This short film seems to tie in perfectly with the media studies class I am currently enrolled in. Logorama is a short film about a thief and smuggling Ronald McDonald who is chased by the police unti he falls into the crumbling world around him. The film is comprised totally of corporate logos, that bring clutter in Times Square to a whole other level. Everything is a logo. The street lamps are T-Mobile signs, the helicopters are Logos, all the people are logos, even the butterflies are little MSN logos. At first the sight is quite comical, as you see AOL people walk around and look at the Hot Wheels rollercoaster, but then it dawns on you. This world is not totally unlike our own. Most things in our society are branded, and if not probably will be in another couple years.
The characters in the movie were all very unapealing and rude at every turn. Even the Michelin Man police man were mean. Not only were these lively logos mean, but they were selfish. At every turn the people in this corporate world were exhibiting the dark side of capitalism and the corporate structure: greed. I thought this was great symbolism for a part of the corporate business model that a lot of times preaches philanthropic ideas, but practices whatever behavior brings in the most profit. This is an effective economic model, but sometimes economics need to be differentiated from other solutions that dont involve a profit.
I am not preaching anti-capitalism, I am just trying to better the capitalist model by identifying the bad parts. There are certan ideals that are good to strive towards, even if they do not provide the highest financial return. The problem with corporate intentions is that it will go against the society's moral ideals if the risk is financially suitable.
The short film ended with all the corporate brands collapsing and ruining the earth and the society that they have dominated. This might be a subtle suggestion that what we create might actually lead to our downfall. That sort of irony would be painfully funny to any historian. With this in mind, I urge you to think as a citizen and not as only a consumer of brands. The clutter that surrounds us can be removed if we as citizens do not want it.
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