Commercial Che

[Poppytry]

OK first of all I apologize if this is in the wrong section I had no idea where to put it.

I recently come across this text in a old thread from this website


" Many factors which are contradictory to his [Che] ideology have thrived all over the world to reduce him to a mere trademark; images of his bearded beret capped, face is used to sell hundreds of artifacts mainly via internet. T-shirts, tank tops for women, jackets baseball caps, military wear, backpacks and courier bags, belt buckles, clocks, collector pins cups. flasks, glasses, key chains, wallets, postcards and posters are some of them. "

I disagree with this statement in many ways. However to begin with I would just like to point out that it makes me cringe when I see people wearing the Che image for purely commercial purposes especially by people who do not even know his name or what he stood for. But I do support the use of Che's image whether it be through T'shirts, flags, posters and tattoos and such if there is some sense behind it. The point I'm trying to make is that there is a time and a place. Am I betraying everything Che stood for by having a poster of him on my wall showing everyone what I stand for and believe in?

As strange as this may seem I believe Che would have supported this in some way. Moments before his execution he was asked if he was thinking about his own immortality. "No", he replied, "I'm thinking about the immortality of the revolution." He then said "I know you've come to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man." Today the image of Che represents many things, anti-American economic imperialism, the struggle for freedom and rise from oppression being some examples. And through the image of Che people find unity and a set of beliefs, Che was right, they killed the man but the revolution is immortal.

[Nulono]

And through F'shirts for our friends with both arms on the same side of our bodies.

[Agnapostate]

I'm not as great a Che fan as I once was, but I still laugh when I hear the ignorant attempting to make sneering gibes about his image being a "commercial logo" that stands in contradiction to his ideology. My own justification for this is consequentialist in nature; in my opinion, the sale of the merchandise will have a less beneficial effect on capitalism (and a less adverse effect on socialism), than the dissemination of knowledge of Che will have on socialism and capitalism respectively.

[Poppytry]

My own justification for this is consequentialist in nature; in my opinion, the sale of the merchandise will have a less beneficial effect on capitalism (and a less adverse effect on socialism), than the dissemination of knowledge of Che will have on socialism and capitalism respectively.

Haha that is brilliant.. I had never thought of it in that way. :)

[Holden Caulfield]

Che T-shirt worn by politically clueless people are brilliant, i dont care if Che would have disapproved (through modesty if nothing else) because boat loads of people (including myself) have found left wing politics through Che Guevara T-shirts, books, posters, whatever.

[mykittyhasaboner]

Holden makes a good point, the whole Che marketing does a lot to expose people to left wing politics, even though its rather contemptible to use a revolutionary's picture as a marketing scheme. Its become so popular that there is even a (really good) hollywood movie about him. So maybe there's two sides of the coin here.

[rivalin]

yeah, the more point know about his struggle the better!

[MakeYourFuture]

I think that the Che's head is today like the Rolling Stone's tongue: some people wear it and they know what it is, but the majority see that as fashion stuffs.
It's really that it maybe bring revolutionnary ideas to people, but some people just don't care of what they wear, and wear it just for fashion, even if they never heard the word "communism" or, for the other case, listen the Rolling Stones.

(sorry for my english)

[W1N5T0N]

the problem is that sooo many people i know wear the che shirt just to be cool. They dont really care about him or communism. For many teenagers, it's just another symbol of revolution. Which in itself isnt bad, but mind you these people cant even spell his name right, much less do they know what dictator he toppled and where he died :rolleyes:

Is there any picture of makhno that we could put on?

[W1N5T0N]

How about this one?

[SJBarley]

Personally I own many Che items, and this is because from my point of view, being a Che supporter through and through (his actions converting me into a communist) it plays a vital role in spreading the message. Yes many don't understand but I feel that enough will ask questions that will show the glory of Che and what he meant :)

[Old Mole]

Che merchandise is all recuperation, as I have said in another thread. I do not think the working class can be one over (or strengthened in any way) with pictures of some commie guy, no matter how much of a wonderful person he might have been. Thinking otherwise is thinking about communism as a commodity and about revolutionaries as PR-agents and stockholders. I say fuck the image of Che in order to preserve the memory of the real one (I myself, own a number of Che-items I might add).

[SJBarley]

I agree that Communism and the revolution shouldn't be treated like that, but I think that by using the Image of Che as a rallying point for comrades and a means to get people to ask questions and join the revolution

[Old Mole]

I agree that Communism and the revolution shouldn't be treated like that, but I think that by using the Image of Che as a rallying point for comrades and a means to get people to ask questions and join the revolution
I would say that you are right in assuming that the image of Che could be used as a rallying point for us communists and maybe even to a limited extent to make non-communists curious. But this requires us to reclaim the imagery and the symbols from the capitalists. When a revolutionary is integrated into the logic of markets then the anticapitalist message rings empty and becomes a pose. I can by a Che-sweater and try to live up to the stereotype of communist, but then I am just behaving like a consumer, not a conscious revolutionary. The same that happened with Che has happened with a huge number of leftists, RAF for example has been turned from communists into rockstars in later years because of the industry created around them.

[pastradamus]

The famous image of Che Guevara's face has, yes -be come a merchandising tool but nevertheless his face has endured as a symbol of rebellion against the status quo. Despite the fact that his image has become a superficial marketing symbol it still remains that his life story and struggle permeate any attempt to corporatise and capitalise on this image.

In a sense Che represents defiance against any status quo, sometimes regardless even of Che's actual ideals. To associate yourself with Guevara's image is to associate yourself with passion and rebellion as well as the application of justice. Guevara's actual ideology for example would have found itself at odds with anarchism but yet many anarchists wear che's image, and, its perfectly acceptable for them to do so in my opinion for the above reasons. I can wear my Che T-shirt because I understand it. I can keep my Che tattoo, because I understand Che.