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Heart & pain, money & consumption? Christmas in the mirror of popular advertising

Time
19:00 - 21:30 o'clock
Organizer
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena and Theologische Fakultät
Place
Campus, Carl-Zeiß-Straße 3
Adresse
Carl-Zeiß-Straße 3

Many people are familiar with the commercial about the lonely grandfather who fakes his death so that he can celebrate Christmas with his children and grandchildren. What image of Christmas do such clips convey? We will discuss this at the event.

Since 2015, many food retail companies have been producing commercials for the Advent and Christmas season. The best known is the "#heimkommen" commercial, in which a lonely grandfather fakes his death so that he can celebrate Christmas with his children and grandchildren. Other commercials focus on topics such as sustainability, artificial intelligence and the coronavirus pandemic. These short films are very popular on television and some of them are still being viewed millions of times on online video platforms years later. If you follow the comments there, they evoke strong emotions and are sometimes seen as the "nativity play of the modern world". But what image of Christmas do they actually convey? Does it fit in with the Christian understanding of the festival? Or is it ultimately just about money and consumption? In this event, selected clips will be presented and discussed accordingly.

Note
The 30-minute lecture will be repeated at 19:00, 20:00 and 21:00.
Restriction
Minimum age for participation in the event: 16 years.
 
Bild
Eine ältere Person sitzt und schaut auf das Handy; im Hintergrund ein beleuchteter Weihnachtsbaum.
Weihnachten unterm Tannenbaum
, ©

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