Hug A Hoodie

This picture represents a policy by David Cameron that was widely documented in the press, 'the hug a hoodie' campaign caused a lot of controversy when first brought up. This campaign was no doubt part of David Cameron's long term plan to rejuvenate the conservatives and help appeal to a younger audience, although it could have easily have been seen as more of a publicity stunt. I though this picture brilliantly summed up the way Cameron´s policy seemed to backfire.

American Propaganda

This American WWII poster targets the Japanese and portrays them as rats with the goal of helping defend the vulnerable Alaska from attack. This poster uses the power of association to try and entice people into serving their country but also portrays an entire nation as vermin. This may seem more appropriate when taking into consideration what the Japanese where doing at the time, but this racial profiling cannot be excused in any situation.

Propaganda

"You can't fool all the people all of the time, but if you fool the right ones then the rest will fall behind" This is a lyric by the independent hip-hop artist Dead Prez and I believe it is an analytical statement that sums up the affect propaganda has. The way the media uses the power of the image to influence our understanding is something that effects us everyday and it is very often only the open minded person who can see this process. The first poster is a 1944 WW2 Nazi poster published by the Dutch SS-Storm magazine, it warned the Dutch people against the evils of the invading Americans. This poster was an obvious attempt by the Nazi's to try and turn the Dutch against the Americans, who had seen Holland as an entry point into Germany. The other poster published in 1947 by the Catechetical Guild is a warning to America of the then immanent threat of communism. This so called threat of communism kept Americans scared for a long time and is great example of the media's use of propaganda.

Critical practice project

This is a recent project that I did for critical practice, we had to go on a walk any place, any distance. Then we had to write a short text about what we saw this what I ended up with.

I enter a poorly lit road which seems to be a dead end and by this time I am completely lost, so I investigate and come across a dark ominous alleyway at the end of the road. As I make my way down this dark passage I suddenly here footsteps behind me and see a dark figure out the corner of my eye, I quicken my pace and approach the end of the alleyway only to find a group of black teens, all with there hoods up, they confront me and start hassling me looking for a reaction but I ignore them and try to get passed, then one of them pulls a Knife from his pocket and holds it to my neck. Another one demands “give me your wallet and your phone” and before I have a chance to reply they pin me up against a rough garden wall, they search my pockets and find what they where looking for, the feeling of relief comes across me as they start to walk away, then the teen with the knife turns and throws me back up against the wall, he fumbles in his pocket for the knife panic sets in and I manage to struggle free but only to find his friend who plunges his own knife into my stomach, pain shoots across my body, my legs become weak and I start to fall, as my head hits the damp cold pavement I hear “this is Brixton station”, the tube jolts I awake and in a daze stumble off the train and up the escalators with an anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach the only thought running through my head is that I will be coming across a dirty town with trouble round every corner. But as I exit I come across a bright vibrant city center with bustling shops, and lively markets, I see a beautifully lit old church towering above the shops, I then make my way to a local pub, and I find a modern looking bistro serving great food and full of friendly people, after a few pleasant drinks I move on, to find a modern Spanish style bar with a great atmosphere. I then proceeded to have a pleasant evening without any confrontations, that’s not say that nothing bad happens in Brixton, and sure I saw my fair share of dodgy looking people but no more than I see around the rest of London. And so I thought, maybe I should be careful about stereotyping places before I visit them.

A difficult but interesting read

After reading The Hiram Key I would recommend it to anybody with an open free thinking mind. Although this is not a well written book and the authors do sometimes jump to conclusions far to easily, if you look upon the information objectively then you can make some interesting observations. This is because it tackles the extremely controversial subject of religion. The reason of course this becomes such a difficult subject is because of personal choice, everyone has the right to believe what they wish. Although of course religion effects all of us in daily life and this is where the problem resides, can we really let other peoples personal views effect our lives. Then of course there is the moral dilemma of whether to let religious organizations take advantage of people. Hopefully this is the question this book will leave you asking. Although the way The Hiram Key tackles this sensitive subject is not by directly asking these questions but instead looks objectively at the historical evidence of religion. I believe I need to read around this subject far more to understand how objective this information is but The Hiram Key is certainly a good start. This book is worth a look and may open your eyes to some of the lies that you have been told throughout your life.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hiram-Key-Pharoahs-Freemasons-Discovery/dp/0099699419/ref
=pd_bbs_sr_1/026-1022000-0180449?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191528294&sr=8-1

Interesting music video

This is an interesting video by an up and coming British artist, this is unfortunately his worst song but the rest of his first album is an great analysis of contemporary culture. The industry of making music videos is constantly pushing new boundaries and this is a great adition.