Jolt!, Phil Cooke [reading women txt] 📗

publication about movie stars. It featured real articles about the behind-the-scenes process of making films, intimate interviews, interesting stories, and other information about the industry. The magazine was a highly respected division of an organization still in existence today called the American Film Institute, which conducts classes and workshops for serious filmmakers and even sponsors major industry events.

At that time, when you signed up for a subscription to the magazine, you received a membership card into the American Film Institute. It didn’t really mean anything more than the magazine subscription, except that it might get you into an occasional film screening.

When the American Film Institute magazine subscription card fell out of my wallet, I had a brilliant idea, and the next morning we were back in the customs official’s office.

“You want proof that we are filmmakers from the United States, right?”

“That’s correct, and so far, I’ve seen nothing.”

I whipped out my AFI card—fortunately, the information on the card about the magazine subscription was printed on the back in very small letters, and I hoped he wouldn’t notice.

“I’m a member of the American Film Institute.” I pointed at the front. “There, you can see my name printed on my membership card.”

The customs official looked at the card carefully, compared the signature with my passport, and then a light switched on in his head.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a member of the American Film Institute?” He beamed with excitement, as if he’d stumbled on a real celebrity. He had no idea what the AFI was, but it sure sounded impressive.

“Welcome to our country! Please enjoy your filming!”

He walked around the desk, embraced everyone on my crew, and then led us into the warehouse where they were holding our equipment. He couldn’t have been nicer. The next thing we knew, we were being given a police escort with full sirens and lights back to the hotel, with government trucks personally carrying our equipment and personnel unloading it for us.

» THE INFLUENCE OF THE MASS MEDIA IN OUR CULTURE IS CHANGING EVERYTHING, AND “PERCEPTION” IS THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY MODERN MEDIA.

I kissed my AFI membership card, carefully tucked it away in my wallet, and carried it carefully for years—even after the actual magazine ceased publication. The simple magazine subscription card meant nothing in itself, but it changed the perception of that customs official completely. When his perception changed, we went from being tourists at best—con artists at worst—to being celebrated filmmakers from the United States, deserving official government approval and support.

In more than thirty years of active work in the entertainment industry, I’ve seen few situations where perception played such an important role.

In a world where sound bites heavily influence the political process, the unique characteristics of mass media now affect every aspect of our lives. Public relations has become an art form as companies and organizations (and even celebrities) confront the need to impact and hopefully influence public opinion, and perception has become a critical part of advertising campaigns, press releases, and public statements.

The global fascination with celebrities has been an important element in the realization of how important perception is today. For instance, with the advent of the relatively recent concept of “celebrity,” the basis of fame has undergone a striking change. In the past, a person became famous for accomplishing a significant task, such as making a great discovery, winning the championship football game, or finding the cure for a deadly disease. But today, just being in the news makes someone famous, and actual accomplishment really isn’t necessary anymore. A movie star showing up at a party makes front-page news, high-profile sexual affairs propel some to national TV interviews and book deals, and paparazzi photographers have made “celebrity journalism” the foundation of entire magazines.

There’s an interesting aspect to why the advertising industry has moved from “informational” advertising to “emotional” advertising. Since the beginning of modern advertising, the primary goal of marketers was to tell the public about the wonderful features of a product—how it works, the quality of the construction, or the helpful features. But today, advertisers don’t tell us about the product, they tell us how we’re going to feel when we use the product. When was the last time you saw an athletic shoe commercial that described the high-quality materials that went into the shoes, the excellent construction, or the useful features? Today they’re more interested in convincing you that when you strap on these shoes, you’ll suddenly leap like an all-star, win championship sports events, or fit in with a cooler crowd.

It’s that way in nearly every product area. It’s not about facts anymore; it’s about perception. In my book Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Nonprofits Impact Culture and Others Don’t, I discuss the power of perception and its impact on nonprofit and religious work around the world.

» HOLLYWOOD SPENDS MILLIONS TO CONTROL PERCEPTIONS.

Since the earliest days of the movie industry, the major studios have created vast machines to control the perception of movie stars and the movies they produced. In fact, back in those days it was not unusual for major studios to have local government officials, members of the press, or police officers on a secret payroll so they could quietly control the impact of potentially high-profile scandals. If movie stars featured in family-friendly movies were caught committing adultery, being drunk and disorderly, or in a criminal act, the studios could call in favors from elected officials or the press to keep a lid on the news.

Public morals and behavior have changed so much that it almost seems as if the studios must encourage rowdy behavior, but you can be sure that whatever image they want to create for a particular star is still carefully guarded and controlled—even if the questionable methods of an older era have been largely relinquished. In fact, the entertainment industry has given rise to the professional “publicist”—someone whose job it is to help direct and control the perception of a movie, a TV series, or a star.

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