“When it came to the Vietnam War, Mr. McNamara was an early advocate of escalation but came to realise the flaws in the American approach earlier than many of his colleagues. Yet in public, he continued to defend the war.” – Samantha Power
The inventor believes in it. Regardless of the scepticism he first encounters, he is convinced of the product he has created. He recognises a need, develops a design, perfects his idea, and ultimately achieves well-earned success and fame. That man was George G. Blaisdell. With the Zippo lighter, he created one of those products whose timelessness symbolises the way Americans see themselves. They have a sense of tradition Europeans sometimes completely fail to understand. But a sense of tradition that is based on a specific product is presumably only possible in a relatively young country like the United States. For the United States of America, like no other nation, owes its present global role first and foremost to its industrial prowess, spurred on by the American tradition of continually defining and overcoming new frontiers.
On a par with the Zippo lighter are Levis, the American Jeep, Harley-Davidson and Coke. These are no hi-tech products, but inventions that are permanently associated with the famous pioneering spirit of America. All these products are known worldwide, they stand for the United States, and there is at least it is assumed that they are the most famous and finest representatives of their respective types.
– Tobias Kuhn
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In Danny’s house there was even less change, The friends had sunk into a routine which might have been monotonous for anyone but a paisano – up in the morning, to sit in the sun and wonder what the Pirate would bring. The Pirate still cut pitch-wood and sold it in the streets of Monterey, but now he bought food with the quarter he earned every day.
Joseph Beuys ‘Filz TV’ is a short performance art piece made in 1970 that critiques television and its influence. There are three props that are shown throughout – the boxing gloves, the felt pad and a sausage. In the 11-minute film we are introduced to a man who sits in front of the television pummelling his own face with boxing gloves. This signifies Beuys attitude towards television, being abrasive and a negative influence in peoples lives. He watches on battering his own head. Consider that in 1970 during the height of the Vietnam war, the western world was for the first time seeing live and daily footage of the war. Which was introducing new moral questions into the zeitgeist. Highlighting responsibilities of both the politician and television networks regarding their influence on society. After the man is finished beating himself in the face with gloves. He takes out a sausage, which is potentially phallic in meaning. He then proceeds to cut the sausage and use it as a stethoscope on the television. Checking for a pulse, checking for life. Dabbing it on the walls around him then to question his own reality. The television pushed him towards this behaviour. He hangs a piece of felt on the wall and pushes the television up against it. To show his dismissal of this energy. These metaphors are for the viewer to consider communication and energy through a television. The man was as ultimately as good as the felt as he sat there. The purpose of man conflicted with the television set. He sat there absorbing its negativity, when he could simply just leave it by not participating.
18.27 