The Mass Ornament

Siegfried Kracauer’s book The Mass Ornament has essays with his observations and analysis of Weimar Germany in the 20s but it also seems relevant to America today. Kracauer is like an Amoriam sage in his narrative analysis, which is not the linear, sequential layout of an argument customary in the U.S. Instead, nuggets of information are dispersed throughout his exposition to be discovered, interpreted and formed together into a relational whole through reflection. In further observance of this tradition, he uses symbolism. The term mass ornament is an example. I apply my own definitions to these symbols in this interpretation of his essay The Mass Ornament from the book of essays by the same name.

In architecture, an ornament is a decorative detail that embellishes a space, and over time it becomes an archaeological marker for a culture. Kracauer extends the concept to embellished social spectacles or enactments and uses these to understand a culture as revealed in its current events. He holds that everyday social ornaments represent aspects of a culture without mediation and are better evidence for understanding its essence than its own pronouncements.

The mass ornament is the term he applies to such capitalist spectacles, capitalism derived as it is from mass industrial production, mass consumption, highly synchronized, interchangeable processes and parts. The outcome of its Ratio, the logic behind its processes, is efficient production, consumption, finance and war.Kracauer sees a regressive/progressive struggle between nature and reason. Myths represent past reason and the understanding of cultures that have failed, but their myths nevertheless offer insights into how real people should relate to nature. Capitalist Ratio is the logic of our current system of mass production and how it deals with nature.

Although it has been far more successful in some regards than earlier organized interaction with nature, Kracauer maintains it does not satisfy our humanity. Its consideration ends with production. Unlike the other liberal thought leaders of the 20s, Kracauer sees the failing of this Ratio as not enough analysis or reason rather than too much. It does not fully include the humanity of mankind into its reckoning, only efficiency of production and consumption.

According to Kracauer, the mass ornament in modern capitalist culture is “muted nature.” It has no foundation to build a true knowledge base (edification complex) about nature. As such, along with the basic inhumanity of its overwhelming focus on efficient operations, mankind is unfulfilled by capitalist Ratio. To compensate they turn to pop practices, rhythmic gymnastics in his day, yoga or martial arts in ours. These pop practices advance into the void, each with its own mythology.

Reason is not pursued as the true link between man and nature because of these retreats into pop mythologies. The result is “irreality.” Additionally, the cultures conjured by these mythologies have, by and large, already succumbed to Ratio thereby leaving the mute nature of mass ornamentation even more prominent and influential. These pop myths already discredited by Ratio only serve to highlight its pre-eminence.

Ratio is an iron beast that breaks all before it into pieces and grinds the residue into dust. Its only weakness is its feet of clay, its foundation based on an endless race to the bottom, the cheapest, the most exploitative and the most risky practices. Unseemly risk, whether credit default swaps today or some future scandal, and its inhuman foundation will prove its undoing.

Kracauer on Photography

Siegfried Kracauer was a cultural analyst and member of the applied social sciences group at Columbia University. His work laid the foundation for modern film criticism and he is the author of several works including Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality. One of his first essays on photography appeared in the Frankfurter Zeitung in the 1920’s and was latter published in The Mass Ornament.

Underlying Kracauer’s analysis was his tenet that the inconspicuous, quotidian expressions of a culture reveal more about it than its own self-pronouncements. Everyday phenomena such as photos or the nature of popular literature and film are unmediated representations of a culture. Drewniany and Jewler (2008, p 185) remind us that in creative design, a picture is worth a thousand words. Kracauer extended his analysis beyond film into advertising, tourism, city layout, and dance.

Regarding the photograph, he observes that if we enlarge its resolution, we can make out the dots in it, which are matrixed together into recognizable shapes. However, Kracauer observes that the photo attempts to be more than just a reference to the dot matrix shape. It tries to represent the subject matter of an event, which it can not. Without a supporting history or a memory that is associated with the subject matter, the shapes on a photo are not adequate to recreate an understanding of the event.

He believes that photos are a history lacking context or meaning. They are particularly unlike memories, which are retained because of some personal significance. Someone organizes memories according to the personal significance of those memories, while a photograph is an inventory of every spatial detail of a place at a moment. Memories are never only spatial and the significant information in a memory is usually not spatial but in any case cannot be fully condensed to the simplicity of a spatial representation.

