Identity Reframed
Identity Reframed Summary
from Pop!Tech Wiki...
Pair up The Yes Men with Kwame Anthony Appiah, preeminent expert on race, ethics and philosophy and you have another quintessential Pop!Tech conversation swirling across themes of moral responsibilities, the fluidity of identity and the danger of deeply entrenched power structures.
For those of you who don't know, The Yes Men serve as the post-modern trickster figure in our age of globalization. The trickster's function is to expand the conversation from within the "cracks," the liminal spaces of society where the threshold of change can readily take hold. Like slippery superheroes with constantly shifting identities, The Yes Men don dark suits and pretend to offer apologias for corporate wrongs. Although their actions do not necessarily lead directly to reparations, they can do a vicious attack on branding and corporate responsibility campaigns. The Yes Men, more than anything else, get people talking. By undermining the very notion of an "authoritative voice", the "one in charge," The Yes Men prove that, far too often, there is no one at the wheel.
As tricksters, they walk the fine line between outrageous and audacious. The most remarkable thing about their presentation was the response of the woman living in the HUD housing development in New Orleans. When she found out that The Yes Man had pulled a big hoax on her and her community, she wasn't upset. Like so many at the bottom rank of society, she knew that it was not enough to speak truth to power. Today, we must fool truth to power.
Appiah's work examines another end of the identity and power spectrum. His work attempts to debunk the myths surrounding the monoliths of the West and our own misconceptions of culture. As Appiah so eloquently stated in his presentation, these ideas are much more diverse and dynamic than our language and conceptions of identity and values currently articulate.
Most striking was his response to the question about women wearing head scarves in Great Britain. His first word was: "Chill." He went on to question why those in power attempt to appropriate the stance, language and actions of the disenfranchised by calling the head scarves a threat. Those in power will imitate the behavior of those less powerful in an effort to maintain their control. We are all constantly negotiating our identities against this greater backdrop.
Appiah also mentioned that religion remains the real threat to a secular society like Great Britain and the majority of Europe. As we know, this specific issue does not threaten our culture in the same way here in the United States but religion does present other challenges to our political systems. Richard Dawkins and Martin Marty with continue to unpack this discussion in "On Faith."
Pair up The Yes Men with Kwame Anthony Appiah, preeminent expert on race, ethics and philosophy and you have another quintessential Pop!Tech conversation swirling across themes of moral responsibilities, the fluidity of identity and the danger of deeply entrenched power structures.
For those of you who don't know, The Yes Men serve as the post-modern trickster figure in our age of globalization. The trickster's function is to expand the conversation from within the "cracks," the liminal spaces of society where the threshold of change can readily take hold. Like slippery superheroes with constantly shifting identities, The Yes Men don dark suits and pretend to offer apologias for corporate wrongs. Although their actions do not necessarily lead directly to reparations, they can do a vicious attack on branding and corporate responsibility campaigns. The Yes Men, more than anything else, get people talking. By undermining the very notion of an "authoritative voice", the "one in charge," The Yes Men prove that, far too often, there is no one at the wheel.
As tricksters, they walk the fine line between outrageous and audacious. The most remarkable thing about their presentation was the response of the woman living in the HUD housing development in New Orleans. When she found out that The Yes Man had pulled a big hoax on her and her community, she wasn't upset. Like so many at the bottom rank of society, she knew that it was not enough to speak truth to power. Today, we must fool truth to power.
Appiah's work examines another end of the identity and power spectrum. His work attempts to debunk the myths surrounding the monoliths of the West and our own misconceptions of culture. As Appiah so eloquently stated in his presentation, these ideas are much more diverse and dynamic than our language and conceptions of identity and values currently articulate.
Most striking was his response to the question about women wearing head scarves in Great Britain. His first word was: "Chill." He went on to question why those in power attempt to appropriate the stance, language and actions of the disenfranchised by calling the head scarves a threat. Those in power will imitate the behavior of those less powerful in an effort to maintain their control. We are all constantly negotiating our identities against this greater backdrop.
Appiah also mentioned that religion remains the real threat to a secular society like Great Britain and the majority of Europe. As we know, this specific issue does not threaten our culture in the same way here in the United States but religion does present other challenges to our political systems. Richard Dawkins and Martin Marty with continue to unpack this discussion in "On Faith."
Author
Peter Durand
