Paris Hilton targeted in CD prank

Z

zhao

there are no accidents
ultimately the vile garbage and those who exhaustively poke fun at it are equally boring.

by lowering himself to that level Banksy has shown that he doesn't have much more self respect than his target.

like Satan worship ultimately reinforces the Christian world-view, so these pranks ultimately reinforce the Paris Hilton world view.

YAWN.

I'm with those that refuse to take part and attempt to come up with alternatives.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Paris Hilton is a weak target, and therefore this activity is in no way subversive"
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I think that you're making the mistake of thinking that because she is an obvious target she is a weak target. I would say that her very obviousness makes her a good target. If you want to get what you are doing in to the press and get the attention of as many people as possible then you have to go for the biggest, most obvious target.
I've asked several times in this thread who would be a better target and the only serious suggestion was Bono. I agree that he would be an equally large target but (as far as I'm aware) he hasn't got a new record out which would diminish the effect. Also, it would be a more complex issue in that case because it would presumably be a criticism of his actions regarding "drop the debt" or whatever it's called rather than a simple and direct criticism of celebrity culture. I'm not necessarily saying that that would be a bad thing but that it would be a different thing and, I imagine, not what Banksy set out to do.
Also, why does it have to be subversive? The thing I liked about it was that it was funny, when I saw that headline it (slightly) brightened my day.
 
G

gek-opel

entered apprentice
@IdleRich: Bono/U2 would be a FAR FAR FAR FAR better target- yes, a more complex one, but one which gets the core of the problems Banksy is (perhaps, lets hope eh?) trying to address, because Hilton is too flimsy, too obvious a target, whether you attack her on the level of inherited wealth, lack of "talent" (argh- hate that fucking word) or Celebrity, what underlines these conditions is the capitalist real, which while exemplified in the abstract by Hilton (as an effect), some of its mechanisms can be better observed through Bono and U2, both aesthetically and politically (and the way in which these two are intertwined to obscene perfection). But that would take someone with subtlety as well as a taste for self-promotion and the big statement... (you could make equally valid arguments as to Banksy being a grotesque example of late capitalist effect, but I can't be bothered to waste any more words on him)....
 
Guybrush

Guybrush

Dittohead
gek-opel said:
@Idlerich: Bono/U2 would be a FAR FAR FAR FAR better target- yes, a more complex one, but one which gets the core of the problems Banksy is (perhaps, lets hope eh?) trying to address, because Hilton is too flimsy, too obvious a target, whether you attack her on the level of inherited wealth, lack of "talent" (argh- hate that fucking word) or Celebrity, what underlines these conditions is the capitalist real, which while exemplified in the abstract by Hilton (as an effect), some of its mechanisms can be better observed through Bono and U2, both aesthetically and politically (and the way in which these two are intertwined to obscene perfection). But that would take someone with subtlety as well as a taste for self-promotion and the big statement... (you could make equally valid arguments as to Banksy being a grotesque example of late capitalist effect, but I can't be bothered to waste any more words on him)....
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What "problem" is it that Bono and U2 represents or exemplifies then? (I'm not saying there isn't one, it's just that everybody seems to assume that it's obvious, while I think it's not.)
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"@Idlerich: Bono/U2 would be a FAR FAR FAR FAR better target- yes, a more complex one, but one which gets the core of the problems Banksy is (perhaps, lets hope eh?) trying to address, because Hilton is too flimsy, too obvious a target, whether you attack her on the level of inherited wealth, lack of "talent" (argh- hate that fucking word) or Celebrity, what underlines these conditions is the capitalist real, which while exemplified in the abstract by Hilton (as an effect), some of its mechanisms can be better observed through Bono and U2, both aesthetically and politically (and the way in which these two are intertwined to obscene perfection). But that would take someone with subtlety as well as a taste for self-promotion and the big statement... (you could make equally valid arguments as to Banksy being a grotesque example of late capitalist effect, but I can't be bothered to waste any more words on him)...."
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I think it's quite difficult to make complex and eye-catching points to the general public through a prank. He can't enter in to debate, he can just shout one thing and see what happens and that's what he's done. I don't think it's an attack on Paris Hilton as such, it's more of an attack on people who buy her stuff or an attempt to make them wonder why they are doing so. I genuinely don't understand why doing that annoys everyone so much. One of my friends said it's a little unfair on any children who might buy the cd and be confused or upset - that seems the only valid criticism that I've heard but no-one on here has thought to mention it.
Anyway, you can't keep a good man down, according to the Guardian he's also responsible for this

http://www.woostercollective.com/2006/09/breaking_the_story_disneyland_doesnt_wan.html

