Improv Everywhere: Humorous Performances or Exploitation of the Public Sphere? Improv Everywhere: Humorous Performances or Exploitation of the Public Sphere?
Good story! I'm not sure I agree completely with what you are saying at the end though. If a group like Improv Everywhere limits itself to only benign situations, wouldn't that disqualify what they do from being sabotage?
And just what are the people in blue polos trying to sabotage by going in the store? Aren't they making an implicit critique of dehumanizing corporate businesses that see people as interchangeable parts? That's an important message.
The way I interpret it is that while they're not intending to sabotage, they come close to doing so by not being aware of the consequences that can occur. I like to think of it in the same way that Stevie in Conrad's The Secret Agent willingly plays into a sabotaging mission without being aware of what he's doing. Although the intent still isn't there, he is still among the saboteurs.
Thus, while I admire them for the message they're trying to put across, I think they need to rethink their methods.
Interesting comparison to The Secret Agent and unwitting participation in sabotage for an ideological cause. I guess I would maybe split the difference between what I said earlier and what you are saying here. Clearly this improv group has some kind of critique in mind of corporate homogeneity because Best Buy (and their ridiculous uniforms) is the perfect target for it. However, what seems to be going on is that their critique is not well-formulated or well-articulated. Should we fault them for that? I don't know. Maybe there's room for artistic license in the act of sabotage.
Good story! I'm not sure I agree completely with what you are saying at the end though. If a group like Improv Everywhere limits itself to only benign situations, wouldn't that disqualify what they do from being sabotage?
ReplyDeleteAnd just what are the people in blue polos trying to sabotage by going in the store? Aren't they making an implicit critique of dehumanizing corporate businesses that see people as interchangeable parts? That's an important message.
First of all, thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteThe way I interpret it is that while they're not intending to sabotage, they come close to doing so by not being aware of the consequences that can occur. I like to think of it in the same way that Stevie in Conrad's The Secret Agent willingly plays into a sabotaging mission without being aware of what he's doing. Although the intent still isn't there, he is still among the saboteurs.
Thus, while I admire them for the message they're trying to put across, I think they need to rethink their methods.
Interesting comparison to The Secret Agent and unwitting participation in sabotage for an ideological cause. I guess I would maybe split the difference between what I said earlier and what you are saying here. Clearly this improv group has some kind of critique in mind of corporate homogeneity because Best Buy (and their ridiculous uniforms) is the perfect target for it. However, what seems to be going on is that their critique is not well-formulated or well-articulated. Should we fault them for that? I don't know. Maybe there's room for artistic license in the act of sabotage.
ReplyDelete