An Almost Modest Proposal: My Underdeveloped Stab at Irony
At the first sign of a grotesque horror performed on another human being, most individuals’ hearts will break, souls will ache, or they will at least feel some sort of remorse for the person(s) in pain. These images evoke emotions, which can, often times, not be touched by simple words and verbal description.
This small aspect of human nature, which verifies the cliché, “a picture speaks louder than words,” is that very aspect which causes revolt and protesting against war. Before the advent of photography, there were very few people who so strongly and verbally protested war. All people had then were hyperbolic descriptions and glorified paintings to tell them of war, and everyone seemed tranquil then.
In order to better keep the peace in our country during times of war, my proposal is to be rid of all forms of film, destroy all types of cameras and computer programs which may contain images, and outlaw all other forms of visual art. The newspaper shall consist only of words, no graphics allowed unless approved by the president, congress, and a random sampling of at least 2,000 civilians and 1,000 military personnel. Television will consist only of presidential sound bits and slides with colored backgrounds and white text spelling out the script of whatever entertainment had been before, but completely censoring all images. All cell phones with cameras must be sent back to the factories to be devoid of pictures and to disable the camera feature. All persons with photographic memory shall not be allowed into the military or to be any sort of reporter near the action of the fighting. This is to ensure that no accurate retelling of the horrors of war can be administered.
If we were to follow my plan, it would guarantee far less protests against war. In fact, I could go as far as to say that most people’s minds would completely drift away from the war altogether, almost as though forgotten. And never mind all the jobs lost because of the entirety of the visual arts going out of business in the United States, it’s simple enough to sign them up and ship them all off to war also.
i will be working on this, but I thought it would be nice to hear some feedback, if anyone is willing...
the prose that inspired me: http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html
This small aspect of human nature, which verifies the cliché, “a picture speaks louder than words,” is that very aspect which causes revolt and protesting against war. Before the advent of photography, there were very few people who so strongly and verbally protested war. All people had then were hyperbolic descriptions and glorified paintings to tell them of war, and everyone seemed tranquil then.
In order to better keep the peace in our country during times of war, my proposal is to be rid of all forms of film, destroy all types of cameras and computer programs which may contain images, and outlaw all other forms of visual art. The newspaper shall consist only of words, no graphics allowed unless approved by the president, congress, and a random sampling of at least 2,000 civilians and 1,000 military personnel. Television will consist only of presidential sound bits and slides with colored backgrounds and white text spelling out the script of whatever entertainment had been before, but completely censoring all images. All cell phones with cameras must be sent back to the factories to be devoid of pictures and to disable the camera feature. All persons with photographic memory shall not be allowed into the military or to be any sort of reporter near the action of the fighting. This is to ensure that no accurate retelling of the horrors of war can be administered.
If we were to follow my plan, it would guarantee far less protests against war. In fact, I could go as far as to say that most people’s minds would completely drift away from the war altogether, almost as though forgotten. And never mind all the jobs lost because of the entirety of the visual arts going out of business in the United States, it’s simple enough to sign them up and ship them all off to war also.
i will be working on this, but I thought it would be nice to hear some feedback, if anyone is willing...
the prose that inspired me: http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html
posted by Aggie Mundy at 11:29 AM
1 Comments:
You've got me thinking...
With the lack of a draft, people feel physically secure from the horrors of war and are therefore relatively apathetic.
The emotional stab caused by images of war is the last remaining thread tying most of us to events on the other side of the world.
I suggest we start watching al-Jazeera, given that American media has seemingly accepted your proposal.
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