The Commercialism of Che

[PenguinChe]

When a friend and I went to Vancouver BC a couple years ago we found ourselves walking along a street full of vendors of various items when I was struck by a store carrying many different varieties of flags, and displayed most prominently in the store front window was the all so common "Che Flag". Blood red textile bearing the black face of Che, with the ever so famous quote; " Hasta La Victoria Siempre". Now I feel I must describe myself as an adamant... well people call me a radical, a leftist and what ever other cliché term they can use to describe someone of my disposition. Being a recent "fan" of Che's I found myself compelled to buy this ornament of my political expression. Though I still have that flag, I do not don it upon my housings wall, or fly it patriotically in a protest. I keep that flag folded and in my closet as a reminder to myself of what I had fallen for and how I must strive to better myself from such ignorance.
Now you must not take me wrong. I do believe Che's imagery is something to be celebrated, not because of commercial value, but out of the hope it can bring more people to who he was and to what he fought and died for. Even if people do not agree with his views, to be a well educated person you must have some knowledge of people like Che, same as you would for people like Hitler, Bin Laden etc. (I put Che in the company of these names, not because I think he shares values etc.. with them but because like Che they had a vision that would and does shape the world, thus it is a necessity to have understandings of their doctrines) The issue I have with Che's image is the way which it is abused.
Judging by the forum I'm in I don't have to describe what it is Che fought for, so I will for go this and will move simply to my grievance.
I find the commercialism that has surrounded Che's imagery and more recently his life to be disgraceful. Since Alberto's recent death a fashion company by the name of Fashion Victim (FV) has acquired the rights to the famous face we see. Through a recent dispute with Northern Sun, FV has made clear there legal claim to the commercial rights of Che imagery, and by doing so has set the stage for the bidding of other companies to have the right to reproduce his image across T-shirts, posters and any other assortment of items they feel will suit their profit interests. And not only has his image become a market for capital, but the areas in which these goods are produced are nations with no care or regard for the working people; Countries such as Honduras which actively prohibit the founding of unions and any other establishments which may progress workers rights. The contradiction of ideals here is plain to see.
We can not only see this capitalist rape of a hero as disheartening, but we must fundamentally ask ourselves if by acquiring these commercialized images we are progressing the ideal of a man, or destroying them. Take the circumstance of myself; I buy the “Che flag” because of idolization, and a belief in the ideals of Che, by doing so I become a consumer in the capitalist system furthering the profits of the corporation which has vested interest in keeping Che’s ideas nothing but figurative speech. So are we helping the progression of socialism or its stagnation?

These are sites with articles/information on what I am addressing
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action...item&itemid=873 (http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=873)
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4935720.html
http://www.northernsun.com/cgi-bin/ns/che.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3594994.stm
The new National Geographic (Sept. 04) also has a very well written article on this topic


I must add this. I in no way intend to bash this site as I respect what it is doing. But I can't help but be perplexed by a hammer and sickle next to "The Che Store" where you can get "The www Premier Che Collection-Hats T-shirts, Poster-over 150 items"

Just thinking out loud...

[Danton]

I don't think this site turns a profit.. The commercialization of Che ltd is a particularly bitter irony.. The magnetism of the man is such that he still adorns many a t-shirt, bedspread, lighter, ashtray (as if I'd stub out a fag on him) even a doormat I once saw.. As ever we can only hope a little of him rubs off on those that investigate him even on the basis of vanity.. Well, my stocks in Che ltd are soaring...

[NovelGentry]

Buy it all.... buy as much as you can and display it anywhere you can, and when the world is filled to a point where no one can walk out of their house without seeng his face maybe then they will be ready to start learning about him and what he stood for. Assuming you're from the US, destroy any chance that children in this country will grow up without knowing who Che Guevara is. Make it so kids are faced with him early, confronted with him often, and whenever someone asks you who he is, don't refuse them the pleasure of finding out. And when you see someone displaying it without any knowledge of him, educate them too, and teach them to display it with pride and respect. To paraphrase one of the greats, let the capitalist sell you the rope to hang him with.

