Snoring Kills

The past few weeks as I am driving on the highway I have seen billboards for SnoringCenter.com. They are pretty shocking too. They immediately capture your attention with the large script that reads "Snoring Kills" and then below it in smaller script is something like "[happy marriages]"

This really caught my attention because we are currently reading White Noise by Don DeLillo in my American Studies class. The book is a satire on American culture. He brings attention to the influence of media and other large themes in American life. One of those themes is death. The characters are constantly thinking of their own death and how to prevent it. As Murray says "There was only one topic of conversation. Sex and death" (207). While Murray is commenting on the connection between sex and death he is also talking about how prevalent death is in our culture.

Putting "Snoring kills" on a billboard is bound to catch a lot of attention by passing motorists because people are almost always on the look out for things that will either kill them or prevent their inevitable death. It is much like the rumors that are spread of how cell phones and microwaves cause cancer. Our obsession with death fuels many of our activities. And obviously the media is using it against us.

What was your reaction to seeing this billboard?