Texts: Why Can’t Johnny Dissent, The New Politics of Consumption
Ad: Land Rover Go Beyond
In my second paper I discussed the ideal of a retirement utopia being constructed. Each gender had starkly different utopias set up. The male utopia centered on escaping responsibility and family. In all the ads with this utopia, there are no signs of civilization and the man is alone. “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent” makes a tie for the man trying to escape back to the “real world.” Although the ideal is alone and cut off from technology, there are still “needs” that you could have. Big business wants you to go out there so it can create a market of products for you. These products tie you back to your family. It ties you back to the real world. You are still a consumer, having not escaped from anything, just moved.
“The New Politics of Consumption” discusses striving for luxury. It is no longer an unachievable goal. In fact it is becoming the primary goal. Luxury obviously will cost more than normalcy. So when a breadwinner for a family is purchasing the best toys or household goods, the money has to come up short somewhere. It builds upon the idea of it is just planning and if someone gets too caught up in getting to the utopia, in this case surrounding ones self with luxurious things, you will fail in social realms of life.
The ad from Land Rover reaffirms this male utopia of escaping. With 3 quarters of the earth being ocean, places to drive and escape are pretty limited. If the world were reversed into water being land and visa-versa, there would be more possible destinations to escape to and explore. The copy also sets this version of Earth as a utopia. Of course this could never happen, but it doesn’t stop men, and Land Rover, from dreaming about it.
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