It's Too Graphic

Memories VIII

From Thursday, August 04, 2005

Carol A. Wells, founder and executive director of the Center for the
Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles, reviews /The Design Of
Dissent/, a collection of protest graphics. Well, it's not really a
review, it's closer to boosterism. Looking over the many examples in the
book, she concludes it "shows the...continuing need for protest
graphics." How? She discusses the material, and the /LA Times Book
Review/ reprints some of it, but has anyone proved a need, much less a
continuing one?

Furthermore, she says "Some works are beautiful, others horrific. Some
are clever, others manage to elicit humor in the midst of death and
dying." The one thing she avoids saying is all these graphics are
propaganda. (I'm guessing it's because she agrees with much of the
propaganda, though that shouldn't matter). These pieces are designed to
make quick, sharp statements that bypass complex thought and get you in
the gut. They can be effective, of course, but that doesn't mean they
lead toward the truth.

Wells claims the book "will challenge preconceptions and assumptions."
Okay, but will it help us think more clearly, or will it help us believe
lies and nonsense. To pick an example, there's a poster (reprinted in
the /Times/--sorry I can't find a link) trying to spook you out over
genetically modified foods (a strangely big deal in Europe) showing a
hairy lemon. This intellectually amounts to pseudo-scientific hysteria
which, if believed, could lead to millions starving--but hey, at least
we've been challenged.

She believes the most challenging section is on the Israeli/Palestinian
conflict, at least for Americans, who "if they rely on the mainstream
media, rarely hear about or read about Israelis opposed to their
government's politicies--not unlike the lack of dissenting views
presented in our own country."

I'm afraid this mixture of smugness and detachment from reality does not
make for a reliable review or reviewer.

by LAGuy