The Generational Gap

Last English class the topic came up of a generational gap and its effect on our perception of the PBS documentary "The Persuaders." I feel that this is an interesting topic and has increasing relevance in today's society (link to the documentary's website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/).

We live in a world that is changing more rapidly than ever. Earlier in the term our class discussed the idea of people who stand tenacious in the face of change through small acts of non-conformity such as continuing to write paper letters through the "snail mail" as it is now called. Evidently, these people do not want to change their lifestyle to the more competitive paradigm in which we now find ourselves. I feel that the media, corporations, and governments are operating in a way that is completely new to the general public, and as a result, people do not want to change.

We world is changing very rapidly, as I have said. As a result, the world is a very competitive place, especially between businesses and countries. This being said, "The Persuaders" mocks attempts by companies to try to gain leverage on one another. In some ways, I feel that this mocking is appropriate, such as in the case examined within "The Persuaders" of Song Airline's advertising campaign, which was hopelessly useless because it marketed an idea without a foundation on simple facts. I feel that the mocking point of view that the host of "The Persuaders" took toward Cotaire Rapaille's ideas was unwarranted, that subconscious ideas are an important part of consumerism. My point is that nowadays companies are trying to jump into the growing pool of young consumers. However, there is a massive generational gap between the ideas of the leaders of the corporate world and the ideas of my generation. As a result, companies need to anticipate how my generation will respond through tests groups; however, sometimes these guesses may fail (as they did with Song Airlines) or make all the difference.