The disciplinary societies [of the past] have two poles: the signature that designates the individual, and the number or administrative numeration that indicates his or her position within a mass…[today] the numerical language of control is made of codes that mark access to information or reject it. We no longer find ourselves
dealing with the mass/individual pair. Individuals have become ‘dividuals,’ and masses, samples, data, markets, or ‘banks.’
(Gilles Deleuze, “Postscript on the Societies of Control,” p. 91)
The mass/individual pair lies at the heart of themes of identity, mass consumerism, and nationalism we’ve studied all semester. As we’ve seen, the ferment of the 1960s and 1970s exposed
gaps separating the promise of mass consumerism and national inclusion and political reality. Amid those political shifts came technological revolutions in information management, media, and
communications. As Deleuze observes, the individual/mass opposition and social pressure to assimilate into the mass has not disappeared today. Rather, it has shifted within a digital,
networked, data-driven environment where we have predictive algorithms and AI at work all
around us.
PROMPT: What is a ‘dividual,’ and how does it/they differ from the individual of the past? How are
today’s advertisers addressing us as ‘dividuals,’ and masses to create/promote new narratives and
ideals of consumerism and belonging? Can you detect tension/overlap among the concepts of
individual, ‘dividual, and masses that capture our current moment and attitudes toward consuming,
liberty, and American identity? Does the new situation mark the demise of mass culture or something
else?
Using these questions, the above quote, the Deleuze reading, and other relevant course
readings/materials, identify two (2) recent advertising/marketing campaigns that capture what
Deleuze describes, but which also echo, directly or indirectly the individual/mass binary of the
twentieth century. How do your campaigns compare to the dominant advertising strategies of
previous eras? How do you see the ‘dividuals/masses formulation significant in contemporary
thinking about individuality, consumer behavior, and America today?
ASSIGNMENT: A 250-word statement introducing the ad campaigns you’d like to research. Be as
specific as you can at this early point as to why these cases are a good match for the prompt, the
course, and the issues you hope to tackle. Include a short bibliography of readings you plan to use
or might use.