"The Age of Advertising" is one of the short stories written by Japanese science fiction writer Hoshi Shinichi. Some of the plots in the story are particularly memorable and insightful for me, so I would like to share them with you:

1.

Mr. N went out to work in the morning. His house is on the 35th floor of an apartment building. He took the elevator down. The elevator stopped at the thirtieth floor, and a little boy walked in. Mr. N saw that the child looked familiar, so he greeted him: "Children, do you want to go to school?" "Yes, go to school." "What a good boy, study hard." Mr. N stroked the child's head lovingly. Suddenly the child sang with enthusiasm, "Eat Lavla, please eat Lavla." Lavla is the trademark name of a food company. In other words, this kid is singing an advertising jingle. After a while, the child seemed to wake up and sheepishly raised his head and smiled slightly at Mr. N. On the fifteenth floor, another middle-aged woman walked into the elevator. "Palihen candies are really delicious and unique," she said happily in a rather appreciative tone. Then he greeted Mr. N as if he had just woken up from a dream: "The weather is nice today." The elevator descended to the first floor, and everyone rushed out like a crowd.

Due to the advancement of science and technology, things that were previously considered difficult to do are now commonplace and not surprising. Recently, research in psychology and brain physiology has made great progress, and some experts have developed a new technology that can control conditioned reflexes with just the use of drugs and a little training. So, what is conditioned reflex? For example, whenever a dog is fed, a bell will sound. After long-term training, even if no food is given, just the sound of the bell can make the dog's mouth secrete a large amount of saliva. This phenomenon is called conditioned reflex. The new technology recently invented is to apply this conditioned reflex to humans and make it fixed. The thing is very clear. The child just now can't help but sing a commercial jingle as soon as his head is stroked, while the middle-aged woman will unknowingly sing a commercial song from her mouth as soon as she feels the falling sensation of the elevator. He made a sound of admiration to himself. Of course, it goes without saying that they can receive a payment from each advertiser company every month. In this era of publicity, almost everyone has one or several reflex nerves rented to advertising companies entrusted by enterprises.

2

Mr. N took the subway dedicated to commuting. It is the rush hour for work now, and the carriage is crowded with passengers. "Florina's cosmetics are exquisite and elegant, unparalleled in the world." A young girl said to herself in a beautiful voice. This was because someone lightly touched her shoulder, which triggered a conditioned reflex and she blurted out a complaint to show her dissatisfaction. She repeated this sentence over and over with great emotion, as if a dramatic actor was reciting her lines. "Presumably the remuneration this girl received from the advertising company must be quite considerable. Because when the advertising company rents everyone's reflex nerves, it pays the rent based on the level of its work efficiency. Mr. N secretly guessed, "Maybe that The girl plans to use this as wedding expenses. "How to use one's body is everyone's freedom, and it is beyond reproach to use it to increase income. Of course, the use of dangerous media to produce conditioned reflexes is never allowed. No matter how much money is needed, there will be no such fool - -When his hand was caught in the door, he sang a commercial song pretending to be calm; then he grinned and screamed for help. There was a middle-aged man in the carriage. Maybe he didn't sleep last night. He opened his mouth and yawned, then said listlessly: "Ah! Strengthening Dormion is the best tonic for recovering from fatigue..."

三

"Oh, it's been a long time" a surprised shout came from behind Mr. N. He replied Looking over, I saw that it was an old friend from my student days, so the two of them shook hands cordially and said, "The best coffee is the Goraksi brand."

Would you be interested in having a drink? ""Okay, it's been a long time since we last met. Let’s go to a nearby teahouse and have a drink later. Hey, when did you become a coffee fan? ""You ask about this. Well, a week ago I rented out my handshake reflex to a coffee company. But if I drink it, I still like to drink black tea mixed with lemon juice. "After Mr. N and his friend got off the subway, they chatted for a while in a teahouse. The friend finished smoking a cigarette and when he put out the cigarette butt, he said to himself: "Einjer The travel agency will arrange the most suitable travel schedule for each tourist. "It turned out that he rented the conditioned reflex of this action to a travel agency. Because he met an old friend he hadn't seen for many years on his way to work, Mr. N arrived at the company building a little late. The elevator was empty and there was no one else. A young elevator waitress smiled brightly at Mr. N. The girl was very beautiful, and Mr. N looked at her up and down, "She's so beautiful!" "Mr. N approached her and whispered quietly. Taking advantage of the fact that there were no other passengers here, Mr. N kissed her gently. She did not express rejection, but closed her eyes slightly, seeming to be immersed in it. In a kind of happiness. Then she said, "Cappella sherbet tastes as sweet as kisses. "The so-called Cabela's turns out to be the name of a very popular drink recently." Did you actually rent out your conditioned reflexes during kissing to an advertising agency? What a surprise! "Mr. N said as he got off the elevator on the floor where his office was located. In fact, he was not surprised by this. When this new technology was first developed, everyone felt a little strange and unnatural. However, once It is not surprising after it became popular. Although Mr. N had heard the names of various products since the morning, he quickly forgot them and left no impression on his brain.

This novel shows a common and deformed social phenomenon in a comic way; the exaggerated descriptions and funny language in the novel are interesting and arouse people's deep thinking.

From another aspect, the author reflects that people have become slaves to technology, advertising, and money. People say that advertising is completely an unconscious and subconscious behavior. They have lost their rich emotions and normal life, and people are losing themselves. , companies manipulate people's nerves, and people's normal lives are destroyed. Almost everyone has become a propaganda tool for advertising, and is in danger of being alienated. At the same time, the author satirizes the propaganda effect of advertising. On the surface, advertising is everywhere and everywhere. In fact, people have not really accepted it.

We also know that in contemporary society, advertising is pervasive and exists everywhere. This also tells us that companies and advertising companies spend a lot of money. The manpower and material resources have always received the expected results. This was the case in the past, and it is also the case now. This makes companies know that no matter how much advertising is done, it is better to make the product bigger and stronger. As people say: the fragrance of wine is not afraid of the depth of the alley.