Wearing Propaganda

[LaMedicine]

I was searching the site of a repro kimono fabric maker, and ran across this which is being put on in the US until Jan 7 next year.

Allentown Art Museum.
The photo shown is the detail of a kimono in this exhibit

Wearing Propaganda
Deets on the exhibit.

If anyone is close by, it may be an interesting exhibit to check out.

 

[ramblinBOB]

thats really cool wow

 

[Baggers]

LaMedicine, it sounds like a fascinating exhibit, and I need to see if its coming to my locale, but I'm just a bit confused with what they're labeling as "propaganda.'

Perhaps I grew up with a misunderstanding of the term, but I always thought that propaganda in wartime consisted of exaggerations, misrepresentations, and outright lies about the other side. But I see the exhibit has also included anything of a nationalistic or patriotic nature. It seems to me that they're trying to redefine the term. If so, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to classify all the yellow ribbons seen on the backs of vehicles here in the U.S. as propaganda instead of a heartfelt show of support for our armed forces.

Am I the only one who sees a problem with this? I'm not trying to start an argument, but I can't help but see a subtle attempt at "reeducation" with this exhibit.

Cheers!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Whew, now to try to stay away from an argument.

The churchill scarf we today would list as patriotic garb, but the losers of that particular conflict, at the time, would say it was propaganda. Just like we (the allies) would say that the kimono shown would be propaganda - but the japanese at the time would say that they were merely patriotic garments. As i understand it the "black" (negative, directed at the enemy) propaganda was relatively late on the scene as opposed to the propaganda directed at manipulating one's own side.

wikipedia first line:

"Propaganda is a certain type of message presentation directly aimed at manipulating the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information."

... certainly includes the ribbons mentioned above. Though the people using them may not realise it, they are being manipulated by whoever is pushing ribbon-display behaviour. So, the NRA pin badges etc. of the mid 30s would also be classed as propaganda.


A very interesting topic, by the way.

[exits left]

bk

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I would classify all the commercial logo bearing garb-(age) of today,(Nike, etc.) as propaganda. Propaganda designed for the sole purpose of relieving people of their hard earned cash. And none of it is all that attractive, and it's certainly not the least bit original or unique.
People are literally paying corporations to provide them with advertising!
:eusa_doh:
(Exits right,...)

 

[Baron Kurtz]

[enters right]

More insidious than the money aspect is the ingraining of brand loyalty. Why do i only wear Adidas Samba indoor soccer shoes for indoor soccer? Is it because they are somehow better than the nike/umbro etc. indoor soccer shoes? No, i've been manipulated into buying Adidas. Brand loyalty.

A bit like professional sports, really. Get 'em hooked and they WILL spend money.

bk

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

(Enters left,...)
Always been one of my pet peeves,...
Mass marketing manipulation of the masses. It's heinous.
But I can always enter here and find a few folks that still think for themselves.

 

[Jay]

This is why none of my clothes have logos. With the exception of my Levis.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

See the recent furore over NFL coach who wanted to wear a suit instead of sweat pants/shirt ...

bk

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

See the recent furore over NFL coach who wanted to wear a suit instead of sweat pants/shirt ...

bk

Outrageous! :eusa_doh:
Not a team player! :eusa_clap lol

 

[jamespowers]

LaMedicine, it sounds like a fascinating exhibit, and I need to see if its coming to my locale, but I'm just a bit confused with what they're labeling as "propaganda.'

Perhaps I grew up with a misunderstanding of the term, but I always thought that propaganda in wartime consisted of exaggerations, misrepresentations, and outright lies about the other side. But I see the exhibit has also included anything of a nationalistic or patriotic nature. It seems to me that they're trying to redefine the term. If so, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to classify all the yellow ribbons seen on the backs of vehicles here in the U.S. as propaganda instead of a heartfelt show of support for our armed forces.

Am I the only one who sees a problem with this? I'm not trying to start an argument, but I can't help but see a subtle attempt at "reeducation" with this exhibit.

Cheers!

Seems right to me. From Webster's online:
Main Entry: pa¬?tri¬?ot¬?ism
Pronunciation: 'pA-trE-&-"ti-z&m, chiefly British 'pa-
Function: noun
: love for or devotion to one's country
Brand loyalty is something else.

Regards,

J

 

[feltfan]

I was searching the site of a repro kimono fabric maker, and ran across this which is being put on in the US until Jan 7 next year.

Allentown Art Museum.
The photo shown is the detail of a kimono in this exhibit

Getting back to the point, that is an incredible kimono.
Outstanding. Glad you shared the link. The ghostly silhouettes
of airplanes coupled with the overt parachute in the context
of a delicate woman's kimono. Amazing. An ironic venue for
fanning the flames of war.

 

[LaMedicine]

Outrageous! :eusa_doh:
Not a team player! :eusa_clap lol

lol lol lol
I didn't think things would take this kind of turn.
Love your avatar, by the way, Major.

