Memorex entered the consumer media business in 1971 first with its "shattering glass" advertisements and then with a series of famous television commercials featuring Ella Fitzgerald. In the commercials she would sing a note that shattered a glass while being recorded to a Memorex audio casette. The tape was played back and the recording also broke the glass, asking "Is it live, or is it Memorex?"
"Is it live, or is it Memorex?" later morphed into the conversationally convenient "Is it real or is it Memorex?" -- a means of questioning the authenticity of anything and everything.Isn't religion/spiritual persuasion a bit like that ... the real McCoy can authentically shatter glass, but so too can mere imitations.
Shattering glass is pretty impressive. Often there is a willingness to display a religion or spiritual persuasion as a real glass-shatterer....
And the question of whether it is alive ... well shattering glass is kool enough, authentic enough, convincing enough.
Religion and spiritual formats are creations worthy of Memorex ... shiny, imaginative, impressive, inviting, inspiring, convincing, surprising.
But alive ...?
On the science channel last night, a series called Through the Wormhole did an episode that asked if reality is real. Physics seems to be waffling between buddhism, hinduism and wtf. It was interesting.
ReplyDeleteCharlie -- I don't know about you, but the older I get the more inclined I am to stick with the WTF view.
ReplyDelete