And to all a good night

The important role entertainment plays in our holiday season

Whether you refer to this as the Christmas or Holiday Season (logical arguments can be made for and against both points of view) everyone can admit that entertainment plays an important role in the season. Indeed, this is the time of year when the Hallmark channel pivots from their typical sappy (and unrealistic) romance programming to sappy (and unrealistic) Christmas themed romance programming. It's also the time of year for which every music producer, composer, and writer who ever contributed to a Christmas themed song anxiously awaits as they know that those royalty checks will come rolling in soon afterward (I'm looking at you Mariah Carey and Mark Lowery).

But the profits go beyond just music. Christmas and Christmas themed movie releases have become something of a tradition lately. Not only do these films play a pivotal role in setting the Christmas atmosphere in homes everywhere, but apparently Christmas day theatrical releases are a fairly decent way to further monetize a day when many people would otherwise be sitting at home enjoying time with their families. So just how much of an impact can Christmas entertainment have? I've addressed the impact that media can have on human psychology in previous articles, so I'll avoid beating a proverbial dead horse; suffice it to say that the media we consume can have a significant impact on our emotions, beliefs, and our traditions.

If you're getting a feeling of déjà vu, you're not hallucinating. I did cover the topic of how different forms of media can influence our consumption habits a few weeks ago with the article "The Most Wonderful Sale of the Year," but that was more focused on the advertisement space. I think it's important to differentiate the influence of music and film because many of us simply consume of music or film with the intention of enjoyment / recreation and almost never consider the possibility that we're being marketed to. In contrast, when we see / hear a commercial or advertisement, we're at least aware that the purpose is to sell us on something. The interesting thing is that so many people are getting marketed to from so many directions these days that many of us are beginning to develop a gag reflex to most traditional forms of advertisements. Ad firms aren't stupid; it's their job to know the landscape of the advertising space better than anyone so we must acknowledge their awareness to our awareness of and attempts to avoid them.

Enter product placement...

The earliest example of product placement in film that immediately comes to mind is the early 1960's film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" however, one of the most memorable would have to be Audi's recent partnership with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A brand's ability to strategically place itself as a near indispensable part of a major blockbuster's story line can be a boon to the company's brand recognition, popularity and bottom line. Going back to the Audi example, even non-car people will identify the vehicle in the image on the right as "Tony Stark's car" whether they know what an Audi is or not. In addition, the fact that it's Tony Stark's car will inevitably lead to more people doing a quick web search on their mobile device and educating themselves on "What kind of car was that Tony Stark drove in Iron Man?" (although somehow an Acura made it's way into there... I'm still trying to figure that one out)

Subjectively speaking, an Audi R8 isn't a very expensive vehicle. That may sound like a ridiculous statement, but just for some context, the R8 doesn't even crack the list of the 50 most expensive super cars in the world. Despite this fact, if the average non-car person sees you pull up in one of these, they will automatically categorize you into the upper-echelon of baller status simply because you're driving the Tony Stark car. I'm not sure how much of an expenditure it was for Audi to provide Marvel Studios with enough vehicles and fuel for the necessary film time, but I'd say they've gotten more than a return on investment given how much the product placement has increased their profile and visibility and the fact that as far as I could tell from watching the films several times over (exclusively for research purposes) their vehicles were treated gingerly and with a great amount of care on set (I mean, except for that one The Black Panther destroyed).

So why all this rambling about product placement and what does it have to do with Christmas entertainment? To get to that, I think it's important to remember that tangible products aren't the only things being advertised to us when we consume of music or films. Everything we watch or listen to has an effect on us. Many times we don't even realize the effect, but our subconscious is pretty good at developing our tendencies, perspectives and constructing a cohesive worldview and understanding of the world around us. We often assimilate views about what normal looks like by what we see and listen to, and this is especially true for young minds that have not yet developed the ability to suppress many of their baser instincts and differentiate between reality and reality TV. That being said, what are we programming ourselves with when we consume of Christmas media, and is it what we truly want / who we truly are, or is it just a vehicle for someone else's purpose?

Now, for those of you worried that this is about to take a conspiracy theorist turn, fear not. I'm far too busy trying to stay off the radar of the Lizard People and the Men in Black (I hear they'll hunt you down internationally now) to go putting their business in the streets. What I will say is that product placement is only one of the messages that are fed to the populous. Historically speaking, media has been used to promote both great good and great evil, and it's important to recognize that none of us are immune to the effects of media manipulation. A great man once said that the only barrier to truth is the assumption that you already have it. It is this very state of scornful arrogance that causes many people not to recognize the advertisements that exist in the media that we consume.

As the year draws to a close, I would encourage us all to grab our figurative Windex wipes and clean our figurative lenses, and then turn said lenses on the Christmas media that we consume of. Look for trends and patterns. Try to recognize things that you would never think to look for. Get the perspectives of other people. Seek out opinions that differ from your own and strive to understand them. Once you've had that trial run with your Christmas entertainment, try turning that lens upon the rest of the media you consume. If you do so with an open mind you may find that your views are correct, you may even find that your views are incorrect. We have been endowed by our creator with the right to have our own opinion, so I'll never tell someone that they're wrong for having the opinion they have as long as they pay me the same courtesy, but I will willing explain my points of view in the appropriate setting for those who genuinely want to hear it and aren't just looking for an argument. What's most important is to remember that you don't have to agree to understand; you can still love people you don't agree with... just ask anyone with siblings.