This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2018/feb/21/when-real-life-protest-imitates-art-from-three-billboards-to-father-ted
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| When real-life protest imitates art – from Three Billboards to Father Ted | When real-life protest imitates art – from Three Billboards to Father Ted |
| (3 months later) | |
| Three billboards outside the Houses of Parliament (and other London locations) last week read: “71 dead”, “And still no arrests?”, “How come?” The 71 are the Grenfell fire victims and the group behind the boards was Justice 4 Grenfell. This week, following the shootings at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, three billboards outside a Florida senator’s offices read: “Slaughtered in school”, “And still no gun control” and “How come, Marco Rubio?” | Three billboards outside the Houses of Parliament (and other London locations) last week read: “71 dead”, “And still no arrests?”, “How come?” The 71 are the Grenfell fire victims and the group behind the boards was Justice 4 Grenfell. This week, following the shootings at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, three billboards outside a Florida senator’s offices read: “Slaughtered in school”, “And still no gun control” and “How come, Marco Rubio?” |
| This new adaptable protest meme comes, of course, from Oscar favourite Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in which an outraged mother puts up three billboards after her daughter’s murder remains unsolved. Call it Three Billboarding, perhaps. The tendency of life to mimic art has become a staple of protests in recent years. It’s now almost impossible to tell the difference between a good riot and a particularly angry cosplay expo. | This new adaptable protest meme comes, of course, from Oscar favourite Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in which an outraged mother puts up three billboards after her daughter’s murder remains unsolved. Call it Three Billboarding, perhaps. The tendency of life to mimic art has become a staple of protests in recent years. It’s now almost impossible to tell the difference between a good riot and a particularly angry cosplay expo. |
| Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta kickstarted the trend. The Guy Fawkes masks in the 1988 graphic novel and 2005 film began to turn up on 4chan boards and were taken up by Anonymous for an anti-Scientology event in London in 2008, then spread like wildfire, flooding the Occupy protests. They still appear at the annual Bonfire night anarcho-libertarian Million Mask March in London. | Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta kickstarted the trend. The Guy Fawkes masks in the 1988 graphic novel and 2005 film began to turn up on 4chan boards and were taken up by Anonymous for an anti-Scientology event in London in 2008, then spread like wildfire, flooding the Occupy protests. They still appear at the annual Bonfire night anarcho-libertarian Million Mask March in London. |
| More recently, protesters have borrowed from The Handmaid’s Tale – the dystopian 1985 Margaret Atwood novel about enslaved women – using the white visors and red dresses of the 2016 TV adaptation to protest against Trump’s presidency, repressive patriarchy and much more. | More recently, protesters have borrowed from The Handmaid’s Tale – the dystopian 1985 Margaret Atwood novel about enslaved women – using the white visors and red dresses of the 2016 TV adaptation to protest against Trump’s presidency, repressive patriarchy and much more. |
| In Thailand, in 2014, the junta warned protesters it was monitoring a new form of resistance – a three-fingered salute borrowed from The Hunger Games. In the books and films, the gesture moves from a respectful farewell to a revolutionary code – a way for the citizens to say goodbye to repressive power. | In Thailand, in 2014, the junta warned protesters it was monitoring a new form of resistance – a three-fingered salute borrowed from The Hunger Games. In the books and films, the gesture moves from a respectful farewell to a revolutionary code – a way for the citizens to say goodbye to repressive power. |
| Finally, the ultimate case of life imitating art is the most meaningless. Up and down the land, be the cause tuition fees or the customs union, placards bearing the phrase “Down with this sort of thing” – originating on 90s sitcom Father Ted – have found their way into real life as a kind of embarrassed trope about the awkwardness and ineffectualness of protest itself. Yes, we can. But we’d really rather not. | Finally, the ultimate case of life imitating art is the most meaningless. Up and down the land, be the cause tuition fees or the customs union, placards bearing the phrase “Down with this sort of thing” – originating on 90s sitcom Father Ted – have found their way into real life as a kind of embarrassed trope about the awkwardness and ineffectualness of protest itself. Yes, we can. But we’d really rather not. |
| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri |
| Shortcuts | Shortcuts |
| Protest | Protest |
| Father Ted | Father Ted |
| Grenfell Tower fire | Grenfell Tower fire |
| Parkland, Florida school shooting | |
| features | features |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |
Previous version
1
Next version