It really bugs me when I hear about these cases where consumers sue companies for what was essentially the consumer's own choice (supposedly influenced unfairly by the company). I mean, if your primary source for information on the impact of cigarettes or junk food on your health is the people trying to sell this stuff to you, then you probably deserve whatever you got coming to you. But then, I guess we need some way to ensure that the corporate world is fair in how they manipulate the public. In order to encourage truth in this area I think I ought to give recognition where it is due. Generally advertisements grossly exaggerate the value of a product and surprisingly never provide a summary of its faults. Yet yesterday i cam across a remarkable counter-example to this trend. The following is the blurb from a DVD I bought of Asoka:
"A trashy movie that is not only boring, but extremely misleading. This is a film that is supposed to be happening in 2-3rd century BC, and at least be sketching the life of King Ashoka the Great. The film fails miserably to do any justification to its title, which unfortunately has been used shamelessly as a gimmick to sell the trash mainly to Indian cosmopolitan and western audiences. The film in the beginning claims not to be accurate, but it is no excuse for abandoning truth altogether. The film is boring and has copied some of the ideas from Gladiator and Braveheart. The war scenes are ridiculous. From the typical Bollywood formula movie angle, it is an average movie. Cinematography and songs are good."
Wow, some big praise there at the end which balances out the bias. Effective marketing anyhow, cause I paid for the product. If only all marketers were as honest/illiterate, then maybe we would spend less time wasting away in front of the idiot box.
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