Supplies features Justin Timberlake and his love interest – played by Mexican actress Eiza Gonzalez Reyna – running around and causing heck in a dystopian society. While the setting is somewhat futuristic, the themes addressed are very 2017: #MeToo, racism, immigration, feminism, Harvey Weinstein, Black Lives Matter and, of course, Donald Trump.
In the most striking scene of the video, a crowd of people worships a gigantic Illuminati pyramid that emits light. Then, Reyna, who plays the role of a rebellious leader, sets it on fire. Later, the world is apparently in ruins. What’s going on? Is the video a call for an uprising? Is Justin Timberlake now a rogue, rebellious, troublemaker?
Not really. The video is actually a call for … doing nothing. It is simply part of the gigantic mass media wave that is defining what can and should be discussed and what can and should be celebrated. It is part of the communication technique called “agenda-setting”:
“Agenda-setting is the creation of public awareness and concern of salient issues by the news media. As well, agenda-setting describes the way that media attempts to influence viewers, and establish a hierarchy of news prevalence. Two basic assumptions underlie most researches on agenda-setting:
– the press and the media do not reflect reality; they filter and shape it;
– media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues.
These core statements were established by measuring the changes in salience through the use of surveys with the presence of more frequent news coverage.”There’s a lot of agenda-setting going on in Supplies. Like so many other videos out at the moment, it helps define what the masses should care about (or obsess over) these days. However, in order to reach young people, the agenda-setting is clothed as a revolt against an oppressive system. But there is no actual “revolt” going on, just an industry puppet doing what he is told for the cameras. Then, he cashes his check from RCA records and goes back to his mansion.
– Wikipedia, “Agenda-Setting”
Eternal Puppet
Justin Timberlake began his show-business career at age 11 as a cast member of the Mickey Mouse club, alongside several future industry stars.
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| This edition of the Mickey Mouse club included Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling. |
Timberlake then found super-stardom as the leader of the boy band NSYNC.
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| The album cover of No Strings Attached features the group (including Justin) as literal puppets. |
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| Dressed in A Clockwork Orange-inspired outfit, Timberlake does the 666 one-eye sign of the industry pawn. |
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| The cover of his last album features a subtle (yet still very present) one-eye sign. |