Peter RuddFiled under: brave new world, the sweet life | Tags: advertisers, advertising, Banksy
I think advertising makes us passive. Nevertheless there are more responses, ranging from active against to neutral to passive to active for. The one I find most frightening is active for: not only is there no problem seen, but people who see a problem are actively despised.
Banksy is active against of course as a graffiti artist. He doesn’t believe that a private ad in a public space is necessarily protected. That’s a good blurring when you consider his argument against the advertisers. They compromise our world; we’re within our rights to actively redress.
Sometimes I carry a fat sharpee on my trips into and out of the city which I use to scrawl messages on violent movie posters. On ones with Hollywood stars with guns, I write COWARD. I have torn one or two off the wall, late at night when no one is watching and I’ve had a drink or two. Truancy or it could be the proper response to an offence I’ve put up with for too long, as Banksy would say.
I’ve heard Cuba has an interesting effect on visitors from commercial media saturated countries. The sudden lack of advertising messages is visceral. I wonder if we reduced our saturation levels, to say half, or a quarter, would we feel measurably differently? More peace, less anxiety?
3 Comments so far
Leave a comment
coromandal 
What’s to disagree with?
One trick is to learn to notice the reality that is being asserted, (or merely implied. to avoid any suggestion that a promise to deliver has been made). Do this and that can then turn advertisements into the funniest programmes on the television.
News articles too, once you start to spot what is not being said, or could have been said differently from the same facts.
On a car ad, some time ago, If I bought the car it apparently came with a chrome and steel architect-designed house, which contained a beautiful lady dressed only in a silky slip who was turning down the bed sheets waiting for me to come home.
Hmm.
Learn to spot the fnords. The things you are not supposed to notice.
An introductory example for beginners: in news, not ads.
Comment by Chris Brown May 20, 2014 @ 2:35 pmFnords – interesting, I hadn’t heard of them before. I think advertising makes us passive. Nevertheless there are more responses, ranging from active against to neutral to passive to active for. The one I find most frightening is active for: not only is there no problem seen, but people who see a problem are actively despised.
Banksy is active against of course as a graffiti artist. He doesn’t believe that a private ad in a public space is necessarily protected. That’s a good blurring when you consider his argument against the advertisers. They compromise our world; we’re within our rights to actively redress.
Sometimes I carry a fat sharpee on my trips into and out of the city which I use to scrawl messages on violent movie posters. On ones with Hollywood stars with guns, I write COWARD. I have torn one or two off the wall, late at night when no one is watching and I’ve had a drink or two. Truancy or it could be the proper response to an offence I’ve put up with for too long, as Banksy would say.
I’ve heard Cuba has an interesting effect on visitors from commercial media saturated countries. The sudden lack of advertising messages is visceral. I wonder if we reduced our saturation levels, to say half, or a quarter, would we feel measurably differently? More peace, less anxiety?
Comment by Peter Rudd May 21, 2014 @ 12:14 pmevilangel password
they rearranged the world | coromandal
Trackback by evilangel password September 24, 2014 @ 1:31 am