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Project Eagle/PosterGASM

Started by Manta Obscura, October 22, 2008, 03:39:11 PM

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Manta Obscura

Hey, folks,

Newbie question here, but I am a newbie so I'm gonna have at it:

Concerning PosterGASM, is there anyone working on formatting posters/messages to modernize the ideas set down in the original Project Eagle? You know, the whole "Burn the polls ye sons of freedom" crap. I was just thinking that it might be a prime opportunity to do our own political campaigning. It might even be helpful to form mock political support parties to advertise messages, instead of just posting random posters around.

Granted, I'm not too into politics, but the idea of putting up posters with small text that says "Sponsored by The Two-Man Con, Inc.", or other such nonsense, sounds like a lot of fun.

I'm sure that, given a day or two to ruminate, good puns on "Democrat," "Obama," "McCain," "Vote," "Polls," etc. are sure to arise.

Okay, I'm done. Dissect/discuss/flame/posit intellectual queries at your leisure.

Happiness,
Jacob,
a.k.a. M.O.,
a.k.a. DPR
Everything I wish for myself, I wish for you also.

Cramulus

My interest is generally in creating "new" ideas rather than adapting old ones. and personally, I'm more interested in surreal than political posters. But hey, culture jamming is good work - do you have any ideas?

Manta Obscura

Quote from: Cramulus on October 22, 2008, 03:56:35 PM
My interest is generally in creating "new" ideas rather than adapting old ones. and personally, I'm more interested in surreal than political posters. But hey, culture jamming is good work - do you have any ideas?


I have the birth pangs of a few ideas, but nothing super-fleshed out yet. Whatever is done with it, I think that the messages that are GASM'd should be based on truth, and should be applied to both parties. For example, say Obama/McCain supports abortion (I don't know if they do, really, but just as a hypothetical), we could make posters with the tagline of something like, "Support the lesser evil. Vote for _____." Then in smaller print: "Sponsored by Citizens for the Promotion of Death." I think that one of the greatest unexplored facets of irony is simply the reversal of definitions. Instead of naming a hypothetical organization "Citizens for the Spread of the American Dream," an equally true yet ironic definition would be to call it "Citizens for the Destruction of Thought."

I'm thinking that the humor of any modern-day Project Eagle posters would HAVE to come from irony contained within the name of the "sponsoring organization." People are just too used to mud-slinging bumperstickers nowadays to be phased by them. When adding irony to the logos doesn't work, we have to screw with the ethos of the one using the logos.
Everything I wish for myself, I wish for you also.

Cramulus

#3
I think you're moving in the right direction. A common practice in culture jamming is memetic piggybacking - subverting existing advertising for your own ends. A good example is all the modified campaign propaganda we've been seeing - like the McCain/Palin bumper sticker that says "Methusela / Caribou Barbie".



I agree that new efforts should be in a nonpartisan direction. I get worried though that a lot of these efforts essentially reduce the sticker to being about a single issue... Like the abortion bit you mentioned - you're trying to fight the two party system, but you end up just making a point about abortion. (One that unfortuantely sort of plays into the Life/Death rhetoric being pushed by the right.)

This is more for surrealism's sake than a political end, but I think it'd be funny / weird to see totally mismatched propaganda - McCain-style stickers with Obama's name on them. Or an Obama poster with McCain's talking points or slogans on it. Then the poster ends with the 'real point' we're trying to make (whatever that is), a pearl of information that you experience in the midst of confusion.




Edited to add: I'm riffing on ideas and brainstorming - I don't mean to change your direction or anything.  Good to discuss this stuff.

Cramulus

off the top of my head



made with 100% MS Paint


LMNO

Quote from: Cramulus on October 22, 2008, 04:15:28 PM

This is more for surrealism's sake than a political end, but I think it'd be funny / weird to see totally mismatched propaganda - McCain-style stickers with Obama's name on them. Or an Obama poster with McCain's talking points or slogans on it. Then the poster ends with the 'real point' we're trying to make (whatever that is), a pearl of information that you experience in the midst of confusion.



I really like this idea.

Manta Obscura

Quote from: Cramulus on October 22, 2008, 04:15:28 PM
Edited to add: I'm riffing on ideas and brainstorming - I don't mean to change your direction or anything.  Good to discuss this stuff.

No, this is great stuff. I hadn't thought of the one-issue implications of focusing on a particular aspect of the campaign. I like the poster that you made. However, off the top of my head, here's a change that could be made to the skeleton that would go with your proclivity for surrealism or culture jamming, sans the fancy graphics, since I suck at graphic software:

"Hope.
Education.
Leadership.
Learning.

Vote "Yes" this upcoming election.

Right and Wrong/The Only Options?

    McBamaforprez.com"

This way, the HELL acronym can come into play (who knows? maybe a political poster with 'HELL' on it would get posted to failblog.com or something, which would be free publicity) and the ambiguity is preserved. If there is anyone who knows how to set up a domain name and is ambitious enough, we could even set up a mock website to go along with it.

I'm not sure if my train of thought is derailing here or not, but a lot of ideas are having an orgy in my mind about playing on ambiguity. Maybe they'll form into something that's not a complete waste. Until that happens, I think I'll just borrow (read: blatantly rip off and steal) your poster and do a quick post around town. The Obama for President offices are right down the street from me, and I've been dying to put something up there . . .
Everything I wish for myself, I wish for you also.

Cainad (dec.)

Quote from: Cramulus on October 22, 2008, 04:28:33 PM
off the top of my head




How about:


Hope.
Action.
Change.

Pick Two.
-McCain '08

Cramulus

just hunting around for material to WOMP, found this:



:lol:

Cramulus


Manta Obscura

@ Cainad: Hilarious. Pure genius.

@ Cramulus: With your impunity, I will be ripping off your posters. I love them. Although, as a nod to some of the Discordian/Illuminati jargon, I think it would be cool if you made an alternate version of your last poster which says "mehums" instead of "mere humans." Not that it makes a huge difference or anything.
Everything I wish for myself, I wish for you also.

BADGE OF HONOR

The Jerk On Bike rolled his eyes and tossed the waffle back over his shoulder--before it struck the ground, a stout, disconcertingly monkey-like dog sprang into the air and snatched it, and began to masticate it--literally--for the sound it made was like a homonculus squatting on the floor muttering "masticate masticate masticate".