On Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:12:48 -0800, Christopher D. Green wrote: >Back in 1939 there was a World's Fair in New York. One of the star >attractions of the show was General Motors' "Futurama" exhibit, a >detailed vision of the world 20 years hence. The main focus was how >science and technology would make virtually every aspect of day-to-day >life safer, faster, and better. Here is the film shown to the Fair's >visitors, describing GM's vision of the future (in two parts): >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74cO9X4NMb4 , >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU7dT2HId-c > >Not surprisingly, the most prominent feature of GM's pitch were massive, >multi-lane, controlled-access freeways, virtually unknown in the 1930s. >These, it was claimed, would enable people to live far outside of the >city, yet travel quickly and safely to the city when necessary. It would >also allow for the complete separation of industrial from residential >areas, which was also rare in the 1930s. (Of course, it would also >require everyone to own cars, which was the actual underlying message.) [snip] >What does any of this this have to do with psychology? >The "messaging" (as we would now say) was engineered by >Sigmund Freud's nephew, Edward Bernays, who virtually >invented the field of "public relations" (which was originally his phrase, >to replace the less attractive "propaganda").
I haven't watched the videos but I have to admit extreme skepticism about the influence of Edward Bernays, at least in influencing the construction of highways in and around cities. With respect to New York City and surrounding areas, a critical figure was Robert Moses who was already in a position of power when the 1939 World's Fair occurred (in which he was involved; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World%27s_Fair ) Whether "Futurama" represented GM's view or Moses' view is debatable: Futurama represent much of what Moses proposed and actually built, prior to 1939 and afterwards. For more info in this, see the Wikipedia entry on Robert Moses (standard disclaimers apply): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_moses Also see the NY Parks Department entry: http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_history/historic_tour/history_robert_moses_modern.html And http://www.livablestreets.com/streetswiki/1939-world-s-fair-futurama For some irony, consider this quote from Wikipedia: |Car culture |Moses himself never learned to drive,[11] and his view of the automobile |was shaped by the 1920s, when the car was thought of as entertainment |and not a utilitarian lifestyle. Moses' highways in the first half of the 20th |century were parkways, curving, landscaped "ribbon parks," intended to be |pleasures to drive in and "lungs for the city". While appearing utopian on |its face, some critics contend Moses' vision of towers, cities and parks |linked by cars and highways in practice led to the expansion of wholesale |ghettos, decay, middle-class urban flight, and blight. Beginning in the 1960s |and reaching a peak in the 1990s, public opinion and the ideals of many in |the city planning profession shifted away from this strand of car-oriented |thought. It is unlikely that Moses was influenced by Bernays (indeed, it is more likely that Moses influenced Bernays). In Robert Caro's definitive biography of Moses "The Power Broker" the index contains no mention of Bernays. This book is also on books.google.com and a search of it for Bernays turns up no hits. It is possible that Bernays may have had some influence but I think it pales in comparison to the influence that Robert Moses had on urban planning and the transportation system. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