There is a variance between photos and memory. Memories are only incomplete fragments to the photographer and often without a spatial representation. They appear as fragments, though, only because a mechanical process like photography does not understand meaning and so cannot incorporate it. However, when memory fragments are associated with a common meaning they become a relational whole.

Memory in turn has reason to doubt a photo. Photo’s usually contain irrelevant litter, and are a jumble of relevant and irrelevant detail. Often the irrelevance is spatial in nature and not just a lack of meaning. [The need for photographic editing software attests to this.] A photo by itself is a suspect truth. It ignores the history of the subjects before the scene. Here there is a partial correspondence between memory and a photo. A person’s memory likewise omits characteristics and determinations of a history, but only those which are not related to the reality the person perceives in their activated consciousness.

A photo is the attempt to reduce the entire circumstance into one graphic image from one viewpoint. An artist using a camera can surmount the abovementioned shortcomings of photography by adding meaning or theme to the elements in a photograph. An artistic composition fashions the elements of a photograph “to a higher purpose. “

The artist uses different rules than the photographer, whose main concern is with the technical details of the process. The Art rules use associations to penetrate the surface cohesion of the photograph to give it a meaning. The photographer, in contrast to the artist, generally does not explore the elements or create a composition to highlight their associations. The result from a photographer is a stockpiling of unconnected elements. Without a substantive understanding of the elements in the composition, photographers are dilettantes who ape an artistic manner.

Can a photograph become timeless? Kracauer quotes E.A. DuPont, “the essence of film is the essence of time.” Because photography is a function of time, then its implications may change depending on the timeframe applied to it. In a new time period, the understanding of the scene in an old photograph is difficult to reconstruct, or as Menander put it “You can never step into the same river twice.” The subjects have moved on or the associations have changed so the image no longer recreates the desired effect. An old photo is then a diminution of its previous essence.

Kracauer argues there is a correspondence with how time affects photography and how it affects fashion. Both a photograph and a fashion are transparent when modern and empty when old. It is only the very old that obtain attention as having the beauty of an antique. Antique is beautiful because it is different in a world where there is a constant selling of newness that is the same. There is a risk with the recent past that the meaning of the composition has changed because the associations or the elements themselves are now outdated. While such is just as outdated as the very old, it still claims to be alive but Kracauer concludes it is merely ludicrous instead. It painfully tries to hold ground that is already lost. In contrast, the antique has surrendered that ground.

References
Drewniany, B and J Jewler (2008). Creative Stratgey in Advertising. Wadsworth.

Kracauer, S and T. Levin (2005) The Mass Ornament. Harvard.

The Law of Requisite Variety Applied to Semiotics

Jakobson proposes a communication model different from Shannon's, one that refects semiotic functions in communications (Cobley and Jansz, 2004:147). The elements of Jakobson's semiotic model are the following:

Different signification functions have dominant influence depending on which element directs the communication. If the focus is the addresser, the emotive function drives the system, usually with interjections. The conotative function are commands when the addressee is the focus. When contact is emphacized, establishing or maintaining communications through the phatic function dominates the system. Likewise, metalingual with code and referential with context (ibid:148-9).

My work experience and academic training is in cybernetics and information theory. A principle of cybernetics I would apply to the Jakobson model is the Law of Requisite Variety. Ashby (1956:202-18) says the variety in a system must be at least as great as the environmental variety against which it is attempting to influence. One message doesn’t fit all.

As an example, Weick (1979, p 188) focuses on the addressee in his photography metaphor:

• A photographer has 5 subjects each at a different distance from the camera.
• The photographers camera must have 5 distinct setting to capture all subjects with uniform density and clarity
• If the camera has fewer than 5 settings it lacks requisite variety and will not register with sufficient detail to depict with accuracy

Wallace (1963:129) suggested a variety of segmentation strategies based on modal personalities for the addressees. A communication will have different levels of influence and effect on different modal personality types. To understand our target, we must identify the modal personas and according to the Law of Requisite Variety, have an expertise in understanding each.

This would be something I would add to the Precede-Proceed Model in communciations (Glanz and Rimer, 2005:36). They recommend there to understand a “target audience’s needs at multiple levels of a [need].” Our system must have the requisite variety to reach all our target audience's needs.

