Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse: Featuring Sut Jhally

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In this highly anticipated sequel to his groundbreaking Advertising & the End of the World, media scholar Sut Jhally argues that we’re not likely to avert the coming climate catastrophe unless and until we confront the cultural power of the advertising industry.

Ranging from the rise of modern advertising in the early 20th century to the full-scale commercialization of the culture today, Jhally identifies one consistent message running throughout all of advertising: the idea that corporate brands and consumer goods hold the key to human happiness. He then shows how this powerful narrative, backed by billions of dollars a year and propagated by the best creative minds, has blinded us to the devastating environmental costs of ever-accelerating rates of consumption.

Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse is an ideal teaching tool for courses that look at commercialism, media culture, environmental issues, social well-being, and the tensions between capitalism and democracy.

Sut Jhally is a Professor of Communication at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Founder and Executive Director of the Media Education Foundation. He is one of the world’s leading scholars looking at the role played by advertising and popular culture in the processes of social control and identity construction. He is also the author of numerous books and articles on media, including The Codes of Advertising and Enlightened Racism. For more, visit sutjhally.com.

PRAISE FOR THE FILM

In this important update, Sut Jhally reminds us that the siren call of advertising has not been mitigated in the digital age. The consequences for our relationships, our environment, and our society are as potent and dire as ever.

— MARA EINSTEIN, PROFESSOR OF MEDIA STUDIES AT QUEENS COLLEGE | AUTHOR OF BLACK OPS ADVERTISING

A compelling call to rethink any benign assumptions about consumer culture – and to take action to create a more sustainable society.

— WILLIAM HOYNES, PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY AT VASSAR COLLEGE

An extraordinary documentary… should be seen by everyone concerned with environmental degradation and the social issues of inequality and poverty that plague the earth.

— DR. FRED MAGDOFF, CO-AUTHOR OF WHAT EVERY ENVIRONMENTALIST NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT CAPITALISM