The documentary makes clear how psychological knowledge leads to consumer manipulation. In approximately 200 words, what did you find most surprising about this historical look at our society?
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Several documentaries delve into the psychological manipulation of consumers, highlighting the sophisticated techniques used by advertisers and marketers to influence consumer behavior. Here are some key points from these documentaries:
1. Psychological War (2010)
– This documentary explores the use of psychological tactics in various contexts, including advertising and marketing. It discusses how companies manipulate consumers through emotions and subconscious desires, illustrating the pervasive role of psychological persuasion in everyday life. The film features interviews with experts in psychology, military strategy, and marketing, providing a comprehensive analysis of psychological manipulation techniques[1].
2. The Century of the Self (Adam Curtis Documentary)
– This documentary series examines how psychoanalytic theories were applied in consumer marketing. It details how psychoanalysts, particularly Edward Bernays and Ernest Dichter, developed techniques to understand and manipulate the unconscious desires of consumers. The documentary shows how these methods were used to create new consumer products and lifestyles, effectively turning people into model consumers by tapping into their unconscious feelings and desires[4].
3. Neuromarketing: How Brands are Manipulating Your Brain
– This documentary focuses on neuromarketing, a practice that involves studying consumers’ brains to understand how and why they respond to certain stimuli. It explains that 90% of consumer decisions are made at a subconscious level and how brands use this knowledge to influence consumer choices. Examples include McDonald’s using perfumes to increase brand association and Procter & Gamble boosting sales of Ariel washing powder by placing an artificial perfume under the lid[5].
Key Techniques and Insights
– Emotional Manipulation: Advertisers often focus on emotional rather than rational appeals to sell products. For instance, instead of framing oral hygiene as a health issue, they might emphasize the beauty benefits, as seen in the work of Claude Hopkins[2].
– Unconscious Desires: Psychoanalysts like Ernest Dichter believed that consumers’ real reasons for buying products were rooted in unconscious desires and feelings. Techniques such as motivational research and focus groups were developed to uncover these desires[4].
– Neuromarketing: This practice involves analyzing brain responses to understand consumer behavior at a subconscious level. Brands use this knowledge to create stimuli that bypass rational thinking and appeal directly to consumers’ gut instincts[5].
– Storytelling and Authority: Documentaries like The Social Dilemma use storytelling and authority figures to lower cognitive resistance and make audiences more vulnerable to persuasion. This approach humanizes issues and makes them more relatable, increasing the impact of the message[3].
These documentaries collectively highlight the sophisticated and often subtle ways in which psychological knowledge is used to manipulate consumer behavior, underscoring the importance of understanding these techniques to make informed choices.
Sources:
– [1] www.factualamerica.com
– [2] www.youtube.com
– [3] www.fielding.edu
– [4] www.youtube.com
– [5] www.youtube.com
