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Ethical Spectacle

From CT4CT: Creative Tools for Critical Times

Ethical Spectacle is a planned spectacular participatory event, artistic intervention or situation that promotes and remains true to progressive political principles.

According to Stephen Duncombe, ethical spectacle is:

[S]pectacle that adheres to principles that most progressives hold to: democracy, egalitarianism, community, a belief that the future can be better than the present, and, perhaps ironically, a fealty to reality. In Dream I identify a number of characteristics of an ethical spectacle. In brief, these progressive spectacles need to be participatory, that is, they have to count on the participation of people, not merely their spectatorship. Following from this, the ethical spectacle needs to be open to the direction that these participants may take it. It also needs to be transparent. In other words it must be a spectacle that people know is a spectacle and that is not mistaken for reality. Progressive spectacle must also be rooted in the real: a performance of reality rather than its replacement, and it must be tied to real, material results. Finally, and this is a bit more complicated, the ethical spectacle should represent a dream -- something that we know isn't real but that motivates us nonetheless.

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Projects

Billionaires for Bush

Billionaires for Bush

Billionaires for Bush is a culture jamming political action group that utilizes street theater to satirically support George W. Bush (and other politicians) for those activities which are perceived to benefit corporations and the wealthy. The group was formed during the 2000 U.S. presidential election.

According to Billionaires for Bush, the group is:

a grassroots network of corporate lobbyists, decadent heiresses, Halliburton CEOs, and other winners under George W. Bush's economic policies. Headquartered in Wall Street and with over 60 chapters nationwide, we'll give whatever it takes to ensure four more years of putting profit over people. After all, we know a good president when we buy one.

See also:

Critical Mass

Critical Mass (Image by ibcbulk)

Critical Mass is a bicycling event held on the last Friday of every month in which bicyclists gather to ride collectively through the streets of a city or town. Critical Mass bike rides are regularly held in over 300 cities around the world. In larger cities, rides have attracted thousands of participants. Critical Mass is known for its leaderless structure and has been described by participants as an "organized coincidence." Riders meet at a set time and place but routes are not worked out in advance and instead are created spontaneously during the ride according to the desires of the group.

According to TIME'S UP!:

Critical Mass is an event that began in San Francisco in the early 1990s and has since spread to hundreds of cities around the world. It usually occurs monthly (sometimes weekly). as bicyclists spontaneously come together to ride the ordinarily car-clogged streets of their cities. Critical Mass focuses on the rights of bicyclists and the rights of pedestrians on our own streets. It also brings attention to the deteriorating quality of life -- starting with the toxic levels of air and noise pollution -- that cars create for cities. It is a leaderless ride, free and open to all, where bicyclists take to the streets to promote bicycling as the best means of urban transit. Bicyclists are just as much traffic and have just as much right to be on the roads and travel at their own speed as anyone else.

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PARK(ing) Day

PARK(ing) Day Perth, 2008

REBAR's PARK(ing) Day is an annual and open event in which citizens transform urban street parking spots into temporary public parks. The event was created in 2005 and has grown to become a global event with over 150 public parking spots transformed in 2007. It is co-sponsored by the Trust for Public Land. REBAR has created a PARK(ing) Day Assembly Manual and Streetscape Intervention Toolkit that can be freely downloaded and used.

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