Bringing us closer to

Dallas Smythe's argument that "leisure" time, at least that which is spent consuming, either through shopping or engaged in advertisements or (others') money-making schemes, is "work" time was not only surprising but also informative. It's makes me rethink the way that I'm going about my final paper for this class. The topic, men's underwear, had originally been going in the direction of an advertising history. But Smythe's emphasis on the work of the consumer reminds me of the collectible aspect of men's underwear, at least for gay men. The advertising is not just in magazines, where you would have to tear out the ad, but on underwear boxes themselves (for Calvin Klein, RIPS, C-IN2, 2(x)ist, etc). Even more working leisure time is consumed by those suckers, like me, who follow a (no joke) video PodCast for companies with ads, like AussieBum, an Australian gay-run underwear company. They even have a "reality TV" component as well, to help make the models seem more interesting or ad-following worthy.

But it's not just underwear. YouTube has become an amazing source of not just bootleg media, but advertisements! You want to see an ad from the SuperBowl? Check out YouTube, or the company's website. It'll be there. In those instances, the ad need only be shown once and if it breaks through as funny or smart or absurd, it's going to be seen by twice as many people, and probably more than once, through no additional work (or cost) of the advertising corporation. That's incredible . . .

As we have discussed in some other classes, it seems that our current American economy is mostly in the realm of the superstructure, rarely creating actual material products. It's something to consider and I wish that Smythe had better discussed it. While he refutes Murdock saying that he has covered the ground, I'm not sure what to do with his statement that "the mass media of communications are simultaneously in the superstructure and engaged indispensably in the last stage of infrastructural production" (3). I agree, but what can or should we do about that? Is that better or, presumably, worse for us as a culture? But then aren't there ways in which such consciousness industry is being used "for good?"