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I haven't watched any event yet and won't.
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how channels sevens dumping of the GetUp tibet ad???
http://www.getup.org.au/ http://tinyurl.com/6zxpqr http://www.getup.org.au/blogs/view.php?id=1398 although i wanna see some hand ball action. that shit is off the hook http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWjiOGuDQr8
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2:20 of that vid is the craziest shit ever!
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"Human rights abuses need to be as big a issue in this Olympics as smog has been." Amen, Space Cadet. It's nauseating how big of a deal those Australian swimmers breaking up and some girl's "swimsuit zipper malfunction" have been when compared with actually news-worthy stories.
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Jay, did somebody watch Media Watch last night?
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na, dont have at. my housemate is right into all that stuff.
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at = T.V
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Firstly, human rights = good. Human rights abuse = bad. That said, the western world seems to think that every other country and culture share the same background and prioritises the same beliefs. That's simply not the case. China has a long history of stomping out discent and bring people together at gun point - good or bad, that's how it works over there. That's how you get over 1 billion people together to form a country. It's certainly not ideal, but I think a lot of people look at China through their arts degree without a proper grasp of why the country is the way it is.
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Censorship in the media = the worst.
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Agreed. There are far more effective ways of crippling your enemies.
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The rights and beliefs are not under question, the fact that the abuses and suppression of people beliefs such as the Tibetan's, as well as the social and cultural divide growing in China as western countries such as Australia, the UK and US support their disgusting labour laws so companies like nike can get there shoes made for 5 cents and charge us over $100.
If we can't show hard hitting ads like this that will get attention of the buyers of these products away from the trillions of dollars these companies put into glitzy advertising for their products then how are people in the western world understand that this is going on... and begin a new voice in the western community and just by not supporting these companies everyone can make an impact.
We are having a go at china for censoring their media when we are doing the same thing?
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Companies just want our buck they will follow what we believe.. why do u think so many are attaining a green image the same reason why the same advertising agency did the amnesty ads did a pro china one they dont have morality in their psyche only profits
if we speak they will follow
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"If we speak they will follow" not necessarily true... The west has known that Nike (and other companies) have been using HR abusing, sweat shop labour for their products for years, but as soon as they release a clever ad campaign, or a pair of sneakers fashioned from an old movie, all the bad shit goes out the window and we get in line and shell out the bucks.
I question the effectiveness of selective consumption as a revolutionary force.
If real change is going to be evoked it has to be from outside the given set of rules. But once you start truly stepping outside those boundaries, the 'terrorist' label hovers over you, and now you become everyone's enemy.
Also the Green image is just that... an image. An effective one to clean people's consciousness' when they go to the mall to pick up the next round of crap they don't need. It makes people feel like they're addiction to 'stuff' is actually helping. The only way to help the environment is to shut the machine off... but that probably wont happen.
Sorry for the dose of cynicism guys.
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That's not cynicism Al, that's reality. Something Space Cadet Matty and his Uni-student-esque protest march needs a spoonful or two of. These ads are inverse-propaganda and actually make me feel negatively towards AI. The images are designed to shock, sure. But all they're doing is using a creative mechanic to highlight something I already know. Just because it's been given a makeover for the Olympics it doesn't make it any more relevant or good. Don't show me what's going on. Show me how to stop it. And don't feed me the 'if you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem' crap either. That's just lame. Especially in this forum. To be honest, I'd rather be posting witticisms about non-gay rainbows than putting in a futile attempt to reign in causal populists but this shit really puts sand in my crack.
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"witticism" nice vocabulary FK
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yeh u already know it but wat about the thousands of ppl who dont open a paper (which are particularly bias due to ownership) or know about these issues
ads like this counteract the emotion filled ads which big companies and advertises produce. That cynicism you call reality is becoming a thing of the past and just by not purchasing these companies goods, talking about the issues on blogs like this is inciting change and will evoke change in the governments
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check out radiohead's film clip in cooperation with Mtv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdrCalO5BDs
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These ads we're scams. Made purely to win awards at Cannes, not help the poor unfortunate abused humans in China. That's why there's no real call to action apart from 'Get involved'. It's all about emotional guilt to gain metal for the creative department. To that end, it achieved it's higher purpose. It's not going to change the world. Neither will this conversation you idealisticly challenged muppet.
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Almost every aspect of China disgusts me. They need to do something about everything that they are currently doing. The air is filth, the people are brainwashed and lie about how happy they are, and the government practically dictates everything.
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"Almost every aspect of China disgusts me"- that calls bigger that china
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Woah. Too far.
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this is a sick world, and will always be a sick world!
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New Lounger
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i like the part where they take human organs for transplant from falun gong practitioners or death row prisoners. bow to our asian overlords!
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Oh lutece, how enlightened you are, unlike the poor Chinese who are unable to think for themselves. We, of course, know much better than they. Why don't we teach China a.k.a the White Man's Burden the western way?
Most of the western world are aware of the situation in Tibet. The TVC is preaching to the converted, but some issues aren't so black and white.
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Lutece: to say that billions of people are lying about their happiness is a tad arrogant.
