Call me what you will, but I consider myself a learned media critic. I regularly evaluate media messages sent by the mainstream.
One phenomena I've noticed is something I call priming. This is when someone can solicit a subject's reaction to an event by systematically placing certain suggestions in a series of messages.
I don't want to give away any secrets, but this is why advertisements are so effective.
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| Revolution on NBC |
Surely, by seeing or hearing an advertisement for a particular car over and over again that brand the first a potential car buyer thinks of. For the consumer this technique builds top of mind awareness.
But what about priming the public for, say, a major disaster like an earthquake or a terror attack or even arguably more devastating, a complete collapse of our electrical grid.
"Prime" Time TV
To properly explain how messages can prime the public I introduce Exhibit A: the new J.J. Abrams network TV show Revolution.
"This high-concept drama – set 15 years after a mysterious planetary event caused all forms of electrical energy clicked off, perhaps permanently" is no doubt going to be a hit. The show premiered Monday and the ratings and critics are extremely happy with the outcome.
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| The 10 FEMA Regions from FEMA.gov |
Exhibit B: The Hunger Games--I have not seen the film, but I'm familiar with the plot. It's a vast wasteland world where the elite live in a technologically advanced society and pit the serfs (who live in 10 different regions across America--that coincides with the 10 FEMA regions that are already in place). Is this a way to prepare the public for an inevitable collapse?
The first two examples are just a few of how popular culture seems to be using messages to prime the public for what could become a chaotic and collapsed society.
Your tax dollars
Another example comes from the Federal Government. The Center for Disease Control, along with the Department of Homeland Security are promoting disaster preparedness by distributing material talking about a Zombie Apocalypse. Your tax dollars hard at work. Now it's being reported by the Huffington Post that 1,000 members of the military, police and other first responders will be trained on a Zombie Apocalypse. Is this priming for an eventual collapse and the chaos that would ensue?
These are just a few of the many examples of how media messages can be used "prepare" the public to cope with a looming disaster. Call me crazy, but I see priming as an essential tool for the establishments' control of how the public responds to a collapse.
Is a collapse possible?
With the possibility of World War III (Iran, China, Russia vs. the West), the US and European economy being destabilized by central bank actions (devaluing the currency through quantitative easing), the Petrodollar on the cliff of nonexistence and the possibility of EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) weapons able to take out entire electrical grids--oh, and how can we forget the crazy synthetic drug craze that appears to be turning people into flesh eating zombies? Keep your eyes open, and prepare for the worst!
