Hey fellow Bloggers!
So I started searching for some culture jams and came across some really cool ones. More specifically, I found a man from London named Banksy (aka Robin Gunningham) who creates culture jams in the form of graffiti.
The picture I chose to talk about depicts a maid sweeping something underneath the wall. Of course the maid is a woman (due to the history of what is considered typically women’s work) and in the picture she is lifting up a curtain and “cleaning up” the streets.
To me, this picture signifies that the women are responsible for all the literal cleaning, as well as cleaning up or hiding the messes that have been created. I think of it as if it were a political piece: that she is hiding the problems and injustices, or “dirt” that is present in society. Look at her eyes, she has a seemingly sinister look on her face... trying her best to be secretive about what she is doing. She’s trying to ignore all the wrongs in the world and just, “sweep them under the carpet.”
What does this say about women, and more specifically, British women? Are British women more deceiving or care less about solving injustices? Does this image imply that women are sneaky; they keep secrets or go behind people’s backs?? Does this mean that women don’t care about fixing social injustices, and merely push them from their mind? Does this imply that women don’t solve problems, and rather, ignore them?? How would this image be different if there was a man instead of a woman?? These are some of the questions I am trying to understand.
Also, check out Banksy's webpage,http://www.banksy.co.uk/ there are some more cool things there.
-Keekers
Yes, I'm glad you found Banksy - I love the work he did in Gaza on the wall.
ReplyDeleteThe Doctor
I think that you have asked some interesting questions in this post. I don't know if British women are any more deceptive or less caring than other Western women. However, I do think that this culture jam does illustrate that women do often sweep issues under the rug. Louis Althusser, a Marxist philosopher, discusses in his article, "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses", how ideology creates a structure in society where there is superstructure and a base. The superstructure (those dominant in society) create the ideologies that rule the lives of those who live within the society including those who make up the base (the "oppressed" so to speak)...In any case what I'm trying to get at is that in a patriarchal society women can be seen as the "base" of this topography, and as Althusser states, "...it is the base which in the last instance determines the whole edifice..." meaning, if the base didn't support the superstructure, the superstructure would fall. If women simply flat out refused to partake, or uphold certain ideologies it could be that the structure that is oppressing them might come crumbling down. Obviously it is easier said than done, as was mentioned in class today, ideology is difficult to detect as it is all around us from the time we are born.
ReplyDeleteAs for do women just push social injustices from their minds....I think in some ways that they do. I mean, we all recognize the ridiculousness of the fashion industry, the cosmetic industry, etc. and yet we still buy so heavily into them. Its ironic, we recognize the insecurities this industries instill within us, the detrimental effects they can have on young individuals (esp. girls), and yet we (as consumers) uphold the industry.
I like how you have suggested women's potential role in the perpetuation of social injustice. It is important to recognize that women play a role in our situation. Maybe women should employ Gandhi's method, and have a war without violence....we should simply flat out refuse to support the structure that dictates its ideology to us. We have more control over things then I think is recognized.
ShadowsDreaming
Good suggestions, and great analysis - this 'war without violence' of which you speak is already connected to the feminist movement. How does intersectional feminism complicate the ability of 'women' to seize the day? or feel empowered enough to resist incredibly coercive (often violently coercive) social structures?
ReplyDeleteThe Doctor