Entertainment is one of the primary conduits of LCD communication in most developed nations.
As my area of "expertise" is the United States, presented evidence will be limited to that nation.
And as I live in the U.S. my interest in what the communications suggest will happen is strong.
Entertainment as a form of leisure is really anything that pleases someone and usually effortlessly.
Any communication (print, audio, video, web) framed to please the recipient is an entertainment.
To please the recipient is to gain their trust; they will likely seek addition pleasure from the same.
When society becomes largely concerned with recreation and trivialities, the number of conduits
reaching its citizens has by that time seen exponential growth; message saturation will happen...
LCD stands for "Lowest Common Denominator" and has a two-fold meaning in the above context:
(1) oversimplified to the point of being thoughtlessly comprehensible (keep it simple silly)
- examples: ads for alcohol, cars, fast food, jewelry, etc.; political rhetoric
(2) formed from very basic data, often "ageless", sometimes abstract, multiple meanings
- examples: corporate logos and slogans; action movies; professional sports
Some LCD messages employ both meanings and if done skillfully will greatly please the recipient.
It is important to clarify that LCD does not imply any particular level of scope or merit. Local, state,
or national; banal, familiar, or intellectual; in combination or changing from one level to the other
over time. LCD techniques maximize the number of recipients who will truly recieve the messages.
The time for a serious choice is nearing because the messages in LCD entertainment suggest it is.
Exhibit A . . .
(2006/05/26) X-Men: The Last Stand
http://www.x-menthelaststand.comhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376994Taglines: "Take a Stand" and "Whose side will you be on?"
Summary: (snippet of a review written by "agentmatheus")
A cure for the mutant gene has been found, and the X-Men, led by Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) now have the dilemma of whether they are willing to lose their powers and live as normal people. However, the Brotherhood, led by the mad mutant Magneto (a notable Ian McKellen), believe this is an outrage against their race and this leads to a war between the two sides. Meanwhile, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) is revealed to be alive, but with different powers. In time, it is clear that Jean Grey- now possessed by the powers of the Dark Phoenix- has become a threat and the ultimate mutant war is about to begin.
"X-Men: The Last Stand" is the most emotionally elaborate and complex of all the series. If this proves to be the last chapter of the series, it is a giant one and will leave many fans shocked and heartbroken.Interpretations of Exhibit A are dependent upon who the (X)avier-led (X)-Men symbolize in the US,
and who the (M)agneto-led (M)utants symbolize. From what I know about the movie, the gov't has
developed (in conjunction with a drug company) a cure for "mutantism". Magneto is concerned that
the gov't will eventually want to force all mutants to become 100% humans. And so the war begins.
Interpretations also depend on who the government symbolizes (it could be our actual government,
or the "United States Chapter" of the "PTB Fraternity") and what mutantism symbolizes. But again -
some change that will affect pretty much everyone firsthand or secondhand is being conditioned for.
It is important to note that how this movie ends and thus who "wins" or "loses" may not necessarily
signify who "gains victory" in the coming struggle that this nation faces. That part of the message is
the most difficult to forecast. Regardless - no matter what, on a local level anyone can be a winner.
(And I haven't seen X-Men 3 yet, nor read any juicy spoilers... when I see it I can revisit this point.)
Exhibit B . . .
(summer 2006) Marvel Comics: "Civil War" series
http://www.marvel.com/comics/22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_War_(comics)
Summary: (snippet fair-used from Marvel.com)
After months of anticipation and boiling tensions, Civil War has finally arrived! The Road to Civil War has reached its end and now Marvel's biggest event ever is ready to rock the world of comics.
Running through the pages of New Avengers: Illuminati Special, Amazing Spider-Man, and Fantastic Four, the Road to Civil War has led to this: a universe of heroes divided over the possible institution of a super hero registration act.Pretty much the same story, but there's no cure of "specialness" prompting the government action.
End result is the same though, a big huge war with one very powerful side versus another power...
In each setting, the sides are not identity dissimilar, they are ideology dissimilar. "E unum pluribus".
And now the latest Civil War issue will take its message to the next level - Spiderman outs himself!!
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/213778/1/.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-ManCivil War
In the crossover Civil War, one of the central aspects of the story will be Spider-Man's conflicted feelings on the Super-human Registration Act. The writers at Marvel have stated plans for Spider-Man to have extremely conflicting emotions on the subject, stemming from both his popularity and his reputation as an "everyday man" outside of his costume. This inner struggle is accented in promotional art featuring Spider-Man on both sides; wearing his new costume (designed by Iron Man) on Iron Man's side, and his classic costume on Captain America's. In Civil War #2, In a Times Square press conference Spider-Man tells the world that "My name is Peter Parker and I've been Spider-Man since I was 15 years old. Any questions?"Again, the interpretation of Exhibit B depends upon what each Super-human side symbolizes, and
what the government symbolizes. But as the Wikipedia entry for the Civil War comic series shows,
two differing ideologies split a group of similar entities to the point of them trying to kill each other.
Same caveat on the ending, and in this case, nobody knows the ending yet. I guess I'll buy them.
Could this theme be suggesting that America the Beautiful is actually quite ugly? That some states
are going to strongly disagree on a future federal mandate, and try to split away from the U.S.A.?
Furthermore, on a state level there will still be division among citizens, and that means more death.
On the other hand, it could be the rumored two "factions" among U.S. PTB which are finally going
to engage in real fighting, and the government is going to be the referee who starts the match...
In my next post, I will present more specific evidence which supports this initial suggestion. G'nite.
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