Applied to another element in the Jokobson model, Ethos is a general cultural context. The ethos of our generation is different than previous generations. Wallace (1963:103) contrasted the Dionysian and Apollonian ethos and the transition he sensed to have occurred. For a quick overview of Dionysian and Apollonian see Ethos.

The desire for the Dionysian is personal experience, while that of the Apollonian is moderation. For the Jakobson model, consider a communication for the addressee to begin exercising. I don't think an appeal to exercise because it is immoderate to be a couch potato would be effective with our generation. However, if we made an appeal that exercise increases your personal experiences and your potential for personal experiences, that might work.

Cybernetics examines a system of interrelating parts such as the Jakobson model to establish the extent can we control the relationships between the constructs.

References
Ashby, W Ross (1956). Introduction to Cybernetics. John Wiley.

Cobley, P. and Jansz, L. (2004). Introducing Semiotics. Icon Books.

Glanz, K., & Rimer, B. (Spring 2005). Theory at a Glance. National Institute of Health. Retrieved on November 1, 2009 from http://www.nih.gov/.

Wallace, A (1963). Culture and Personality. Random House.

Weick, Karl (1979). The Social Psychology of Organizing, 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill.

Ethos, Themes, Values

Understanding our target audiences and targeting content to them is a fundamental aspect of web design. Scott (2007:33) advises us to identify and articulate each target audience and develop content specific to each. He recommends creating a persona for each target audience.

What information do we need for content to appeal to each persona? In his book, Culture and Persoanlity, Wallace (1963:101) recommends knowing the themes, values and ethos of a group to prepare appealing content. A theme is how the group sees the world. Wallace suggests a good way of discerning this is a review of the literature or theatre the group patronizes. What books or movies are their favorites?

He catalogs several themes in literature:

• The “western” – hard to find good people must fight tirelessly to bring order to a chaotic world


• The “detective” – idealists disillusioned with the existing order do the right thing for the wrong reason


• The “mystery” – clever and logical heroes politely work to maintain what they believe is a righteous order


• The “action” – well intentioned brutality


• The “drama” – heroes not concerned with social welfare, seek gratification of private desire.

Ethos is a style or form of emotional experience. Ruth Benedict, the grand dame of the cultural and social study of groups and a professor to Margaret Mead (Wallace, 1963:103), distinguishes two type of ethos for groups: Dionysian and Apollonian. The desire for the Dionysian is personal experience, while that of the Apollonian is moderation.

Finally values (ibid:101) are concepts or mental images that motivate a group to action. They are either positive or negative, moving a group towards or repelling them away from some idea. Health, membership in a prestigious group, leisure, and affluence are examples of such motivational food pellets.This type of information should be stored in our customer database in addition to the raw data on demographics, and so on to help formulate a meaningful appeal after we have segmented target audiences.

References
Scott, D (2007). The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Wiley.

Wallace, AFC (1963). Culture and Personality. Random House.

Bounded Rationality

Karl Weick (1979:20) discusses the concept of bounded rationality, a concept that is applicable to communications and to information systems. Bounded rationality means that all of us have perceptual and information processing limits. We may always intend to act fully rational but usually we act on easy to get to knowledge, use undemanding rules to search for a conclusion, and take shortcuts whenever possible.

This implies that we need to assume that the decision makers in our communications or information systems may use limited rationality. They form attitudes and opinions, or make decisions in terms of familiar facts and abbreviated analyses.

Weick’s discussion of Bounded Rationality extends earlier work done by Simon. Simon (1960: 80-84) analyzes the limits of rationality. He finds that behavior is not objectively rational for three reasons:

1. Rationality requires complete knowledge including the anticipated consequences


2. Consequences are future events so impacts can only be imperfectly anticipated


3. Even if all possible alternatives are known, it is unlikely the decision maker would be able to recall all of them in the decision making process

The needed abilities for objective rationality are at odds with the usual reality of fragmented knowledge. Objective rationality also runs counter to the devious consequences of indirect influences in a casual map. Finally, it is not reasonable to assume that all possible alternatives could be considered in a reasonable timeframe, even if they are known.


Simon concludes that

“Human rationality operates, then, within the limits of a psychological environment. This environment imposes on the individual as ‘givens’ a selection of factors upon which he must make a decision" (ibid:108).

The implication of this, according to Simon, is that a deliberate control of the psychological environment can manipulate even “rational” choice or decision.

