A Brief Prologue

My Personal Relationship with Language 

Greetings! My name is Beth Binkley and I'm a senior creative writing major at Webster University. In between class, I work at a towing parts company writing shopping guide articles with a team of creatives like myself. I'm proud to have been published multiple times on etrailer's website since June of 2022. 

                                     Pictured: Me and the marketing team at etrailer in 

                          Wentzville, MO. (I'm the girl with the glasses and dark sweater.)

 

My career choice has never been a question for me. I have always thrived in courses centered around language, writing, and creative expression. Staying true to what interests me most has proven to be a guided decision. 

After centering my life around writing, I could never deny the power of the written word. I believe in the power of intentional language.  

Power Through the Lens of Foucault 

Foucault states that power can be a benevolent force, either stopping citizens from thinking freely or encouraging them to behave kindly with its influence. Power can exclude or unite, much like language can, but power is always working to influence people to behave in specific ways. 

As a content writer for a corporation, I can't help but think of marketing attempts as an example of language and power working together. Every day I consume a sinful amount of commercial media against my will in the form of YouTube ads, billboards, pop-ups, spam in my inbox, and "junk mail" sales circulars that deliver to my home address. Everywhere I go, I am bombarded by words that tell me what to buy next or what I should order for dinner tonight. 

Currently, the smart phone navigation app, Waze, allows pop-ups to emerge while its users are driving. I know this because I use Waze regularly when I commute, and was unpleasantly surprised one day to see half the map covered by a Dunkin' ad. You can swipe up on it to make it disappear, but in my opinion, this is the ultimate example of normalizing power; we're so used to being marketed to at all times that not even the road is safe. 

Pictured: Waze ads on navigation screen from medium.com.

Sam Hill addresses the issue of the oversaturation of ads in media in his article, "Ads Are Taking Over Streaming, and I Can't Afford to Look Away." Like most users, Hill doesn't mind the occasional commercial break -- it's that there's a paywall standing between most "ad free" options and the versions laced with an ad every five minutes. Users have no way of opting out of the influence of companies without subscribing to premium services at double the cost. 

I feel similarly to Hill in that I don't appreciate having to pay for my peace. Sometimes there's more power in silence, or, at the very least, more freedom in it. However, commercials like Jake from State Farm can unite cultures and turn into memes that members of that culture develop and repurpose. According to an article by Alex Healey, Jake's actor was played by a real employee who had won an international casting competition for the role and is today known for his five minutes of fame. The cultural impact of his work sent ripples into American marketing tactics and changed Jake's life forever, proving that humor united society beyond State Farm's expectations. 

Pictured: Jake from State Farm from knowyourmeme.com 

In a world where we have few choices left to make for ourselves, I think reclaiming the power of our words is a radical idea. We don't have to smother each other with unnecessary language like ads, but it's comforting to know that the language we do have to bear can be repurposed and meme-ified by the people until it becomes our own. 

Bibliography 

Healey, Alex. “The Original 'Jake from State Farm' Guy Wasn't an Actor.” GetJerry.com. Jerry, Inc.,         August 4, 2021. https://getjerry.com/insights/jake-state-farm-guy-not-actor. 

Hill, Simon. “Ads Are Taking over Streaming, and I Can't Afford to Look Away.” Wired. Conde Nast,     August 19, 2022. https://www.wired.com/story/advertising-services-devices-rant/.