Credit: John Sherrfius
“Sight Gags” is our weekly nod to the ironic and carnivalesque in a vibrant democratic public culture. We typically will not comment beyond offering an identifying label, leaving the images to “speak” for themselves as much as possible. Of course, we invite you to comment … and to send us images that you think capture the carnival of contemporary democratic public culture.
This images symbolizes the torment, dishonestly, and unethical boundaries and work ethic that Wall ST. and the stock market exchange has with its vast clients across the nation. This image stands as a representation of the power that money holds over a society. The power of greed that comes with any association of money, the lengths at which money can be used to deceive people and manipulate them into believing lies for truth and garbage as substance. Culturally, it shows the civil upset within the United States and its lack of control of its own monetary funds and the disgrace its shows to other countries of how our CEO’s distribute and handle business.
This image seems to be a great example of bricolage,that is the use of something (in this case the colors and “trick or treat” phrase) in a way where it was not intended to be used. Whereas typically the phrase “trick or treat” is a fun and playful phrase, it is here shown as being a phrase that alludes to the notion that the American people were tricked so those on wall street could have their “treats.” By using the halloween colors the imagecauses the viewer to feels a sense of being scared or haunted by the actions of wall street. Also, the trick is much larger because the amount of people affected by the “trick” are much larger than the miniscule amount of market traders who receive the treats of their trades. I suppose one could also argue that the area surrounding the country is black because America is seen by much of the world as being self-centered in our expensive taste in life over the rest of the world; many areas which do not have near the materialistic obsession as do we here in America. Therefore America’s importance is stressed on ourselves and not the black area outside of our country.