Interesting To Say The Least
I remember, in high school, reading Wilson Bryan Key’s books on subliminal seduction in magazine ads and I felt then, the evidence he brought forward, with the corresponding ad, made for a valid argument. I still feel that way… And I always pick up any book I can get my hands on regarding this subject.
Imagine my surprise when I was cruising through Amazon & I found this movie on subliminal suggestion! It looked intriguing, and scored it in a heartbeat. I just finished watching it, and I’m a little disappointed. The argument of subliminal motivation makes much more sense when applied to the realm of advertising. The psychology of the printed ad is to get you to buy, to invest. So, it would make sense to “embed” subliminal “sex’s” in magazine ads, or anything with a sexual reference. Sex sells.
But the one thing I don’t really get (and the film makers never really clarified) is why would an artist, bust his balls by putting in tiny, seemingly inconsequential “embeds” into religious pamphlets? Sure there are lots of cynical artists out there, some of the best music ever, came from cynical & jaded musicians.
But why would an artist work doubly hard, to work something into a painting, that no one is to ever notice?
And for all the extra work he puts into his painting, installing covert images, he’s still getting the same amount of scratch from whoever contracted him in the first place. And the bottom line: The only people who are going to see these works of religious art on the websites or on hymnals are church goers. There is no financial purpose to do this.
I would LOVE to see a Wilson Bryan Key documentary on Subliminal Suggestion in Advertising. THAT would be extremely interesting , and much more understandable. Madison Avenue wants your dollars. The church already has your dough.
One more thing… I just recently picked up a book off of Amazon (I love that site!) about Subliminal Motivation in the ad world, and it was fascinating, with lots of pictures and examples.
It’s called “The Secret Sales Pitch” by August Bullock. Read this, I think a documentary on THIS subject would be much more relevant…
Trust me,
Swan