Terrorism has hit the headlines again, the brutal and hunger driven acts of violence in Mumbai are on the news daily & it serves as a reminder of 9/11 and other warfare situations. This issue has got us at the Fat Blog thinking about Terrorism and Art; and this is what we came up with.......
FUSION
Terrorism: A terroristic method of governing or of resisting government.
Initially when given this months Hot Topic title, i was stumped. How on earth was I going to relate fashion to terrorism? Then it came to me...war on terror?... 2 years ago I had already embarked on a war of my own albeit non violent. My war is against the mass market, the mainstream and what I really hope to do is lead the campaign for individual style. I want people to 'join the rebellion' against formulaic fashion ideas and dare to be different. The Urban Warfare brand was created for individuals who have refused to accept society's authoritarian structure, challenging it with a stylistic war. The label strikes a balance between creativity & wear ability offering a palate of old, existing new materials for men and women. Individuality is the motif of the Urbane Warfare spirit.......
Enquiries: urbanewarfare@live.co.uk
FOCUS
Are films about terrorism productive in a time when the world is experiencing such turmoil? Some would say that film should reflect the cold reality of world, but is that really a good thing?
Many terrorists who attack the Western world do so becasue of a desire to get attention. Would it not follow then, that paying such attentions to acts of terrorism in such a glamorous form as Hollywood film, only serves to increase this over blown sense of importance that terrorists feel when they commit such horrible acts? Bilal Abdulla the NHS doctor who is on trial for bombing Glasgow airport snd attempting to set off a bomb in London's Haymarket admitted, that under UK law he was a terrorist and that his intention was to change peoples opinions through the use of terrorist acts. Why would Abdulla think this was the only way to get our attention?
Observing our culture from the outside, we appear to consider terrorism entertaining in that we produce & watch so many violent films. Could this be the reason why people from 'outside' think this is the best way to get our attention? Something to think about....
FOTO
Art & Visual imagery articulate and study many political or current affairs from varying & often daring viewpoints across the world. The 'Street Art' exhibition @ the Tate Modern showed a giant print on the front of the building by artist JR - a black man holding a video camera like a loaded gun pointed straight at the visitors gazing across the river.
This photograph caused such controversy that onlookers unable to look past their blinkered vision of a stereotype & see 'the weapon' for what it really was, attacked the image by throwing anything & everything they could at it. It then stood as a tattered and torn commercial for the aggression that they were trying to protest against.
Ironic? Hypercritical An accepted reaction? You decide.
(Image courtesy of londonist.com)
DAISY
A world of uncertainty, fear & loathing has become too apparent throughout the years once we could easily breath with little effort, talk freely without fear. If you say to someone in the street, in a cab or plane or on the bus 'terrorist' you can almost see their spine curl with terror. That one word is petrifying. Not only do you associate it with utter fear and your most horrific living nightmare, you associate it with ridicule, pain, deceit and devastation. Indeed if anything, the terrorist itself has already achieved something by the name it has been given and the fear that strikes? Terrorism is about destructing the heart of a nation, a community. By tearing away the chain that intertwines a close net circle the terrorist has not only broken the trust but added insult to injury by act of humiliation. The only possible reasoning with ourselves to justify how badly damaged our live have become is to stand still & remember who we are,what we believe in and to understand that thousands have fought for us to be here today. They didn't give in and neither shall we.
"They may have our lives but they will never take our freedom"
FABULUSO
I remember sitting in my school drama lesson watching a group act out a play about bullying. The bully made an imaginary gun sign to the victim to show her & us she was dead. All of us laughed at this point, it was just innocent. A couple of weeks ago Rachel Hylton made a gun gesture on the X factor. She was told off for doing this as it may have portrayed her (and ITV!) as a violent person or could have been linked with accepting terrorist activity or behavior. I do not know how this assumption was made by some people/ Someone like her does not scream 'violence' or 'terrorism' to me. Apart from the terrorism changing hum action, rights and responsibilities & the film industry with movies like 'Vantage Point', the music industry has also been affected. Celebrities such as British rap star M.I.A have been accused of supporting terrorism due to the gunshots and iconography in her song 'Paper Planes'. While on Amazon one can purchase an album of hip hop against terrorism. This is surprising; as a rule, rappers are known for their bling jewellery, cars and women. Standing against world threats does not usually come into it. This highlightas the fact that in today's world, even the creative industries and its individuals may feel that they will be harmed if they do not take an active, public standing against terrorism......so now being creative has a whole new meaning!
(Image courtesy of weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/ross/HipHipVwar.)
