LYCHEE: Corporate- and self-delusion

Alzarin’s comment to my protecting birth control entry forced me to contemplate from where I keep myself informed (or at least attempt to do so) and how do I choose what sources to trust. While teaching a unit on media literacy, frustration abounded as I discovered not only my students’ lack of thought about where media messages came from (I cannot say for sure that at age 15 I had a clear concept of what an ad agency does – and most adults probably do not either), but at their lack of awareness of how the media intentionally manipulates them into thinking or acting in the creators’ (not the viewers’) best interest. Of course, as the teacher and adult, I like to think that I know better. I found it hard to teach this unit and these concepts without falling into a depressing cynicism. Maybe I am just blindly choosing a different wolf in sheep’s clothing. It can’t be all that bad, can it? If there is not good in the world, then what is the point in doing what I am doing, unless it is to breed a generation of conspiracy theorists? Winter break came along and saved us all from this unit, but clearly, the issues are still taunting me.

For instance, who to believe regarding these issues I started writing about yesterday?

I read an article on Alternet.org, “Miracle Malpractice,” as which recalled an email exchange between Alizarin and I last week. Is everything in our lives a form of propaganda meant to use us as pawns in the game of corporate gain? In the article, Dr. Deyo, being interviewed about a book he co-wrote, says:

The problem with me-too drugs is a big one. Me-too drugs are chemically very similar to other drugs already available, yet they are typically marketed as if they were important new breakthroughs, and typically with very high prices. We found in many cases that new, expensive me-too drugs are not necessarily better than older generic and less expensive drugs. Because new and heavily marketed drugs seem like they must be better, manufacturers can command higher prices. That is an important driver of drug costs.

Moreover, he connects this to the commercialization of actual medical services:

I argue we should be trying to get the most health care for the most people as opposed to getting every last minute of life for an individual who may have a terminal illness. But words like "rationing" are taboo. We can't talk about it. . . .

The problem is that well-insured patients are pulled away from community hospitals that offer a full range of services and those hospitals may find it harder to stay in business. Emergency room care, burn care, and psychiatric care – those are less profitable services that are at risk of disappearing.

This is already happening in Los Angeles where several hospitals closed down emergency rooms, often in neighborhoods that are in most need of them due to violence and poverty that leaves many with emergency rooms as their only choice for health care.

How can I be an informed person if I am getting so many conflicting messages? After all, is Dr. Deyo really concerned about me or just trying to sell a book? What about my doctor? I would like to think she has my best interest at heart, but is she also just an unwitting pawn in the hands of corporate (in this case pharmaceutical companies) propaganda?

To make it worse, last week the supposedly breaking news was that many of our ‘news’ stories are ‘fake.’ What, all those stories I hear on the news are not real?! Here is the email exchange with Alizarin – Video News Releases and Fake News:

Lychee:

Here (KCRW's "To The Point" on 3/15/05) is something I thought you might find interesting, if you already don’t know about video (or audio) news releases. I remember when I first started editing these working in corporate video. VNRs, in fact, are a big source of income for many video production houses. I was surprised, though not shocked, to find that many of the glossy news stories were pre-packaged reporting. After all, who has time to go out and shoot new stories EVERY day? Like why should I chop vegetables, grate cheese, roll the dough myself when I can just pop a ready made pizza in the oven. The shocking part is how much companies (and, according to this talk show, government agencies) spend on these videos (I’ve worked on some that had budgets up to $40,000). Since the government is non-profit and not know for their efficiency, I would not be surprised if they spent double on their versions.

 

Alizarin:

I've heard about the video news releases paid for by the Bush administration. I found it very easy to see happening and I know people who probably are involved in their production on the conservative/*** News crowd side.

When [Alizarin’s hubby] and I saw this last night on the news, [Alizarin’s hubby] mentioned that it's every three months like clockwork to get people all freaked out. . . .

 

Lychee:

[Alizarin’s hubby] had an interesting observation there and I agree. The further we get into the war and our stumbling economy and the further we fall behind in education, the more the media/government work to keep Americans in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety and panic. I guess the thing is that government is paying, but I think I knew that for a long time, on a certain level. Anyway, what bubble have all these people been living in? I find it hard to believe that the host on NPR and certainly any journalist at NYT is just discovering how prevalent VNRs are in news. Anyway, that hubby of yours definitely has his insights. I always thought you just married him for his cooking and boyish looks.

 

Where does our outrage really begin and end? And are the news stations to be blamed? Also, why are we only getting hyped up about this now? For example, anytime I hear any medical or health story on the news, I assume it is a VNR that has been produced and distributed by some pharmaceutical corporation. It might have been sitting around for a week or so and shuffled into today’s news because there were 30 seconds that needed filling. Do I do anything about it? No. What could I do?

Bringing me back to teaching, the one place I might be able to do something by simply talking bout it. It is frightening to read a book like Brave New World with my students and realize that the blindness with which most characters accept their sleep teachings and soma is not one that we can criticize without some hypocrisy. Maybe we each have our choosen 'reliable' sources because it is just too hard to question everything and because we want, in the end, to have the luxury to not have to take on all the responsibility of making blind decisions. As a teacher, I see this is often the easy way out. From yoga, I learn the easiest way is rarely the most rewarding. As a blogger, I have the luxury of not having to have a point at the end of all this.