{"id":7059,"date":"2017-10-19T04:58:06","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T04:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/?p=7059"},"modified":"2020-05-06T22:16:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T22:16:00","slug":"ban-conspiracy-in-the-age-of-free-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/?p=7059","title":{"rendered":"Cultural HiJack: BAN! \u2014 Conspiracy in the Age of &#8220;Free Speech&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Statement<\/span><\/strong>: A <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">visual hijack<\/span> is when an artist uses the visual strategies of an oppressive image, or target, to re-establish <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">new ideas<\/span> that are counter or detrimental to the system that the oppressive image upholds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Part 1: Setup<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Choosing Target<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Choosing a target requires a target that is not only choose-able but <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">workable<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. There are many images and visuals that are oppressive to people, but a good target is one that is both <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">flexible to change<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and iconic enough that this <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">idea-override<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will be a challenge.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For this hijack, I chose <\/span><strong>Breitbart<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Breitbart is a very popular and inflammatory conservative news company run in the United States, born from Andrew Breitbart, a former journalist at the Drudge Report (Phelan, 2016). It is perhaps the face of conservative news in the US and is extremely well-known by name and persona.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Makes Breitbart a Good Target<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Much of their content is, definitively, oppressive to the artist.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follows <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daniel Dennett\u2019s Rules for Evolution<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Dennett, 127) (and therefore, something that will stick around)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHeredity or replication\u201d (Dennett, 127)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Breitbart is a very successful replicator, meaning that its single form (Breitbart news story) is both easily repeated not just in craft, but in idea and memory. There is something that sticks in one\u2019s brain and the brain of others (Dennett, 129) to reaffirm the idea of Breitbart as a creator of conservative news. Their consistent updating also reminds us of this.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The name and persona of Breitbart extend beyond the news story. If one were to say, <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Breitbart is going to be at the rally!,<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> one would not presume a series of newspapers to stand up and speak. The company is an idea beyond its own function, and that idea is<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> replicated both by its function and the function of other people<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cVariation\u201d or \u201can abundance of elements\u201d (Dennett, 127)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The elements in this project included the design of Breitbart, a screen capture from Breitbart the day after the election of the 45th president of the United States (Wayback, 2016), and a screen capture of The Drudge Report on July 11th, 2001, the closest pre-9\/11 capture available (Wayback, 2001).<\/p>\n<p>Breitbart has many words on its page, being a news company. Many of these words are topical buzzwords and naturally have their own ideas and feelings attached to them.<br \/>\nFor this project, I also used language from the Drudge Report, Breitbart\u2019s predecessor, to increase the elements available. Drudge Report, pre-9\/11, has a lot of pre-contemporary language and distinct linguistic catches that look jarring beside the more typical contemporary ones.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cDifferential \u2018fitness\u2019\u201d (Dennett, 127)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Breitbart produces several articles with <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">repetitive buzzwords<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to create a public reaction to an idea, using the same model of \u201cfitness\u201d (Dennett, 127). By recreating the same elements in varying orders with different emphasis, Breitbart employs the same system as most memes to create \u2018new\u2019 content.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the elements in Breitbart writing as well as Drudge Report headlines are already packaged and ready for remix. Using large or small quotes from the sites creates levels of \u2018normal\u2019 and \u2018abnormal\u2019 within the paper, by splicing common ideas and repairing them with a Frankenstenian sense of culture. When placed together as a cohesive piece, it is difficult to establish one clear reality.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/breitbart.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7061 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/breitbart-1024x575.png\" alt=\"breitbart\" width=\"625\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/breitbart-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/breitbart-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/breitbart-624x350.png 624w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/breitbart.png 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/drudge.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7062 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/drudge-1024x575.png\" alt=\"drudge\" width=\"625\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/drudge-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/drudge-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/drudge-624x350.png 624w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/drudge.png 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Defining Working Systems<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Breitbart, as a news source, is <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">very<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> popular: why?<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Gramsci suggests that there are two kinds of \u201cintellectuals\u201d (Gramsci 113), those who are naturally \u201corganizers\u201d (ibid) and \u201corganically\u201d (ibid) rise to lead people, and those who \u201c[emerge] into history out of the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">preceding [&#8230;] structure\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Gramsci 114).<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Breitbart, ironically, is the latter spinning itself to seem the former. Unlike the classic bootstrap American narrative, Breitbart did not rise from the American public just as conservatives needed it, but was an egg waiting to hatch for many years.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Andrew Breitbart left The Drudge Report in 2005 to begin Breitbart Media (Phelan, 2016). Gaining popularity from its predecessor and from Breitbart\u2019s reputation as a catchy journalist for Drudge Report, the news source became a household name after getting famous with their report <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Big Government<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2009 (Phelan, 2016).