References
Simon, H.A. (1960). Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization. Macmillan.

Weick, Karl (1979). The Social Psychology of Organizing, 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill.

List of Figures
Portrait of Herbert Simon, retrieved on November 18, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Simon

Semiotic Analysis of the BMW We Built TV Ad

The Ad and Some Background Research
The quiet clarity of the guitar picking in BMW’s We Built commercial (Bimmer: We Built) immediately grabbed my attention when I saw it on MadMen. The elegant and attractive work is a .30 TV spot.

The guitar score is lifted from Jackson Browne’s These Days track from the mid-60s. These Days is emblematic of the pop music of that time (Amazon_30_sec) and it has “lasted for decades as a classic of [blue] introspection made even more remarkable by [Jackson] Browne having been only 16 years old when he wrote it.”

Music can stimulate creativity and is also a fundamental aspect of creative advertising. Dr. David Allan (2006, p 435) says the value of music in inspiration as well as its use in creative advertising campaigns is a heightened arousal. Arrangements similar to We Built would seem effective appeals to baby boomers of higher income and education levels. The demographics of this style pop music has a bias for higher income and education levels. Likewise for BMW’s demographics (for example see BNet).

Signifier, Signified and SignsIn this advert there are several signifiers: words and a series of video clips. BMW has captured a fundamental psychological mazeway, according to Zaltman and Zaltman (2008 ,p. 145), the deep metaphor of Resource for automobiles. Deep metaphors are seven unconscious lenses that “shape what people think, say, hear and do.” They are widely used in marketing and if you own a deep metaphor for a category, the way Budweiser owns Connection in the beer market, you have powerful advantages.

Griffiths (2006, p. 3) says that the effects of marketing are based on a reward from the product, and this can include “deeper psychological motivations.” A Resource is an enabler. It is the giver of many rewards.

Since the 1970s, BWM has beat this drum, and kept the same slogan “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” The signified is being enabled with this ultimate machine. There is a sequence of seven video clips that lead up to the presentation of the text, “The Ultimate Driving machine.” The words before each clip say “We did not start out to …” but the unspoken completion from each video sequence is “however, our cars enable it.” The seven sequences in the video are:

• Mastery (skilled driving)
• Artistic Expression
• Subculture inclusion
• Pop culture inclusion
• Mastery (racing)
• Social inclusion
• We provide the resource (we just make the car)

The sign for the first six video signifiers is an iconic contrast. The words “we did not start out to” form a contrast to the video conclusion. Griffiths (2006, p. 5) notes that contrast can accentuate a sign, in his case individuality, in our case Enabler-ing. The video clips are themselves semblances of various cultural touchstones. Stultz (2009, p. 1) informs us that with iconic signs “the signifier resembles the signified, e.g. a picture.”

The last, 8th scene is a presentation of the text “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” This is a symbolic sign: conventional English words. Stultz (2009, p. 1) again tells us that symbolic signs are culturally specific (like English words) and represent a conventional relationship between signifier and the signified. The BMW machine is our resource to fulfill our desires.

As a final thought, Stultz (2009a, p. 8) informs us that the application of Semiotics to marketing involves more than just signs and symbols. It must also consider social context. The ethos of our generation is different than previous generations. Wallace (1963, p 103) contrasted the Dionysian and Apollonian ethos and the transition he sensed to have occurred. For a quick overview see Dionysian/Apollonian. The desire for the Dionysian is personal experience, while that of the Apollonian is moderation. “The Ultimate Driving Machine” would not have appealed to an Apollonian culture, while it does to a Dionysian.

ReferencesAllan, David (December 2006). Effects of popular music in advertising on attention and memory. http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/sound%20advertising.html.doc

Griffiths, M (2/16/06). A Semiotic Analysis Of Diesel Print Ads. Retrieved on October 26, 2009 from WVU IMC 625 Week One Readings.

Stultz, Larry (2009). Semiotic Terminology. Retrieved on October 26, 2009 from WVU IMC Week One Readings.

Stultz, Larry (2009a). Lesson 1: What Does Your Idea Look Like? Retrieved on October 26, 2009 from WVU IMC 625.

Wallace, AFC (1963). Culture and Personality. Random House

Zaltman, G and L Zaltman (2008). Marketing Metaphoria. Harvard Business Press.