Black-Glasses-Man!
Black-Glasses-Man REALLY wants to sell you something:
I think the ubiquity of BGM heralds the true rise and subsequent mainstreaming of the so-called Creative Class. He is smart, (I mean, he is wearing glasses after all), stylish, unique (just don’t tell him about all of the other BGMs), and has found a way to be successful while not sacrificing his personal values and tastes. He’s an easy visual cue to show you that the product he’s selling is aimed at the savvy individualist. Like you. (And you. And you, too.)
March 26th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
I confess! I’m hereby outing myself as a BGM (minus the BG), since I fit every description except I have no BG’s (I do need glasses though, so perhaps..). Oh, and I wouldn’t say ‘found a way to be successful’ so much as ‘trying to find’. So maybe it just hits a little too close to home or something, but this sounds a little too wry and damning to me. First off, I interpret the BGM’s in the ads above as consumers, not ’sellers’, I think they’re supposed to be ME, the Everyman, i.e. the viewer, i.e. the target consumer. Secondly, I think this new-ish male archetype should be celebrated, not heckled. Mainly because I am one and don’t like being heckled, but also because of what an improvement it is over previous archetypes of masculinity, and signifies to me a welcome evolution in American culture toward acceptance of ‘the nerd’ and non-violent male. Of course this could just all be me being defensive and self-justifying (see how smart & self-reflexive I am! I need some glasses…)
March 26th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Awww, Ross. I certainly didn’t mean to heckle you. Rather, I was trying to comment on how interesting it is to me that different industries have all landed on the same iconography to sell their product. Yes, I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek. (Maybe I, too, need some BGs to show what a snarky know-it-all I am). I agree with you, BGM is the consumer, but I think he is being used in the same way to hawk very different products and services. And I also agree that it is a welcome change from Alpha-Masculine-Yet-Completely-Devoid-of-Body-Hair-Man (henceforth referred to as AMYCDBHM).
March 26th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Oh - another BGM qualifier I just noticed is the ‘pointy-head’ haircut. Alas, another one of which I’m guilty…