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But why was their internet popularity so fast and effective?<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Ken Layne says about Andrew Breitbart\u2019s reporting style at Drudge Report, \u201cjust choosing links and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">writing a great headline<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and placing it on the page \u2014 is a real art form\u201d (Phelan, 2016).<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Mark Dery, a web scholar, writes that the \u201cone-liner\u201d is an intensely effective online format (Dery, 2).<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Breitbart gained popularity because it was easy to read and was a \u201cunique brand of lightweight, gossamer junk\u201d (Phelan, 2016) while attacking \u201cintellectual scaffolding\u201d (ibid).<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The same short form use of repetitive, easy to understand elements in different positions allowed for Breitbart to become one of the most iconic conservative news sources of our time. By not requiring much attention but having a high malleability, Breitbart was allowed to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">produce and reproduce easily<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; This success gives it authority, and the authority mixed with replication causes it to \u201c\u2018produce\u2019 intellectuals\u201d (Gramsci, 117) who, in turn, give it authority.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you <\/span><strong><em>hijack<\/em><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> this?<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; When online, there is a sort of anonymity; personas are built on digital footprint rather than their identity. \u201cPeople are judged on the content of what they say,\u201d (Dery, 2) and who they are comes from that action.<br \/>\n<\/span><strong><strong>&gt; Use the Breitbart name and likeness to create and alternate persona that reflects a facet of why it is oppressive<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/strong>&#8211; There are three key components to target for Breitbart: its replicability, its notoriety, and its credibility. Although I could have done a project on how the articles describe Dennett\u2019s fitness, or a project showing the hypocrisy of promoting fringe news from a singular large company, I chose to attack the <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">credibility<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What defines the hijack?<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; For publications that were notoriously unreliable, my initial idea was simple headlines with incorrect photos. However, this evolved into a more distinguished metaphor: using the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">conspiracy magazine<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Conspiracy magazines are known for false, outlandish, and usually fabricated information. This seemed like the perfect reflection of the \u2018fake news\u2019 phenomenon. It also enabled me to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">use the integrity of the Breitbart name<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> against them<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The same brevity of headline and buzzword tactic is used in both conspiracy magazines and the Breitbart articles, but how they are judged is different. The artifice is similar, but the value is different because of reputation.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Like a news company, the magazine implies replication (multiple issues). This metaphor helps to uphold the same replicative property as Breitbart, the news company.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Because I was attacking the credibility of Breitbart, I made an active effort to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">use its other two major strategies<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in my favor, so that my piece would appear more connected to my target.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3985280.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7063 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3985280.jpg\" alt=\"3985280\" width=\"560\" height=\"722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3985280.jpg 560w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3985280-232x300.jpg 232w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Magazine Building<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First Prototype<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Most of the work for the magazine occurred in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adobe InDesign<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. I used Photoshop to create backgrounds for the magazine, mimicking the spray paint design of Breitbart\u2019s official website. The <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">three focal colors (orange, gray, and black)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were taken directly from screenshots of the website. Not having worked in InDesign prior, this was quite the adventure, but the program proved to be more friendly than unfriendly!<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; I deeply wanted the newspaper to be large and unruly when read, so the paper size was 11&#215;17 inches. This proved correctly impossible to handle when printed.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Before designing the layout of the piece, I compiled <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">several references<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for \u2018old\u2019 conspiracy magazines covers. <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paranoia<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> proved both the easiest to find and the best representation of a variety of covers, featuring image- and text-heavy covers. I then emulated the closely-oriented\/busy layout of the covers, which felt surprisingly easy and natural.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Most limitations were in the composition of the magazine format, but the metaphor of a conspiracy magazine was a fun and easily mimicable. The limits guided the piece more than restricted it.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; My original <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">goals for this prototype<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were to play with the ideas of headlines from Drudge Report only, with images from public web using keywords from headlines, using only the design from the Breitbart website.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Titles<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the magazine varied, trying to describe the fake authorship; options were: Breitbart American Men, Breitbart American News, and Breitbart News.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7066 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-4-e1508387589797-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"image_6483441 (4)\" width=\"625\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-4-e1508387589797-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-4-e1508387589797-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-4-e1508387589797-624x468.jpg 624w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-4-e1508387589797.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7065 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-2-e1508387570723-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"image_6483441 (2)\" width=\"625\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-2-e1508387570723-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-2-e1508387570723-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-2-e1508387570723-624x468.jpg 624w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-2-e1508387570723.