Chapter 10: The Ideal of Value

Ulmer starts this chapter out talking about emblems presented in advertising - the Marlboro Cowboy being a prime example. The image of the cowboy as a sign of rugged masculinity called out a unified desire in many American men, and they attempted to emulate his hypermasculinity in the most obvious way - smoking filtered Marlboros.

The Marlboro Cowboy is an emblem, though a slightly different type than what we seek. He represents the desire to feel masculine, uniting people who have that need. The emblem we are looking for is something to represent us and our stronger memories, in a more abstract way.

The idea of the road back is to return to our original place with the new knowledge and experience we have gained in discovering our emblem. Ulmer words this as "extending the insights of the emblem as a fuller examination of our ouwn state of mind, the mood of our life, and the possible correspondence or conflict with the mood of the wide image. (279)"

Ulmer also makes note of the idea of an imported state of mind - again, the Marlboro cowboy is brought up. The mere possibility that any state of mind can be imported indicates that there is a native state of mind, a default mood. The default mood is difficult to pinpoint, as its manifestations vary depending on what situation you are reacting to. Your mood in class, whether default or imported, is going to appear different from your mood when camping, or playing frisbee, or listening to music. It is through the comparison of many different scenarios that trends are uncovered and the default made known (this is notably similar to finding the thread connecting important memories and how that is used to discover the emblem).