly a visually clever advert from Barclaycard, that features a grand total of 2 spoken lines; both of them making next to no sense.
Firstly, "contactless technology from Barclaycard". Contactless technology, a phrase that wouldn't be out of place in 'Horries Bullshit Generator' it needs that much explaining to fully understand what they are talking about. Secondly; "Making payment simpler". Whats not simple about payment? I give my money, for which I receive goods or a service. This advert really does need to be explained further to make any sense to a normal person, otherwise the average viewer will simply remember it as "the advert with the water slide".
Finally, Iggy Pop tries to tell us why we should use Swiftcover, well sort of.
The first point I will raise is not necessarily about the use of language, more the idea that having everything done online saves a huge amount of time. You still have to trawl through different insurers finding the best quotes, it simply seems to be the case that rather giving someone your details over the phone, you type them in yourself, hardly a massive difference in time taken. The final slogan "Get a life. Get Swiftcovered" also brings up questions. By saying "Get Swiftcovered", I assume he means "Use Swiftcover". Secondly, by suggesting that without Swiftcover you don't have a life can be seen as simply mocking the viewer with "you re not good enough unless you use us". Obviously, the phrase probably is intended to illustrate the tedious point that with Swiftcover you have more time to yourself, but why leave it open to somewhere to read the advert in the opposing way?
These are just a few examples of adverts showing disinterest in the way that Orwell suggested the English language be used. But in practice, adverts are primarily used to sell products and if using tacky slogans and open ended questions are the best way of making money, companies are not going to give too much of a thought into the way they use language.
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Monday, 11 January 2010
Poverty, anarchy and destruction
Having failed to put aside time to read Emile Zola's Germinal during the term, I promised myself that I would make sure that I would read it over Christmas. Following completion, I thought I would write a short review/report of the novel:
Germinal tells a bleak story of suffering, destruction and death, in Zola's style of realism. Description of the events are told in such a way that you can really see a picture in your head of what Zola is describing.
The novel tells the story of the mining town of Montsou and follows the main protagonist Etienne Lantier. Poverty stricken Montsou is faced with yet more suffering when the mine owners announce plans to lower their wages. Etienne, portrayed as young and naive political activist, takes the role of leader of the miners. He convinces the miners to strike. Days follow and the bosses fail to give in to pressure from the group, until one day, the miners can take no more and a furious riot takes place. Soldiers and police turn to gun fire when the can no longer control the crowd, leaving some dead and others arrested. Admitting defeat some miners can no longer take the poverty and give in, returning to the mines. In the meantime Etienne's friend Souvarine, an anarchist focused on the fact that society can only be pure when there is nothing and destruction is the only way to go about that, begins his plans by damaging some of the mine shaft. Disaster strikes when some of the shaft collapses and leaves Etienne and others trapped in the mine, leading to a dramatic rescue to save the failed strike leader.
Zola's description of the suffering and destruction really stands out as a brilliant piece of literature. The way that a chapter can go from description of the Montsou people, struggling for warmth or soup, straight into a chapter surrounding the Hennebeau family's lavish lifestyle that owners of the mines enjoy, creates such a dynamic juxtaposition.
Destruction and anarchism are two of the key themes to the story. Souvarine's ideas that destruction is the only way for the workers to redeem their rights are at first dismissed by Etienne, but once the workers decided that there was no other way Etienne was turned on and seen as a failure and blamed for the increased suffering of the colliers. Following the violent rampage of the miners, including the castration of shop owner Maigrat, Souvarine's ideal seemed to be becoming the similar wish of the miners, yet whereas the colliers were so non-bourgeois, Souvarine was against society and power structures on the whole.
Germinal is a brilliant tale of sorrow, community spirit, power and wealth divide and rebellion, painting such a vivid picture of the life of a miner in North France.
Germinal tells a bleak story of suffering, destruction and death, in Zola's style of realism. Description of the events are told in such a way that you can really see a picture in your head of what Zola is describing.
The novel tells the story of the mining town of Montsou and follows the main protagonist Etienne Lantier. Poverty stricken Montsou is faced with yet more suffering when the mine owners announce plans to lower their wages. Etienne, portrayed as young and naive political activist, takes the role of leader of the miners. He convinces the miners to strike. Days follow and the bosses fail to give in to pressure from the group, until one day, the miners can take no more and a furious riot takes place. Soldiers and police turn to gun fire when the can no longer control the crowd, leaving some dead and others arrested. Admitting defeat some miners can no longer take the poverty and give in, returning to the mines. In the meantime Etienne's friend Souvarine, an anarchist focused on the fact that society can only be pure when there is nothing and destruction is the only way to go about that, begins his plans by damaging some of the mine shaft. Disaster strikes when some of the shaft collapses and leaves Etienne and others trapped in the mine, leading to a dramatic rescue to save the failed strike leader.
Zola's description of the suffering and destruction really stands out as a brilliant piece of literature. The way that a chapter can go from description of the Montsou people, struggling for warmth or soup, straight into a chapter surrounding the Hennebeau family's lavish lifestyle that owners of the mines enjoy, creates such a dynamic juxtaposition.
Destruction and anarchism are two of the key themes to the story. Souvarine's ideas that destruction is the only way for the workers to redeem their rights are at first dismissed by Etienne, but once the workers decided that there was no other way Etienne was turned on and seen as a failure and blamed for the increased suffering of the colliers. Following the violent rampage of the miners, including the castration of shop owner Maigrat, Souvarine's ideal seemed to be becoming the similar wish of the miners, yet whereas the colliers were so non-bourgeois, Souvarine was against society and power structures on the whole.
Germinal is a brilliant tale of sorrow, community spirit, power and wealth divide and rebellion, painting such a vivid picture of the life of a miner in North France.
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