Advertisers Co-Opting The Lorax With Half-Truths About Conservation 265
pigrabbitbear writes with an interesting opinion on the "green" marketing surrounding The Lorax movie adaptation. From the article: "There may be all kinds of reasons to defend the Lorax — Dr. Seuss's wondrous children's fable that's also a seminal book about conservation — from the wrath of Lou Dobbs and Fox News and others to whom the children's book-turned-Disney film is little more than liberal propaganda. ... For adults dealing with the real world of compromise, the Lorax is loved and hated for being such a ridiculously staunch environmentalist. Dude refuses to give an inch, which isn’t realistic, but certainly makes him a compelling character. That character is now being used as a shill for the CX-5, a small SUV that’s being billed as fuel-efficient and eco-friendly. What has the poor Lorax become?"
I cringed when I saw the trailers (Score:5, Insightful)
The Lorax was was of my favorite books by Dr. Seuss. I was a regular participant in "Read Aloud" days at our local elementary school, and when I had a choice of the book this is the one I selected to read. It was a simple story, well illustrated, and enjoyable.
Obviously to stretch the story to a feature length film the writers had to include additional story elements, but it just looks SO busy. I wish they would stop destroying these classics, but I guess Hollywood is grasping for ideas and hoped to trade off nostalgia for this story and lure parents to the theater with their children. Pick up the book instead, read it to your kids, and discuss.
Don't worry about it (Score:5, Insightful)
This movie will be forgotten in five years, whereas the book will remain. Just keep your damn kids away from the movie.
Re:Not a Disney film! (Score:3, Insightful)
You've managed to bring an Apple jab into a non tech story. You have been awarded 4000 forever-alone-bitter-internet-troll points!
A "half-truth" is a whole lie. (Score:3, Insightful)
When any version of a truth is used to deceive it is nothing more than a lie.
Furor about the conservation... not the co-opt (Score:3, Insightful)
Advertisers Co-opting The Lorax
No shit? Beloved character reduced to shill by Hollywood?? You don't say? That really would be news. NOT.
With Half-truths
[clutches heart] Ohmygod. I'm going to faint. Advertisers stretching the truth to market their product. The horror! [beat] This is news?
About Conservation
[pause]
[pause]
I see what you did there.
Tell me, if Mr. Lorax had been shanghai'ed into being a spokesman for toothpaste, toys, or floor wax, would this be a story? No. This story just fans the flames of the culture wars. Whoever started this meme knew that the word "Conservation" and the phrase "liberal propaganda" would propagate the meme with his target audience, who likes to get all a-quiver and indignant and victimized when mass media propagate memes they disagree with.
My problem with extremist environmentalists (Score:3, Insightful)
I know this is probably going to get me flamed, but my biggest problem with the more extremist environmentalists out there (aside for their propensity for wild-eyed, quasi-religious Chicken Little alarmism) is that they often jump up to protest without any real answer to the question "Well, what's a reasonable alternative?" Most of the alternatives that they do have seem more like pipe dreams to me (at least for now). Sure it would be nice to have giant solar and wind farms that could supply all our energy needs. But those things are, even in the best case scenario, decades away. The idea that we're just going to run out and start shutting down coal and nuclear plants now, with no real replacement save some *hope* for a future of wind and solar is just nuts.
If you're going to advocate something radical, you had damn well have a pretty good answer on *how* where going to do it without throwing society into chaos. It's nice to save the environment, but we humans are part of that environment too.
Conservatives are complaining about no compromise? (Score:1, Insightful)
Quite ironic coming from the party that counts "no compromise" religious absolutists and TEA party politicians as their base.
Re:My problem with extremist environmentalists (Score:5, Insightful)
If you're going to advocate something radical, you had damn well have a pretty good answer on *how* where going to do it without throwing society into chaos. It's nice to save the environment, but we humans are part of that environment too.
If you're going to advocate something environmentally harmful, you had damn well better have a pretty good answer on how we're going to live that way without destroying our ecosystem. It's nice to have shiny things, but we humans can't live without the environment.
Re:My problem with extremist environmentalists (Score:3, Insightful)
STRAWMAN SPOTTED.
Look, "environmentalists" are on a pretty wide spectrum. You've got your nuts, and then you've got the people who think "you know, it's probably bad that we pollute so much, let's look for cleaner and more efficient alternatives".
Your post sounds like you fixate on the nuts so you can ignore the sane people.
Re:Define fuel efficient. (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, the main advantages of SUVs are that they allow you to buy a station wagon without getting the "I'm a suburban drone" vibe that goes with a station wagon, and that they are classified as light trucks by the federal government, enabling them to bypass many of the environmental regulations imposed on cars.
liberal propaganda (Score:5, Insightful)
"Dude refuses to give an inch"
Then he's no liberal. If you look around the stubborn ones are the "my way or no way" republicans. The liberals and the centrists are the ones that have been giving ground the last 18 years. That's why the country is so fucked up with a constitution that's a joke and a dysfunctional regulatory system allowing public to be raped by corporations.