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7064 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-1-e1508387553688-1024x626.jpg\" alt=\"image_6483441 (1)\" width=\"625\" height=\"382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-1-e1508387553688-1024x626.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-1-e1508387553688-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-1-e1508387553688-624x381.jpg 624w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-1-e1508387553688.jpg 2042w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 2. Second Prototype<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 &#8211; The second prototype was modified to include more text: it now included Breitbart\u2019s \u00a0 contemporary headlines. This lead to more dense text and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">smaller \u2018packets\u2019<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of words and phrases for use, in order to disguise the headlines. The newer words allowed also for <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more play<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and topical humor, which felt easily accessible<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 &#8211; There were also more images, to allow for a more gentle visual experience. The title that I settled on was BAN: Breitbart American News<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 &#8211; Lastly, this week I finally created the BreitbartAN <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Facebook page<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which is listed on the back of the magazine, and which only has posted the screen captures of the Breitbart and Drudge Report websites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7067 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-5-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"image_6483441 (5)\" width=\"625\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-5-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-5-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-5-624x468.jpg 624w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/image_6483441-5.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Third Prototype\/Final<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The third prototype had more focus on \u2018public\u2019 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">interaction<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: I added \u2018viewer of the week\u2019 photo, a mail in portion of the magazine, and the Facebook icon that is recognizable on so many websites today. These changes work with helping the magazine to appear connected and \u201cmaking the world a little smaller,\u201d (Fairey, 3).<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Again, the design was altered to make the piece more legible and move better across the page. There were plenty of other design notes after this prototype, however, they did not make the final for time issues. Still, it shows that rarely is any design perfect!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For Access:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/PROTO-EDIT.pdf\">PROTO EDIT<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Installation<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Inaugural Year: <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Celebrate Sarah Lawrence<br \/>\n<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The purpose of this event, according to the Sarah Lawrence website, was to \u201chighlight dance, music, theatre, and writing performances and readings; science demonstrations and posters; displays by student visual artists; Sarah Lawrence programs beyond the campus; Graduate Programs; student publications; dessert reception and the opportunity to have your photo taken with our college mascot, Godric the Gyphon\u201d (Sarah Lawrence, 2017).<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The event itself was spread throughout the first two floors of the Heimbold Visual Arts Center and several outdoor staging areas.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Many alumna, board members, and donors were present as well as students to blend in with. I chose this event because not only did is present a group who was not typical to the college, but it also presented a group who was a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">risk<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the college to interact with. These people also likely had a knowledge of what Breitbart was, and perhaps might even have an opinion on the piece.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Distribution<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Originally, I planned to wait at a singular table and distribute 15 printed copies of the magazine as a repeated action; however, due to how few people were in the area, I began to move throughout the event spaces and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hand out papers<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; A friend and photographer, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Khalifah Jamison<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, took photos of people reading the magazine and of myself handing them out.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Surprisingly, it was very hard to wait for people to take the magazine. This was remedied with a much easier \u201cwould you like a newspaper\u201d\/\u201dwould you like a magazine.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gallery<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; At one point, I entered Barbara Walter\u2019s Gallery. At the suggestion of Jamison, I stood in middle of an exhibit portion so that it appeared I was there <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as a part of the exhibit<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Many people saw me enter the gallery, however, many more did not.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; I passed out several newspapers within the gallery, this time without speaking or with as few words as possible. Many people took the time to very much study and read the paper, some even looking at the art behind me for answers. Several groups of people read the paper and returned it, thinking that it was a permanent part of the exhibit.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reactions<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Most people received the magazine with confusion. Twice, people laughed. One person rejected the magazine upon seeing the Breitbart name, but their companion took the paper.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; A few people held onto the magazine, more people <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">secretively than visibly<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This leads me to believe that although they may have wanted to read it, they were ashamed of the Breitbart name. However, there were some who openly displayed the Breitbart logo as they carried it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7071 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0320-1024x685.jpg\" alt=\"DSC_0320\" width=\"625\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0320-1024x685.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0320-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0320-624x417.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0344.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7069 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0331-1024x685.jpg\" alt=\"DSC_0331\" width=\"625\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0331-1024x685.