I was once told that of all the traditional (ethnic) costumes there are in the world, kimonos are just about the only one that is known to have had (and still can have) political/propaganda designs intergrated into them. This is because the bolt of fabric woven for kimonos are only for one kimono each, and are dyed individually. So, it's easy to print (or rather, hand paint, as most kimonos are hand painted) any design that one may fancy. A photo I recently saw of a kimono display had one with the Mona Lisa designed into it. You can't see her unless the kimono is spread out but anyway. As far as kimono goes, many designs can be discreet, and hidden from the public eye, worn as linings and underkimonos. One such that I saw at a used kimono shop was a "haori" a kimono jacket that on the outside was solid black with only the family crest on the back, but the lining was of caricatures of prominent political figures, some of whom later became Prime Ministers.
Oh, and a few weeks ago, an actor on a talk show took off his haori, and showed off the picture of his grandchild printed into the lining.lol

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head with modern clothing for that kind of individuality are T shirts.

 

[LaMedicine]

Getting back to the point, that is an incredible kimono.
Outstanding. Glad you shared the link. The ghostly silhouettes
of airplanes coupled with the overt parachute in the context
of a delicate woman's kimono. Amazing. An ironic venue for
fanning the flames of war.

I know. It's scary, isn't it? Personally, I would never want to wear something like that, but I have seen repro prints of like stuff, and wondered why the need to reproduce them when the manufacturers have plenty of other stuff they can reproduce.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

lol lol lol
I didn't think things would take this kind of turn.
Love your avatar, by the way, Major.


The only thing I can think of off the top of my head with modern clothing for that kind of individuality are T shirts.

Thanks. I get more compliments on this avatar than any other. maybe I'll keep this one.
Sorry if I hijacked your thread a bit.
Back to the subject of clothing and messages, hand painted ties and A2 jackets with nose art are also good vehicles of expression. Either political or not.
I love the Japanese kimonos too, and I would like to collect a few. I found a seller on ebay in Japan that deals exclusively in kimonos, almost all of which are beautiful works of art. It would be extra cool to find some with hidden messages.

 

[LaMedicine]

Oh, I don't mind the hijack, I was enjoying the exchange, as a matter of fact.

If you want to see hidden messages, one would be to check the photo of the kimono spread out. Also check the details of the linings, even if the kimono itself seems plain, you may find amazing details there.
However, there are other designs that are "hidden", too.
An example here.

I am wearing what looks like a solid pink kimono.

This close up shows that it is actually a detailed pink and yellow print.
If you look carefully, you should be able to discern the patterns that are shown below.

This is the lining of the kimono, which was dyed together when the kimono was ordered. The size of the patterns in this pic is approximately the true size.

This is one of the designs I love, and is known as "Edo Komon" or "Tokyo Komon."
There are hundreds of patterns that belong in this group, ranging from simple geometric patterns to intricate patterns like the one above. This is a kind of "hidden" message, too.lol

BTW, if you find something that interests you and want a knowledgeable eye to check it out, PM me the link, and I will be happy to oblige.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Sugoi! :eusa_clap

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Seems right to me. From Webster's online:
Main Entry: pa·tri·ot·ism
Pronunciation: 'pA-trE-&-"ti-z&m, chiefly British 'pa-
Function: noun
: love for or devotion to one's country
Brand loyalty is something else.

Regards,

J

In danger of turning political: patriotic messages become propaganda, of course, when they become jingoistic and manipulative. "Get the people whipped up into a frenzy over an issue they wouldn't care about without the messages being thrown at them". Many times these issues cannot be reasonably linked to patriotism, but are twisted to fit the mould. Patriotism is commendable, i suppose, but the manipulation of people based upon their deepfelt patriotic beliefs is a terrible reality of our (and any) tribal societal system.

This is a common ploy, and with direct links to the marketing idea we were talking about earlier. The hype that surrounds new "innovations" and "desgin-features" of new products is nothing short of ridiculous. The example i can remember from my own childhood was the Reebok Pump shoes. If your shoes didn't have the pump (thereby meaning they weren't Reebok brand) you were singled out for ridicule. Reebok made an amazing amount of money from this single, cynical marketing ploy.

You can see i think about this ALOT.

And yes, Maj. Nick, that is a great avatar.

bk

[exits left, for real this time]

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

(enters left,...)
I think about this a lot myself. It's scary. Even to this day after all the lessons we should have learned from history, people can still be manipulated in such a manner.

(Another vote for the cat! I'll keep this avatar then I think. lol )

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I look at every(and i mean every)thing i'm confronted with and assume an ulterior motive. Funnily enough, they are generally so obvious that you don't need to look very hard but some (particularly the political ones) can be harder to get at.

yes, it's paranoia, but built up over years of exposure to marketing and politics. Trust no-one (alright yes, also years of X files exposure ).

bk