Well today, I’m going to idolize
about my role model. No-one Chinese, as much as I like Donnie Yen’s fighting
style. No sports athlete, Hunther Mayhen has dropped from the ranks. Not even a
movie star, even though I do love Harrison Ford with a passion. You may have heard
of him, you may not have. It’s Adam Savage.
In case you don’t know him, here’s a picture.
Adam Savage is a famous industrial
designer. He’s most well known for his show called “Mythbusters” which he
co-hosted with Jamie Hyneman. He previously worked at Industrial Light and
Magic, which produced various props and costumes for movies. One of savage’s
best known works is the Thermal Detonator from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Remember this?
Because He's Holding A Thermal Detonator!!
Adam Savage Product.
The reason he is my idol among many
is that he is one of the pioneers of a new culture only recently developed: the
Maker community. Makers are people who do not simply buy the stuff they need or
want, they make it themselves. They have only developed recently because they
rely on new technology and machinery to create things. Those things can range
from a light-up dragon puppet to a steam punk R2-D2. Savage was a pioneer of
the Maker ideology, making him a hero in the Maker community, of which is
quickly spreading across the world. Every year, they hold a faire in San
Francisco showcasing a lot of Maker productions. Savage always goes to this
faire to answer questions while at the top of the world’s largest mousetrap (Rube
Golberg Machine). Unfortunately, I couldn’t go this year because of this small
thing called a term paper.
Adam
Savage is a celebrity, but not like most celebrities. Your average celebrity is
used to market a lot of things, as we have recently learned in class to appeal
to a need to achieve, to become like the celebrity by buying the product. However,
marketers are unable to market using Savage because it is impossible. By marketing
to the Maker community you are marketing to people who learn to make things
themselves. The entire ideology is centered around using what you have to
achieve, not buying something to achieve. Because of this, it is impossible to
market a need to achieve to Makers using celebrities because it goes against
the ideology. This is why Savage and other famous makers are not seen in fancy 3d
printer commercials or the latest laser cutter.
So, to
sum things up, I look up to Adam Savage because he is the one of the pioneers
of an entire culture, and he has not been touched or altered by marketing
campaigns, making him a unique kind of celebrity retaining his own morales.
I love Adam Savage too! You listed some really cool reasons why he's so great. But if I can ask, how do you think he's managed to remain untouched by most marketing campaigns? And if you plan to follow in the path of being a Maker, how do you plan to do the same? I'd imagine for you it might be difficult, as you're a teen in the prime age of advertising marketed toward teens, like Merchants of Cool.
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