The essence of this method is to tie the HB to the image of a positive hero. If the hero is positive, then he cannot have bad or bad habits. Contrary to this, in modern cinema the teetotaler character is an exception to the rule. The use of HB is thus smeared, leveled, erased by the authority of the movie hero. In his hands, a bottle of whiskey no longer looks like something dangerous, and a smoked cigarette is perceived as part of his unique image, his charm.
Now look at the main character of the movie "Iron Man" (performed by R. Downey Jr.). In ordinary life, he is a shocking businessman who can afford to revel, get drunk, and rowdy. Of course, in many ways he does this to divert his eyes, so that he is not taken seriously, that is, as our people say: "mows like a fool." But, nevertheless, he still uses alcohol and calmly combines stupefying himself with the activities of a superhero. This applies, among other things, to his physical form, reaction, attentiveness. After all, not everything is made for him by a suit, the person himself must also be able to competently manage this suit. This is how a certain habit is attached to the image of the hero, which is its integral part, and, most likely, will certainly be taken into circulation by his fans. Although R. Downey Jr. himself.in life he looks after his health and even does yoga.
The binding of NV can occur not only to the image of a hero, but also to a well-known media character: an actor, singer, businessman, politician, etc. And here, as an example, I would like to again recall Edward Bernays.
The fact is that in the thirties of the twentieth century, even in such a seemingly free American society, completely different views reigned than today. Women at that time were prohibited from smoking in public places. Such antics caused, at least, public censure. They could even be sued for wearing a miniskirt. The tobacco companies turned to Edward Bernays for help, as women represent fifty percent of the potential market.
In order to break the taboo on smoking women, E. Bernays did the following. In America at that time, Easter processions were held every year, which attracted many people. Bernays invited reporters from all well-known media outlets under the pretext that one very interesting event will take place at this event - the "torch of freedom" will be lit. At a certain time, when all the journalists and reporters were gathered, at Bernays's signal, about a dozen famous actresses took out a cigarette and lit up PRIVATELY, that is, while in a public place. They smoked and smiled, and journalists filmed them, interviewed them, and the actresses replied that they lit their "torch of freedom."
Thus, in this example, Bernays used one of the methods of promoting an idea or product - through the authority of a famous person. In this situation, not only this method was used, the method was also used to endow NV with properties that they do not possess, which will be discussed below in the corresponding section.
By the way, in the use of this method, the contours of another trend have been outlined - the promotion of power engineers, and they are going to promote them, most likely, through the image of a clever software engineer who spends a lot of time at the computer, is engaged in robotics and pays little attention to his biological needs in normal, healthy eating, sleep, physical activity, communication, etc. It's too early to talk about a trend, but in two films energetics are directly related to the image of such a hero: Real Steel and a Robot named Chappy.
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Another method is to endow NV with special properties that they do not possess.
The name of the method speaks for itself. We have some kind of product, for example, alcohol. It has absolutely certain physical properties: its use causes alcohol poisoning (primarily of the brain), as a result of which the perception of the world changes. But we cannot enter the market with such an offer. If everyone around them understands that alcohol literally kills our brain cells, no one will buy it. Therefore, to create the attractiveness of our product, we must endow it with some positive properties.
What does a person want to have? Well, let's say you are a young guy, and so far not everything works out for you in communication with the opposite sex, and mainly because you are just a very shy young man, you are afraid to get acquainted, communicate, besides, an introvert. It would seem that the answer is obvious - take up the education of your character, take courses in public speaking, and so on. But instead of this, the following plot constantly appears in youth cinema: some shy guy gets pretty drunk, and there is no trace of his timidity. He freely, even cheekily "rolls up" to the girls, easily communicates with them, jokes, "burns to the fullest", finds himself in the center of attention, becomes the talisman of a party, etc. And even if the next day he, having moved away from alcohol poisoning, comes to his senses again and turns into the same timid guy,the girls continue to communicate with him. He sees their views on himself, feels that he is interesting to them. The previous evening, when he was drunk as a lord, brought him a positive result.
The repeated repetition of this scenario forms the adolescent's attitude that alcohol can help in communicating with the opposite sex, and sooner or later the young man transfers this model of behavior into his life.
