Anti-Globalisation- branded?

[Questionauthority]

Err first off Admins,Mods, if this is in the wrong place please move it. I was so confused as to where the best place for this would be! :(

I was talking a friend in the UK a while back and he said he went along to ESF and thought it was pretty shite. I was checking up some reports and looked at some pics from it and what I picked up from it was how branded it looked. So clean and full of shiny posters of Che and merchandise of him and nice logos etc. Thats just it, that one picture has been so abused by people it holds little significance. So many people wear Che, it is everywhere. Has his symbol just become another brand? For me personally it is so borderline, I think the general public fail to appreciate his ideas and what he achieved in his life. It lacks image if you want to go out proclaiming yourself to be a communist and in that way it is almost as if the capitalists have won and crushed his image and icon....
What do the rest of you think about this matter?

[Raisa]

I am not surprised, this is capitalism and if WE ourselves as human beings are commodified you bet your ass Che Guevara's picture will be too!

But you know what I was thinking when I read your post.....

Companies misuse and cheapen the word " revolution" alot.

What if someone used Che Guevara's face as a company logo?

"Coka-Cola :che: Join the Revolution!"

[h&s]

Originally posted by [email protected] 30 2004, 06:16 AM
"Coka-Cola :che: Join the Revolution!"
Don't give them any ideas. Please!

[bolshevik butcher]

Surely putting che's face everywhere will get people interested in him and what he believed?

[Gunman]

So why whould the companies do that? It doesn´t make sense!
They just put che´s face everywhere because it looks "cool" and to appeal young pseudo-revolutionaries to buy che merchandising

[Kez]

I dont think its relevant what the companies do, why should we be concerned?

We have our own battle, the battle to in people over to socialism. If anything, this surge of the use of Che can be used as a starter point to discuss Che-->Socialism-->Revolution, so i dont see any reason why we should be bothered or worried.

[Pawn Power]

I dont think its relevant what the companies do, why should we be concerned?

We have our own battle, the battle to in people over to socialism. If anything, this surge of the use of Che can be used as a starter point to discuss Che-->Socialism-->Revolution, so i dont see any reason why we should be bothered or worried.

I agree, if it brings people into leftist ideas and they start to research these areas. I would like to change your time line though,
Che-->leftist ideas and learning-->revolution-->communism
the battle is to win people over to communism

[RevolutionarySocialist MadRedDog]

Even Che's own daugther, Aleida Guevara, spoke about the commercialisation of her father's image and apparentlu she was strongly against. On the one hand: so am I. Che's is a socialist icon and that's what he should stay.

On the other hand: maybe some of us like to wear t-shirts of have posters with his image on them, and in a capitalist society it practically always means these objects have to commercially sold.
And the argument of people getting interested in the ideas of Che, by seeing him on t-shirts, posters and other objects is one I share as well.

[Yazman]

I saw on the Telstra (Australian tele-communications company) website an advertisement for the Big Day Out (music festival here) and it had Lenin's picture on it with raised fists in the background, and it had "Join The Revolution today! Get your ticket for the Big Day Out!" above the picture of Lenin.

Really. Fucking. Lame.

[kidicarus20]

The commercialization is kind of wrong, but it's not wrong to display images of someone you admire. Even many intellectuals put up posters of intellectuals they admire in their offices or labs. In an anarchist society I'm sure "trends" could exist.

Does anybody know where you can get Noam Chomsky posters?

[bolshevik butcher]

If your gonna buy a t-shirt made by a corporation, will it really make a gifference if it's got che or led zeppelin on it?

[Dark Exodus]

Originally posted by Clenched [email protected] 7 2005, 01:30 PM
''If your gonna buy a t-shirt made by a corporation, will it really make a gifference if it's got che or led zeppelin on it?''



Yes, Che's Image has been branded, this being hypocritic to his and his followers beleifs, unlike Led Zeppelin

[pedro san pedro]

"Coka-Cola Join the Revolution!"

i believe that 'revolution cola' is already on the market :huh:

i also seem to remember seeing an advert for deisal jeans or shoes depicting protesters at an anti-globalisation protest wearing diesal products. i fairly sure that diesal uses sweat shops to produce its poducts??

i think this is damaging - companies cashing in on the images of the very people that are trying to change them.

companies that greenwash are a problem to - by making themselves look environmentally friendly, when the oppisite is true, they can take the public eye, and pressure to change, away.

these techniques could supposedly be used against any cause