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0331-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0331-624x417.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7070 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/astoryisnotatree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0344-1024x685.jpg\" alt=\"DSC_0344\" width=\"625\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0344-1024x685.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0344-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0344-624x417.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 &#8211; The only people who carried it visibly, from who I noticed, were white men.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conclusions<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did This Work<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; I think so; many of the people who talked to me about the magazine asked questions such as \u201cwho did this?\u201d and \u201cis this real?\u201d<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The purpose was to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">destabilize the view of \u2018credibility\u2019<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Breitbart name and source. By making people unsure about whether Breitbart had actually published a nonsense conspiracy magazine, I feel accomplished and that my ideas translated correctly.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SURPRISINGLY<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Facebook page <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">backfired.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The Facebook page has had a surprising amount of interaction, but it does not seem to be anyone related to Sarah Lawrence College or from Yonkers\/Bronxville area. There was one person who interacted with the page from Yonkers.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The page has been tagged in links to an actual Breitbart article.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The page has been sent message about a conservative activist in trouble.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The messages replicated differently online versus with the magazine.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The Facebook page <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">only had the untouched content<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the Drudge Report and Breitbart, meaning that there was no hijack necessarily present. Therefore, posting it online without the finished product meant that it only replicated the Breitbart name and likeness without the critique of the final product. This was not only unintentional, but a failure to consistently represent the product cross-platform.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; In this case, the Breitbart name outshone the content itself and proved too strong to feasibly hijack, and in fact hijacked the project itself.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the credibility of Breitbart was put into question by this piece, the reach was small due to the print nature and the institution of Breitbart remains mostly unaffected.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Future work<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I would like to use the growing (?) online basis to replicate the short form conspiracy publication, but instead as a consistently <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">published online publication<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This would require continuing to find new elements from Breitbart and Drudge Report as well as choosing the set for these elements (ie. parameters for what screen grabs to use).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An alternative to creating my own conspiracy work would be to use the same growing online basis to link to screenshots of actual conspiracy news websites. Again, the Breitbart name and image have proven very strong within this project, and the continual use of this header would stand as the backbone and reference for this project.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lastly, perhaps the best thing to do is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">re-research<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> more forms of working on removing credit from organizations or change my perspective on this project entirely. The first way is not necessarily the best way, and more reading and viewing cannot hurt!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">End Notes<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The Inaugural Year: Celebrate Sarah Lawrence.&#8221; Sarah Lawrence College. Accessed October 16, 2017. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sarahlawrence.edu\/news-events\/events\/2017-2018\/2017-10-05-inaugural_event_cele-eid217579.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.sarahlawrence.edu\/news-events\/events\/2017-2018\/2017-10-05-inaugural_event_cele-eid217579.html<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;DRUDGE REPORT.&#8221; Wayback Machine. July 11, 2001. Accessed October 16, 2017. https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20010711064315\/http:\/\/www.drudgereport.com:80\/.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dennett, Daniel C. &#8220;Memes and the Exploitation of Imagination.&#8221; <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 48, no. 2 (Spring 1990): 127-35. Accessed October 15, 2017. doi:10.2307\/430902.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dery, Mark. <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flame Wars: Discovery of Cyberculture<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Durham and London, UK: Duke University Press, 1994.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fairey, Shepard. &#8220;Sticker Art.&#8221; Obey Giant. May 2003. Accessed October 16, 2017. https:\/\/obeygiant.com\/essays\/sticker-art\/.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gramsci, Antonio. &#8220;Antonio Gramsci.&#8221; In <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AN ANTHOLOGY OF WESTERN MARXISM<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, edited by Roger Gottlieb, 112-19. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1989.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nussbaum, Daniel, Joel B. Pollak, Jeff Pooro, and Neil Munro. &#8220;Breitbart News Network.&#8221; Wayback Machine. November 08, 2016. Accessed October 18, 2017. https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20161108073830\/http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Phelan, Matthew. &#8220;Building the House of Breitbart.&#8221; Jacobin Magazine. November 05, 2016. Accessed October 15, 2017. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jacobinmag.com\/2016\/11\/breitbart-news-drudge-alt-right-koch-trump\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.jacobinmag.com\/2016\/11\/breitbart-news-drudge-alt-right-koch-trump\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Statement: A visual hijack is when an artist uses the visual strategies of an oppressive image, or target, to re-establish new ideas that are counter or detrimental to the system that the oppressive image upholds. Part 1: Setup Choosing Target&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":7061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[339,340,341],"class_list":["post-7059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-hijack","tag-visual-hijack","tag-cultural-hijack-2","tag-new-genres","wpcat-121-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7059"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14147,"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059\/revisions\/14147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/r6g.ad7.mwp.accessdomain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}