Or just do whatever the hell you want. The fact is we don't live under socialism or communism, and if you're gonna buy something it's gonna be created through exploitation, so what is the difference between buying something with Che on it or something with ALF on it, other than the fact it might give you the opportunity to educate someone about someone who actually meant something. (Not that ALF didn't mean anything... /me hides from the ALF zealots)

[Palmares]

Technically the Che Store is not part of this site, but rather an affiliate. But I must admit, though i like some of the items there, many just seem plain... yuppie-like. Especially those fucking farmer hats! I remember there has been at least one article that quoted Che-Lives.com as a part of the commercialism because of the keys-rings at the Che Store. Alot of people had nice things say to that paper you can guess.

Honestly though, who cares that much that Che is commercialised? I say freedom of intellectual property. We just need the cappies to give up their's too. :P

[PenguinChe]

I can see the argument made for the spreading of Che imagery everywhere as a means to educate. But are we not discracing the very person that is Che by allowing the explotation of his image and subsequently supporting it. I don't believe that this is what Che had in mind.

[PenguinChe]

I can see the argument made for the spreading of Che imagery everywhere as a means to educate. But are we not discracing the very person that is Che by allowing the explotation of his image and subsequently supporting it. I don't believe that this is what Che had in mind.

[PenguinChe]

I can see the argument made for the spreading of Che imagery everywhere as a means to educate. But are we not discracing the very person that is Che by allowing the explotation of his image and subsequently supporting it. I don't believe that this is what Che had in mind.

[commiecrusader]

If we do it in a way to spread awareness though, then I don't see how Che would disagree with spreading the word. Also I thought any profits from the Che-Store were pumped back into this site? If not then they should be, or donated to left-wing organisations that need it.

[commiecrusader]

If we do it in a way to spread awareness though, then I don't see how Che would disagree with spreading the word. Also I thought any profits from the Che-Store were pumped back into this site? If not then they should be, or donated to left-wing organisations that need it.

[commiecrusader]

If we do it in a way to spread awareness though, then I don't see how Che would disagree with spreading the word. Also I thought any profits from the Che-Store were pumped back into this site? If not then they should be, or donated to left-wing organisations that need it.

[Postteen]

I've said that many times:Che has become too commercial and that's not for good.When you see in every store Che's T-shirts,flags,clocks,mirrors,hats,pants and I don't know what else they've made up, it's a thing to worry about and not to be proud of.People are wearing all those things with Che on them and they have NO idea who Che was, what he did and what his believes were.I believe it's desgusting.It brakes on my nerves.They should first educate themselves and then buy all that stuff.

The only Che thing I own, is a poster of him I have in my bedroom.Nothing else.No shirts, no shit.Che was a hero, but when you put him on shirts and things like that, you make him look like nothing.If you like Che, keep it for yourself.If you don't know him, do whatever you want.

[Postteen]

I've said that many times:Che has become too commercial and that's not for good.When you see in every store Che's T-shirts,flags,clocks,mirrors,hats,pants and I don't know what else they've made up, it's a thing to worry about and not to be proud of.People are wearing all those things with Che on them and they have NO idea who Che was, what he did and what his believes were.I believe it's desgusting.It brakes on my nerves.They should first educate themselves and then buy all that stuff.

The only Che thing I own, is a poster of him I have in my bedroom.Nothing else.No shirts, no shit.Che was a hero, but when you put him on shirts and things like that, you make him look like nothing.If you like Che, keep it for yourself.If you don't know him, do whatever you want.

[Postteen]

I've said that many times:Che has become too commercial and that's not for good.When you see in every store Che's T-shirts,flags,clocks,mirrors,hats,pants and I don't know what else they've made up, it's a thing to worry about and not to be proud of.People are wearing all those things with Che on them and they have NO idea who Che was, what he did and what his believes were.I believe it's desgusting.It brakes on my nerves.They should first educate themselves and then buy all that stuff.

The only Che thing I own, is a poster of him I have in my bedroom.Nothing else.No shirts, no shit.Che was a hero, but when you put him on shirts and things like that, you make him look like nothing.If you like Che, keep it for yourself.If you don't know him, do whatever you want.

[Danton]

You, are off your rocker.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

I've said that many times:Che has become too commercial and that's not for good.When you see in every store Che's T-shirts,flags,clocks,mirrors,hats,pants and I don't know what else they've made up, it's a thing to worry about and not to be proud of.People are wearing all those things with Che on them and they have NO idea who Che was, what he did and what his believes were.I believe it's desgusting.It brakes on my nerves.They should first educate themselves and then buy all that stuff.

I disagree completely, beatlekat.

