do something.

The video bellow is a demonstration held on March 30, 2010 for the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) marked the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Day of Action with flash mobs at Chapters Indigo and Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC).I am proud to say two of my very close friends, Brittany Smith and Andrew Bigioni participated in this BDS Day of Action. I asked Andrew about the significance of using a viral video in regards to their project. He said the action was intended to demonstrate solidarity with the Palestinian struggle (as well as concretely act on the boycotts against complicit Canadian companies), so something that can go viral has the real potential to take that sentiment as far as possible. The wider audience the video reaches, the more people begin to really understand the idea of global solidarity and the more people will be inspired and empowered to do the same kind of thing. Those actions are great on their own but they take on so much more significance when they reach a larger audience. To learn more, please visit www.caiaweb.org or endapartheid@riseup.net. They are always looking for support!

Image credit: Andrew Bigioni, Palestine 2009

awareness or misandry?

This video is a campaign for AIDS awareness, and while it does get to the point of the severity of the disease… is it taking it too far? I love commercials with a shock value, especially when it comes to awareness campaigns, for example the workplace safety ads. But, there is a line between shock and misandry (hatred of boys or men). This popular feminist infused topic has also been related to the controversy over the David and Goliath t-shirts ‘Boys are stupid: throw rocks at them’, in which People magazine published an article- expressing the issues with the slogan. In the video, women are victimized by men and the AIDS epidemic is reduced to a single one night stand. The misandry could have been avoided by simply having a woman ‘pass on the HIV’ or ‘shoot the gun’ at a man; it’s very interesting that the creators would not include such an easy fix. Or perhaps- the men are shooting the women because they gave them the disease? I am interested to hear other’s opinions…Image Credit: flickr supraMK86

testimonials.

Blogs such as Texts from Last Night and F*ck My Life have been getting a lot of attention lately in popular culture. Another blog that is extremely popular is Post Secret. Unlike the previous mentioned blogs, Post Secret offers a more emotional appeal to a wider audience. Readers of the blog submit their ‘secrets’ via post cards, combining old and new generation’s forms of communication. The interconnectivity of the mediums, allows for both generations to connect with each other’s comfort zones in media communication.
A viral video hit is the series “Fifty People: One Question”, in which one question is asked to fifty people in a random location and they answer. Questions such as “If anything could happen by the end of the day, what would you wish to happen?”, “If you could wake up anywhere tomorrow, where would it be?”. Questions that on the surface seem so simple, but when answers start to flow, the emotional appeal is overwhelming. Maybe I am just a sucker for this kind of stuff but I love the power of such simple questions being able to really divulge into the human heart.


Image Source: Post Secret