Romans #4
13 years ago
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The NBA Finals
I love basketball. It’s my favorite sport. I loved watching the finals. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers competed for the ultimate dream of a basketball player: Winning the NBA Championship.
But how did they get that dream?
Two players, Lebron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics), tell us how in this NBA playoffs commercial:
"I’ve dreamed about winning it all since I was probably 9 years old. I remember seeing Jordan/Bird win it all. I made up my mind right then, that was gonna be me. That I was going to be part of that. Some dreams fade over time. But not this one."
For nearly their whole lives, these two players have been consumed with a dream of winning a championship. Why? Because they saw someone else win – Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. Their desire to win the championship, to be the best at their profession, was sparked by someone else. This happens to all of us - our dreams and desires are mediated by the dreams and desires of others.
The influence of desire shown in this commercial is what is known as mimetic desire. Observing someone else wanting something generates a similar desire in us to want the same thing. We mimic the desires of others. This mimetic nature of desire is good. It is how we learn to desire, in this case, an NBA Championship.
But mimetic desire can easily turn into mimetic rivalry. Lebron James and Kevin Garnett will never come into rivalry with Michael Jordan or Larry Bird. Who will they come into rivalry with? Each other. The commercial does an amazing job showing that the desires of the two individuals have become one desire, which leads them into rivalry. While one tries to achieve his dreams, he must also prevent the other from achieving his dreams. The commercial states the dark side of basketball, “There can be only one.” One winner and multiple losers. One team will experience the great thrill of victory; the other teams will experience the tragic agony of defeat.
It is unlikely that the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers will lead to violence. But, quite often on a personal and national level, mimetic rivalry does lead to violence. How might we settle our conflicts and rivalries without using violence?
But how did they get that dream?
Two players, Lebron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics), tell us how in this NBA playoffs commercial:
"I’ve dreamed about winning it all since I was probably 9 years old. I remember seeing Jordan/Bird win it all. I made up my mind right then, that was gonna be me. That I was going to be part of that. Some dreams fade over time. But not this one."
For nearly their whole lives, these two players have been consumed with a dream of winning a championship. Why? Because they saw someone else win – Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. Their desire to win the championship, to be the best at their profession, was sparked by someone else. This happens to all of us - our dreams and desires are mediated by the dreams and desires of others.
The influence of desire shown in this commercial is what is known as mimetic desire. Observing someone else wanting something generates a similar desire in us to want the same thing. We mimic the desires of others. This mimetic nature of desire is good. It is how we learn to desire, in this case, an NBA Championship.
But mimetic desire can easily turn into mimetic rivalry. Lebron James and Kevin Garnett will never come into rivalry with Michael Jordan or Larry Bird. Who will they come into rivalry with? Each other. The commercial does an amazing job showing that the desires of the two individuals have become one desire, which leads them into rivalry. While one tries to achieve his dreams, he must also prevent the other from achieving his dreams. The commercial states the dark side of basketball, “There can be only one.” One winner and multiple losers. One team will experience the great thrill of victory; the other teams will experience the tragic agony of defeat.
It is unlikely that the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers will lead to violence. But, quite often on a personal and national level, mimetic rivalry does lead to violence. How might we settle our conflicts and rivalries without using violence?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The Magic of Macy's
Good advertisers know how to drum up desire. That’s the magic of this commercial.
I never heard of Gabriel Aubrey before I researched this commercial, but now I want to be him. I want to be the guy who makes Martha Stewart drop her plate (has Martha ever dropped a plate before?) and stare at my . . . umm, backside . . . as I walk away. I want to be the guy who makes Mariah Carey say, “Ohhhh my.” I want to be the guy who makes women turn their heads as I walk by. Yea. That’s who I want to be. And I can be that guy if I look like Gabriel and buy a $699 Calvin Klein suit from Macy’s.
Can I be that guy?
What is the problem with this commercial? How is it “shallow,” as Trump ironically comments? The Magic of Macy’s is that if I buy a Calvin Klein suit, poof!, I’ll look like Gabriel Aubrey. But, if I look like Gabriel, he and I will end up competing for the affection of women. Gabriel really doesn’t want me to look like him. He wants me to desire to look like him, but if I look too much like him we’ll be in competition for the affection of women, and for his modeling job. “Look like me,” says Gabriel. “But don’t look too much like me.” It’s a nasty double bind.
What this commercial is really promoting is a dead end in relationships. That’s the trap of the double bind. If I should live my life imitating Gabriel’s desire to be the undisputed desire of women’s affections, the inevitable outcome will be conflict with Gabriel for those affections and neither of us will be happy. But I wonder what would happen if we had a cultural shift in desire. What if we no longer had a selfish desire to be the idol of others, but an altruistic desire to offer affirmation to others?
I never heard of Gabriel Aubrey before I researched this commercial, but now I want to be him. I want to be the guy who makes Martha Stewart drop her plate (has Martha ever dropped a plate before?) and stare at my . . . umm, backside . . . as I walk away. I want to be the guy who makes Mariah Carey say, “Ohhhh my.” I want to be the guy who makes women turn their heads as I walk by. Yea. That’s who I want to be. And I can be that guy if I look like Gabriel and buy a $699 Calvin Klein suit from Macy’s.
Can I be that guy?
What is the problem with this commercial? How is it “shallow,” as Trump ironically comments? The Magic of Macy’s is that if I buy a Calvin Klein suit, poof!, I’ll look like Gabriel Aubrey. But, if I look like Gabriel, he and I will end up competing for the affection of women. Gabriel really doesn’t want me to look like him. He wants me to desire to look like him, but if I look too much like him we’ll be in competition for the affection of women, and for his modeling job. “Look like me,” says Gabriel. “But don’t look too much like me.” It’s a nasty double bind.
What this commercial is really promoting is a dead end in relationships. That’s the trap of the double bind. If I should live my life imitating Gabriel’s desire to be the undisputed desire of women’s affections, the inevitable outcome will be conflict with Gabriel for those affections and neither of us will be happy. But I wonder what would happen if we had a cultural shift in desire. What if we no longer had a selfish desire to be the idol of others, but an altruistic desire to offer affirmation to others?
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