Word PictureAmerica revolves around a consumerist culture. We consume excess amounts of food, entertainment, and media. We have so obsessed with consumption that we tend to forget the rest of the world is not as fortunate as America. There are wars ravaging the world, there are genocides in Africa, famine in India yet the our top news stories focus on which socialite got arrested for the fifth time. The media is brain washing us by only showing the American public what the big corporations want us to see. They media wants to keep us "happy" by showing us images that we find delightful. One street artist has taken notice to how the media has been manipulating people and has taken action. His name is Banksy and he has traveled the world creating street art that is provocative and political at the same time. Banksy is completely anonymous and though his art work continually gets painted over he still continues to put out powerful messages. Banksy used the images of Mickey Mouse and Ronald Mc Donald because they are representative of two of the biggest corporations in the world. The Disney Corporation and Mc Donald's corporation are two companies that continually produce products for people to obsessively consume. Just about everyone has eaten a McDonald's hamburger or seen a Disney movie at least once in their life. When we are eating that hamburger we tend not to think about where the meat came from, or if a farmer lost money because he had to sell his crop cheap to a Mc Donalds processing plant. We don't think of the addattives put in the food to make it taste better. People just enjoy the food, which is exactly Banksy's point. People are just content with the "in the moment" they don't think about the ramafactions of their actions. No one cares, because in that moment they are happy. Mc Donalds is literally trying to sell you happiness, its even in their slogan. We often associate Disney with those wonderful Disney movies we saw as a kid. We are often taken back to times when we were happy and life seemed so much easier. Yet most people don't realize that Disney isn't just making movies for kids. They own many other companies and their ultimate desire is to make money. Disney is a brand trying to sell you an idea of happiness. That is why Banksy's image is so powerful. These two American icons that are known as the bringers of happiness and joy are completely oblivious or apathetic to the plight of this terrified girl. No matter how big the smile that were on their faces it couldn't distract the viewer from the girl. Mickey and Donald represent the way the media tries to distract people from the real issues. Works cited 1. Forrest, S. Paul "Mass, Mindless Distracts We the people From Reality" www. AmericaRevealed.orgFof 2. " The 21st Century Media Massacre" www.elitedaily.com 3."Facts on Media in America" www.commoncause.org 4. Bhasin, Kim "This is How McDonald's Plans To Take Over the World" www. articles. businessinsider.com 5. www.banksy.com |
Ethnography
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