http://art.commongate.com/tag/anaheim
 
G

gek-opel

entered apprentice
But seriously now. Come on- will a single individual have the celebrity-blinkers pulled from their eyes thru this pathetic stunt? No. There ARE NO BLINKERS. Everyone is fully divested already! This can be observed by the obscene cruelty of celebrity culture nowadays, for one thing...
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"But seriously now. Come on- will a single individual have the celebrity-blinkers pulled from their eyes thru this pathetic stunt?"
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Who knows? But as I said before I found it funny and I don't understand why it raises your ire in the way it does. It may or may not pull blinkers from eyes but what harm can it do? It's going to remove more blinkers than arguing with one person on an internet forum and lecturing them on the capitalist real - I find that a lot more pathetic to be honest. To me it seems a fairly unsubtle - which is an automatic failing of something of this type - but well-intentioned and humorous dig at something that you probably hate, it might not be the best thing ever but what's the problem?
 
N

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
Subvertising joins the mainstream passe.

Conceptual art = corny pranks.

Banksy = unwitting dupe in the recuperation of yet more channels for thought. MyArt / MySatire.

Hilton, Banksy and HMV all get amply what they want. Who loses? Is this entertainment?
 
D

DJ PIMP

Well-known member
gek-opel said:
But seriously now. Come on- will a single individual have the celebrity-blinkers pulled from their eyes thru this pathetic stunt? No. There ARE NO BLINKERS.
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We knowingly love/hate them because they represent the falseness of modern culture, but we don't recognise celebs and in particular movie actors as inverted mythological figures. The mundane aspects of their lives are elevated to mythic levels, while the trad mythic elements of the movies they star in are regarded as fantasy.

In a similar way we're posessed by the myth of science without realising it - mistaking the representation for the reality.
 
U

UFO over easy

online mahjong
gek-opel said:
But seriously now. Come on- will a single individual have the celebrity-blinkers pulled from their eyes thru this pathetic stunt? No. There ARE NO BLINKERS. Everyone is fully divested already! This can be observed by the obscene cruelty of celebrity culture nowadays, for one thing...
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Yes, but why does that have to be the point? Why can't it just be about poking fun at Paris Hilton? It's doesn't have to change the world, it's just fun!
 
B

blunt

shot by both sides
IdleRich said:
Anyway, you can't keep a good man down, according to the Guardian he's also responsible for this

http://www.woostercollective.com/2006/09/breaking_the_story_disneyland_doesnt_wan.html
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This is my favourite bit:

The sculpture, consisting of an inflatable doll dressed in an orange jumpsuit with its hands and feet manacled remained in place for one and a half hours before Disneyland's security staff shut down the ride and removed it amid fears over public safety.
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Inflatable dolls: yup, that's some level 5 security risk, right there...
 
G

gek-opel

entered apprentice
But I don't see how Banksy is any more "fun" (given that we are to agree that he is entirely UN-subversive) than Hilton... Its the fact that his "hilarious" "pranks" are pre-supposed to contain subversive content that gives him all this endless and tiresome broadsheet coverage... I suspect I hate Banksy and Bono a hell of a lot more than Hilton and her ilk who are simply the aristocracy- everyone KNOWS whats wrong with them, for a start...
 
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T

tate

Brown Sugar
gek-opel said:
I suspect I hate Banksy and Bono a hell of a lot more than Hilton and her ilk who are simply the aristocracy- everyone KNOWS whats wrong with them, for a start...
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I have a hard time wrapping my head around that one. :D Though I realize that there is an utterly pervasive and vicious dislike of Bono on dissensus. I've never completely understood that, though I don't know much about him - only see him on special cable news stations from time to time speaking fairly knowledgeably about AIDS in Africa etc. Which is more than P Hilton or her "ilk" could do, no? Is this some sort of UK thing, where it's somehow against-the-grain 'cool' to enjoy imported fluff like Hilton (see Penman) but despise your own aging-rock-star-pseudo-activist types? I am not disagreeing, i have no real opinion on the matter, just genuinely curious how it all stacks up.
 
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Guybrush

Guybrush

Dittohead
tate said:
I have a hard time wrapping my head around that one. :D Though I realize that there is an utterly pervasive and vicious dislike of Bono on dissensus. I've never completely understood that, though I don't know much about him - only see him on special cable news stations from time to time speaking fairly knowledgeably about AIDS in Africa etc. Which is more than P Hilton or her "ilk" could do, no? Is this some sort of UK thing, where it's somehow against-the-grain 'cool' to enjoy imported fluff like Hilton (see Penman) but despise your own aging-rock-star-pseudo-activist types? I am not disagreeing, i have no real opinion on the matter, just genuinely curious how it all stacks up.
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I'm curious about this phenomenon too, and would love for it to be expanded upon.
 
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