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this piece is not the worst thing in the world, but i& #39;m going to critique it a bit bc it represents an attitude i keep seeing that i think completely misses the point https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21359098/social-justice-slideshows-instagram-activism">https://www.vox.com/the-goods...
in general, it is not a good idea to write about design criticism if you do not have the language to "put your finger on it" but what she seems to be IDing is the link between the way corps use friendly aesthetics to brand themselves and the aesthetics that do well on instagram
this piece from racked in 2017 does a better job at interrogating instagram aesthetics and the *structure* of instagram influencing the creation of this aesthetics https://www.vox.com/2018/4/17/17219166/fashion-style-algorithm-amazon-echo-look">https://www.vox.com/2018/4/17...
and this piece in the baffler dives into the way corporate logos and tech have evolved to be very bubbly and friendly to hide their sinsiter, exploitative nature https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-corporate-logo-singularity-hawley">https://thebaffler.com/latest/th...
i& #39;m not exactly sure what is shocking or novel about this. corporations & ads have been using social justice to hide behind for years, even decades if you consider the way non profits function as tax sinks and do-gooder shield. this is nothing particularly special about instagram
what she correctly identifies is the problem w the content of these things can be wrong, but this is the same problem in lengthy twitter threads (like this one) or facebook posts, chain newsletters, perhaps even cable news and places like Vox. it is not unique to these slides
i personally am overwhelmed of seeing them, which is where probably a lot of ppl& #39;s feelings towards them are coming from. i am also tired of seeing bad liberal politics put forth and the shame-y attitude many of them have, but that& #39;s also a problem i have w.. politics in general
this comes down to the crux of the issue: do you think aesthetics alone can spur political change? aesthetics can be used to hide horrific things, but i do not think aesthetics alone does that, rather the interests of those at the top of power structures do
(i wrote a whole thing about how design is in fact a tool of the ruling class: https://thebaffler.com/odds-and-ends/design-is-not-neutral-tighe">https://thebaffler.com/odds-and-... )
there is no way to make an "anti capitalist aesthetic." it does not exist. not all art or design has to be political, but when engaging in political design, what is 95% of the importance is the *content* of it. to focus on our annoyed feelings abt the aesthetics misses the point
stuart hall& #39;s famous essay "deconstructing the popular" (1981) is worth a read. this part helps clarify the inflexible judging of aesthetics. "Is the novel a & #39;bourgeois& #39; form? The answer can only be historically provisional: When? Which novels? For whom? Under what conditions?"
i also this these paragraphs of him trying to work through what is "popular" is helpful https://www.academia.edu/31525468/Stuart_hall_notes_on_deconstructing_the_popular">https://www.academia.edu/31525468/...
what we are seeing is something v interesting. capital always co-opts revolutionary words, movements and aesthetics for profit and neutralization. rn, ppl are using more corporate aesthetics to push forward radical content. that is the point worth expanding and interrogating imo
i don& #39;t know if it works, and social media is incredibly small in the scheme of things, but seeing police and prison abolition become national talking points is incredibly heartening. i don& #39;t see how making radical politics digestible for large parts of the population is bad
if you& #39;ve ever been tangentially near community organizing without an NGO budget, there is a huge amount of difficulty in creating basic things like fliers, websites, and instagram posts that are readable and people want to engage in. things like canva are a godsend
the piece correctly ID& #39;s the prob w radical politics on corporate platforms but my feeling is that ppl dismissing the utility of the slides have never tried to get ppl to engage w these politics before 2020 or are reacting to the annoying lib ones more than the form as a whole
