Vector Equilibrium: A Synchronicities Blog

Cool 2 page essay here that might be of interest:

Symbolism of Popular Culture

For example, suppose a macro-pattern defined by film genre and a sequence progression in this pattern from introverted, feminine genres such as horror films to extraverted, masculine genres such as westerns. Given this scenario, the chances of a great western film becoming successful in a dominant horror context might be less likely than a mediocre horror film.

Questions like this led us to speculate if there might be other factors at work outside of the conscious efforts of sophisticated Madison Avenue advertising firms to make products different from the rest. Might the most successful products be so not because they stood out but rather because they fit into the times. Perhaps our most successful products made connections rather than cut connections. We wondered if these connections might be somewhat unconscious ones to vague (but real) things like the "spirit of the times" or the "zeitgeist" of the period.

I could see how this might be the case, given that so much research goes into branding and marketing products in ways that resonate with people on both conscious and subconscious levels. Whereas someone may have conscious thought processes like "Buy item A because it is cheaper" or "Buy item B because it is more expensive, and more expensive things are usually better quality", on a wholly unconscious level they may be drawn to a certain product based on motivators they don't fully understand.