What the hell is wrong with wearing Che's image and not knowing who he is? If there's anything to worry about, I'd say it's that the image is being used by capitalist *****es to sell products, not that people wear the image. Why should they keep their admiration for Che to themselves?

If a bloke is walking around and sees a Che Guevara shirt and says to himself, "Gee wilikers, that is one sexy shirt!" Then he buys the shirt. What the fuck did he just do that was so wrong?

Maybe seeing somebody wearing a Che shirt will inspire them to learn about Che. Or maybe buying a Che shirt will inspire them to learn about Che.

[Orange Juche]

Originally posted by [email protected] 30 2004, 09:55 AM

I disagree completely, beatlekat.

What the hell is wrong with wearing Che's image and not knowing who he is? If there's anything to worry about, I'd say it's that the image is being used by capitalist *****es to sell products, not that people wear the image. Why should they keep their admiration for Che to themselves?

If a bloke is walking around and sees a Che Guevara shirt and says to himself, "Gee wilikers, that is one sexy shirt!" Then he buys the shirt. What the fuck did he just do that was so wrong?

Maybe seeing somebody wearing a Che shirt will inspire them to learn about Che. Or maybe buying a Che shirt will inspire them to learn about Che.
I'll buy che stuff as long as its not made in sweatshops. I see no problem with it either, it DOES inspire people to learn about Che, and it promotes anti-capitalism, and the revolutionary spirit. Considering Che was THE MAN, how can I not promote him?

[Postteen]

If a bloke is walking around and sees a Che Guevara shirt and says to himself, "Gee wilikers, that is one sexy shirt!" Then he buys the shirt. What the fuck did he just do that was so wrong?

I said peopel who don't know about him,can do whatever they want.Let's say you're a marxist;would you ever wear a t-shirt with Marx on it?Would you buy a clock,mirror,ect with Marx?I wouldn't.Can you imagine Kennedy or Stalin in T-shirts and all that stuff?Yeah, maybe people wearing Che shirts maybe learn about him, but I just don't think that he deserves being on T-shirts.From the other hand, the capitalists make lots of money, by using him,as you said, which is even worse.

I don't know, I just wouldn't feel good if I was wearing a Che shirt, or if I bought all those things with him on them.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

So now people need to "deserve" to be on a shirt to be on a shirt? I have a shirt with a turtle on it. It's about saving tutles or some shit. I think Che "deserves" to be on my shirt more than some turtle. Don't you think?

[Postteen]

Che's place isn't on shirts!When you're wearing the turtle, you pass a message somehow.You say"Save the turtles!"When you're wearing Che you may say(as RedZeppelin)that Che was great or look I'm a commie.However, when all the guys who have no idea who Che was, wear it because it's kinda fashionable.Do they want to say something?Maybe they know that Che was a revolutionary, but nothing else.They just wear a T-shirt.

My cousin who is 13, saw a week ago the Che poster I have, and he told me:Oh..that's Che!He's a revolutionary!Do you want to be a revolutionary when you grow up?"I was like"What??Is that a job or something?Huh?"Obviously the only thing he knew was what he asked me!He didn't even know what a revolutionary is!Think now that kid goes and buys a Che shirt because he liked his "image"or his face in the poster.(His parents are right wingers and they wouldn't let him but anyways)

If you wear a shirt with someone great on it, you want to pass something!For example I would wear a shirt with "Bush is a terrorist"without a 2nd thought!But I just don't want to be one of the crowd which doesn't know who Che is.If you were wearing it, I wouldn't say anything because know that you like him.But from the other hand, the shirt doesn't deserve Che. ......

[NovelGentry]

This is like arguing whether or not a shirt should say:

"This shirt brought to you buy sweat shop labor from Tawain."

It seems to me that the only basis on which people argue Che shirts is one of a moral basis, that because the shirt was made with exploitative labor that it does not "deserve Che's face" and I agree, it doesn't really, but show me the shirt that is not made with exploitative labor.

The argument of wearing a shirt like "Bush is a Terrorist" is like saying that the Che shirt would be fine if it actually told people soemthing about Che. For example instead of letting people assume he's just a "revolutionary" saying "Che was a Communist"... then people know he's a communist revolutionary. Much like a picture of Bush with "Bush is a terrorist" tells people Bush is a terrorist president. What your arguing here is simply that assumed knowledge is not enough to justify it. But a picture of president Bush alone without "Bush is a Terrorist" serves just as easily to say "Bush is the President" as it does to say "Bush is a terrorist" it all depends on what you know about him beforehand. Why should Che be any different? And what is so wrong with saying "Che is a revolutionary"? He was. If that's all the person knows, so be it, but by wearing the shirt they may be able to tell people even just that about him, for those that have no clue at all who he was.