This is the essence of this method. All its diversity is only in the choice of these nonexistent properties. It is better if these properties are abstract, so to speak, ephemeral. HB should give courage, joy, freedom, success, happiness, charisma. That is, something that cannot really be measured or evaluated more or less objectively. So, having used HB, you cannot say for sure how much you have become bolder and whether you have become. Most likely, there will be an illusion that NV create these effects, since your psyche was carefully prepared for such a perception of drug poisoning using the above plots.
And after such a brainwashing you will program yourself for what should be fun, happy that you have become more attractive. You will convince yourself: “I drank. Now I have to become more untied, more daring. Then you can blame alcohol on all your stupidity, blunders and failures in trying to be who you are not really: “Yes, I was drunk, I don't remember anything”, etc.
In the example of tobacco promotion in America in the 30s of the last century, when Bernays brought famous actresses to this campaign, it was precisely the method of endowing HB with a property that tobacco actually does not have. The cigarette has been called the "torch of freedom." That is, the cigarette became an object with which one could gain freedom. If you are a woman, and you smoke IN PUBLIC PLACES, that is, you openly demonstrate your addiction, then you are more free than other women who cannot afford it. You smoke in public places, which means that you are now on a par with men, who can also smoke wherever they want. Thus, through the efforts of Bernays, the cigarette turned into an instrument of struggle for the rights and freedoms of women in American society, for their equality.
But here the question should be asked: "Do cigarettes really give freedom?" In a way, you can say that freedom is independence, that is, the absence of dependencies. If a person smokes, and he constantly needs cigarettes, without which he begins to feel some kind of discomfort, craving, the need to smoke, then he cannot be considered free, since he is forced to buy cigarettes in order to feel comfortable. Therefore, a woman who smokes, in this sense, is much less freedom than any non-smoker.
And in general, the very way of fighting men for equality looks strange. Instead of competing for new opportunities to engage in politics, finance or some kind of scientific activity, women chose the opportunity to smoke wherever they want. More precisely, it was not they who chose, but they were offered such a method of struggle, on which, first of all, the tobacco companies made good money.
Within the framework of this method, the hippie movement should also be mentioned, where HB and debauchery went hand in hand with concepts such as freedom, love and peace without war. Social technologies, created with the participation of the Tavistock Institute, solved the problem of social tensions in America by offering people, instead of justice and equality, instead of an economic order aimed at human development, a completely different concept: an eternal holiday where permissiveness is revered as absolute freedom. People were offered that the free use of HB is the highest degree of freedom. Thus, we again see the application of this method in action: NV are endowed with a non-existent property - they supposedly give freedom.
The next property, which is constantly attributed to alcohol and tobacco, is very important from the point of view of promoting these products among young people. Alcohol and tobacco supposedly make you more mature. As soon as some cute guy or girl appears in the frame with a glass or glass of booze in his hand and with a cigarette in his mouth, they immediately turn into adults with appropriate habits and appearance. They immediately become more business, serious, status, and as if this glass in their hand transforms them so.
This false property is dangerous because it forms wrong goals in the minds of adolescents. All adolescents (and children), one way or another, dream of becoming adults, even though the adults convince them not to rush and fully enjoy the most carefree and joyful time of their lives. And so, from the TV screens they are shown the way how their dream can come true, because they still cannot get a good job, buy an apartment, a car, start a family. Drinking alcohol, smoking - this is being an adult, this is how adults differ from children - the TV screen convinces. In this sense, the age limit also contributes, limiting the sale of alcohol to a certain age. The ability to use without restrictions is like a pass to the world of adulthood.
In many families, introducing a child to alcohol is like a rite of initiation into adulthood. From a certain moment, parents themselves begin to pour a glass of their child and drink with him.
It is good if the child eventually understands and realizes that drinking, smoking does not mean being an adult, and you need to strive for something else: you need to take place in life, you need to find your favorite business, you need to learn, you need to be able to take responsibility for yourself and others on your shoulders, you need to be able to earn your own bread, etc. This and much more is “being an adult”. But the modern media space does not even try to explain such things to our children, and puts completely different aspirations in their heads. Hence the consequences that we all see well today.
Methods for promoting alcohol by means of cinematography: