The Battle for Imagination
Everywhere we look we see corporate logos. Americans see thousands every day. Many believe that seeing them has little effect. But if this is true, then why do corporations put their logo on everything and pay to have it placed in highly visible places?
It’s because they know something humans remember shapes and images. This is nothing new.
The Roman Empire practiced this thousands of years ago. They knew the most powerful and effective way to communicate the values, theology, and philosophy of Rome and the Emperor was the keep images in front of the people at all times. Images of Caesar were everywhere – coins, temples, building, in homes, jewelry, the marketplace, paintings, and public buildings. Our government does the same thing today, and with every image there is a message being communicated to you and me.
When Phil Knight started Nike, one of his goals was to make the trademark “Nike Swoosh” so ubiquitous that it the world would know what brand it was. Some thought he was crazy, because at that time every sneaker brand had the company name connected to their logo. He was proved right. Today, most Nike products feature only a “swoosh,” and everyone knows who produced it.
When you hear someone speak about “golden arches” you think of McDonald’s. When you see a large circle with two smaller circles resting on top of it you think of Disney. And it doesn’t stop there. You think of things associated with Disney too. Your favorite Disney movie, a Disney theme park, or the catchy tune that was on the last Disney cartoon. “Hakuna Matata!”
It goes even deeper. Above there is a picture of a Volkswagen logo. If I asked you to describe that company, give an opinion on their automobiles, or profile the kind of person buys that kind of car you may be able to do this with great detail. Conversely if I were to show you a Dodge logo and ask the same, your description may still have great detail but you would describe things differently.
Which makes me wonder, where is your perspective coming from? Who told you the things you think? What influences your thoughts about Volkswagens or Dodges? Who has attached meaning to the logo, the company, the product, the brand?
Our world, filled with logos, is also filled with their attending messages. Ones that tell you what to think, how to look, what to buy, where to shop, what’s popular and the list goes on. We need to be keenly aware of this. We cannot casually go throughout our day soaking in these images and messages and fool ourselves into believing that they have no influence on our minds. Walter Wink speaks to this by pointing out that the ” system we live within teaches us what to believe, it offers us the acceptable beliefs that society at any given time declares to be credible” (Engaging the Powers, p 53).
We must take every thought – and image and logo and message - captive. Why? Because our imaginations are subtly co-opted and eventually taken over by this nonstop messaging. This is why so many find it hard to think in fresh and new ways. Originality, it seems, has fallen on hard times.
We need now, more than ever, men and women who can cultivate imagination. This is not more people who are telling the masses what to think, but those who, like the prophets, ask people to imagine what could be and – by God’s grace – one day will be. As Walter Brueggeman observes in The Prophetic Imagination, we need more prophets. Their message was “that of poetry and lyric” (p 41).
Take some time over the next week to observe how many images you see and ask yourself what message are they sending you? You just may begin to see how influenced you are.