Advertising & the End of the World video (5min 35sec) features an illustrated presentation by Sut Jhally of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the producer and writer of the award-winning Dreamworlds II.
Focusing directly on the world of commercial images, he asks some basic questions about the cultural messages emanating from this market-based view of the world: Do our present arrangements deliver what they claim-- happiness and satisfaction? Can we think about our collective as well as our private interests? And, can we think long-term as well as short-term?
Drawing from the broad arena of commercial imagery, and utilizing sophisticated graphics, Advertising & the End of the World addresses the issues these questions raise, encouraging viewers to reflect on their own participation in the culture of consumption.
Making the connection between society's high-consumption lifestyle and the coming environmental crisis, Jhally forces us to evaluate the physical and material costs of the consumer society and how long we can maintain our present level of production.