Space Cadet: The idealistic attitude is appreciated, years of career have whittled away the idealism that I used to be full of when I was a student. Ive just learned that for every one person willing to boycott, there will be five who only care about, convenience, price, and cool factor.
Freeak: I don't disagree that these ads have a main purpose of winning awards for the agency. But I do think that there is a greater purpose to subversive campaigning. Whether or not subversive campaigns can be taken as a serious factor for change is up for debate... But the importance of simply having a different slant (no pun intended) in the mass media is something we should look to support and protect. Too much one sided imagery and message is a threat to balanced thinking.
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"those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution impossible"
"the ignorance of one voter in a democracy, impairs the security of all"
"to see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle"
"above all things, never be afraid. the enemy who forces you to retreat is himself afraid of you at that very moment"
"what luck for rulers that men do not think"
"All that is needed for evil to succeed is for good men to stand by and do nothing"
"always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much"
some pretty famous peoples said these things. I think they apply here. the last one not so much.
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New Lounger
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the Chinese government is only concerned with power and money. they are afraid that criticisms of their governance will lead to them losing that power, and hence, the money it has gained them (communisim? HAH!) simultaneously the reason they are trying to maintain and even expand the geographical size of china is precisely for these aims, power and money. they want power of certain regions purely for the natural resources in those areas. In other cases its driven by "saving face" which is a fundamental part of Chinese culture. Example being tibet. it was mearly for pride to show that they could get China to its former size. even though Tibet has'nt been a part of China for a loooooooooooong time...
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If there's one thing history has proved it's that Communism works really well on paper and not at all in reality.
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yeah, but capitalism isn't forever either.
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Lot of strong oppinions here. Lots of energy. But no solutions. Ante up.... Al, FREEAK, Mikoli, Beren, Lutece. After all the venting, what should be done?
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I guess you're right Miro, so what then?
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my point is that "the aim is to unsettle, then if you are unsettled you are offered a solution" a very simple thing. Go to the website. Amnesty has an answer. I might not agree with their answer, but they are doing something. It is too easy to sit back and criticise china, advertising or Amnesty International. What do we do?
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in short 1.learn 2.plan 3. act
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Miro: The point of my long winded responses was to show that I don't believe much can be done. “Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist” - George Carlin
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I'm not buying into the political argument. I made a point about scam ads and also mentioned something about people who can barely grow facial hair ranting on about the political machinations of a country they've only visited on the internet after reading an inflammatory leaflet on the community noticeboard at the student union because they hope that being an 'activist' that they'll impress the alternative vegan hottie who's also "into" Tibet and stuff.
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though i dont know all that much on the subject, isn't the point of the ad to direct people to the website where they can get educated and "involved" in what they believe is a means to a solution? there the ones trying to do something not just talking about it. even if you dont agree with the ads for what ever reason, there doing something.
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I am far too hung over for this. I'm going back to Alpaca Wednesday...
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second, thank fuck its have a few drinks at work friday.
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Right now it's "Try not to vomit all over my keyboard Friday".
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agreed.
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i agree with notorious_jay there; the backers behind the ads at Amnesty International have the right idea, and they're pursuing it.
Anyway, often these kinds of "shock" ads are harsh in order to attract the attention of more viewers (where bad publicity is still publicity) and hence their message reaches more people. And, if people point their fingers at the ads saying "too harsh! too harsh!" then it succeeded in getting across another core point, and that is, to point out how harsh they believe the China's alleged acts of inhumanity to be.
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the ad really doesnt even compare to some of the issues out there. if they just booked full page ads in major magazines of real people being shot, or hung, or raped or abused they would never get through. maybe thats what needs to happen??? the "shock value" gets people talking, whether its positive or negative. this forum is a perfect example. i typed www.amnesty.org/ into by browser. therefor is it a success???
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The protests left me cold once I noticed the lack of interest in using this golden opportunity to pressure the Chinese government into releasing dissidents—an achievable goal, unlike "freeing Tibet". I spent the last 19 months in a mostly white country that was unrepentantly anti-Asian, and it really gave me a new insight into how freaked out many Westerners are about the rise of Asian economic powers. If you remember, there was a smaller version of the same in the 80s when Japan became an economic superpower, disguised then as a workers' rights issue. The "yellow peril" fear is still alive and well, something I couldn't have understood while living in SF Bay. As a committed progressive, it was a bitter bill to realize that not a small number of people protesting the Olympics didn't actually care about the Chinese people being abused by their own government, but were instead only using it to justify their raging sinophobia.
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Yeah i'd say it's a success in achieving its goal: public interest, and therefore, awareness. The more controversial stink it bears, the more people flock to it like flies to a dung heap; the shit will be eaten up all the quicker. Jey you make a good point, though, about placing "shock and awareness" ads of rape and murder in publicly accessible places... unfortunately the problem with our media is censoring, and censoring is derived from a sensitive people who don't want to be "offended". In the end, it all comes back to Political Correctness, and that just sucks like nothing else. IP is the worst thing that happened to Truth in the history of mankind; i'd much prefer brutal honesty to "kind lies", don't you think?
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*Jay, sorry to misspell.
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its cool, Jay's not my real last name.
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