My cousin who is 13, saw a week ago the Che poster I have, and he told me:Oh..that's Che!He's a revolutionary!Do you want to be a revolutionary when you grow up?"I was like"What??Is that a job or something?Huh?"Obviously the only thing he knew was what he asked me!He didn't even know what a revolutionary is!

Why does the ignorance of your 13 year old cousin make such things right or wrong? Why is wearing a Che shirt wrong because 99% of the population is too ignorant to interpret it the right way? If all that matters is that YOU'RE interpreting it the right way, then you can't argue Che t-shirts, only the morons that wear them... and that's fine, but realize that whether you know about him or not you're supporting his commercialization just the same by buying the product. Not that this is a good or bad thing, it's simply the way society works right now because we live under capitalism -- its' not something you can avoid. So if you want such products you have to be willing to not only pay the price up front that you do, but pay the price of the exploitation of the workers.

Like I said in previous posts, however, if I have to buy a shirt either way, I might as well buy one with Che on it, this way here maybe people will ask and present me witht he opportunity to explain his life to them.

If this comes down to a question of whether Che would approve of it or not, you have to realize that Che would not approve of any such shirt that is made from such exploitative labor, whether it had his face on it or a picture of a poodle. If you're gonna be self-righteous about shirts with Che on them, you have to be self-righteous about shirts in general, because they're all made the same way.

What I see here is nothing more than a bunch of people who know about Che being too selfish about his image. That because we know about him it's OK that we use it, but we must club to death some teenie-bopper girl who has a picture of him on her purse with no clue who he is. If that purse convinces just ONE person to look into who he is more (without even talking to her that is) then it's OK by me. The problem isn't the purse, it's the girl holding the purse -- and the only way to fix that problem is to educate her. If you take the time out to explain to her who he is, maybe she'll never use that purse again. If that is your goal I suggest the line "I see you got Che on there, where's Fidel?"... then let her ask what you mean and explain. That oughtta be the only thing you need to do if those are the kind of people your worried about ruining your "pristine" image of the TRUE Che follower.

Personally I could give a shit if these people ruin my "image" as someone who knows about Che... I don't admire Che because it helps my "image." If people see me with a Che shirt and want to assume that I'm just some idiot wearing it for fashion, let them.

[Postteen]

If people see me with a Che shirt and want to assume that I'm just some idiot wearing it for fashion, let them.

We agree here.I wouldn't care either!You know what?When I see "serious" people(or kids)with Che shirts I think (wow, imagine they're commies.or, that guy rocks, he likes Che!)But if I see a guy with Diesel jeans,Nike shoes and Dior sunglasses with a Che Guevara on his red shirt, I think what the hell's he doing?

I don't know..Maybe I'm wrong..Once I told my friends that I wanted a Che t-shirt and they told me"ok, we know you're a commie, it's not necessary to show it!"And I told them to shut up because I was proud of it.You see, from the one hand,I would love to buy one, but then I see the dirty cappies wearing it, and I think that it's corny(like the tattoo).I know I can change my mind quickly and go downtown right away and buy a T-shirt(they cost 20Euros but anyway).So don't argue more with me.Now I'm just too theoretic.But only the shirt;no clocks, no purses.

[synthesis]

Who the hell actually buys clothing these days, anyway?

[Vallegrande]

I would like a Che T-shirt that was made out of hemp instead of cotton, then it would truly defy the imperialistic corporations!!!

[Raisa]

It offends me that most of the people che guevara spent his life fighting for will not afford his shirt, because a shirt with the face of a people's man is over priced!

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

I actually bought my che shirt for the equivalent of about $1.50.

[Vallegrande]

Fine if a shirt isn't worth it, i will at least have a picture to remind me of a truly determined human. Ernesto Guevara always held the picture of Camilo Cienfuegos on his wall. Its just a picture to remind oneself of another. And on October 9, around there, I am going to be wearing my shirt to commemorate Che's death.

[Vallegrande]

By the way Raisa, you are right about the shirt being overpriced. I think tacking a picture to a plain shirt is just as well.