I think for me, it started with the word “Kleenex”: the whole thing where the brand name replaces—becomes—the name of the actual item (“tissue”). Then it progressed to “Band-Aid”…but this isn’t a me thing. Some more:
Some products which are still registered trademarks despite the assault on their names include AstroTurf, Baggies, Band-Aid, Beer Nuts, Breathalyzer, Brillo Pads, Dacron, Dumpster, Frisbee, Hi-Liter, Hula-Hoop, Jacuzzi, Jeep, Jell-O, Jockey Shorts, Kitty Litter, Kleenex, Laundromat, Liquid Paper, Magic Marker, Muzak, Novocain, Ping-Pong, Play-Doh, Popsicle, Post-it Note, Q-Tip, Realtor, Rollerblade, Scotch Tape, Scrabble, Seeing Eye (dog), Sheetrock, Slim Jim, Styrofoam, Super glue, Technicolor, Teflon, TelePrompTer, Vaseline, Velcro, and Walkman.*
Interesting. Absolutely a hat tip to the psychological power of marketing to influence language. In fact, there’s a lot of important stuff we could say about brand names usurping language for common items. That discussion might involve a review of corporate infiltration into every aspect of modern life, perhaps a foray into the consumer=valuable human, and maybe a diatribe against the dissolution of the natural evolution of language. But that’s another post for another day.
What I’m referencing here is the loss of diversity of experience.
What if we pull back, broaden our scope, and look at the “brand as item” phenomenon in life? The power of concept control doesn’t only influence language, it also influences the way in which we actually experience life. Such as when, conceptually, taking a beach vacation becomes becomes the definition of “fun” in our experience. Or when school becomes “education”. Or how about when only full hair and makeup (or at the very least some eyeliner and mascara) begins to mean “beautiful”?
It’s kind of the opposite of when a child is learning language and any animal with 4 legs is referenced as a “doggy”.
When we bracket down to defining concepts like “love” as merely a specific type of media-produced and programmed relationship, for instance, we begin to become blind to the intricacies and beauty of anything that doesn’t conform to and look like this model. We lose differentiation, we lose diversity, we…lose.
Media may or may not play a role here. When we pigeonhole all of “God” into the bearded man in the sky (Religion as Brand) we miss out on the obvious reality. When we reduce “relaxation” to a glass of wine, we miss out on all the little moments we could be relaxing into during the day—every day—alcohol free. Or when we collapse “luxury” into fancy cars and big homes, we forget that luxury of noticing clouds, of pulling on a clean, cozy sweatshirt... You get the point.
When we dismiss, in favor of a ‘branded’ concept, often without any attention or awareness, the moments that actually comprise our lives—we dismiss our very lives.
I think there’s a fear here, that underneath the concepts is empty space. Nothingness. Boredom. Worse: nonexistence. The fear that the concepts ARE the Real.
But they aren’t.
And so I think it’s, yes, about de-conditioning the corporate culture from our conceptual realities—but it’s also about shedding conceptual realities period, and entering awareness of the Real.
What’s here, now?
What am I feeling?
What is my body experiencing?
What do the pine needles feel like under my bare feet?
What does the wind sound like, whispering through the tree branches?
What is my child really saying to me?
How do I experience this feeling of “alive” in my body??
It’s a freeing, an opening up: opening our eyes, for real, to the Real. Entering the opening, the ONLY opening, which is Now. Engaging with what’s here. Expansive, rather than reductive. Opening the door of our experience to, well, experiencing. Experiencing and welcoming…Life.