The Aesthetics of Protest

I remember going -- back in high school -- to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art to see an exhibit entitled "Pirkle Jones: Sixty Years in Photography". I went as part of a field trip organized by the Music and Arts Conservatory, the head of which is an elderly Russian lady named Lana Bodnar. From October to June of 1968 Pirkle Jones -- along with his wife Ruth-Marion -- photographed the Black Panthers in Oakland. These images formed a central part of the exhibit. A few of my peers were dismissive, uninterested and otherwise unimpressed. Lana remarked something to the effect: 'you may not agree with the Black Panthers, or find them somewhat extreme, but just look at the way they hold themselves in those photos, tall and proud. You don't see pride like that very often, especially not amongst black youth today'.


I'm not a huge fan of uniforms and militaristic parades, but Lana had a point. And it's not restricted to the Black Panthers. Dr. King marched in a suit and tie, for example, and silent vigils are still popular. Let's call this the aesthetics of Quiet Dignity.

I think nearly every planning meeting I have been to has emphasized that the action should be fun, exciting and enjoyable. And, I am certain that every large action I have been to has looked like a hippie reunion. Two prominent examples spring to mind: the Gay Pride Parades and the 1968 Festival of Life. Let's call this the aesthetic of Loud Life.

These are two different ways of facing the Powers That Be™. Quiet Dignity can be incredibly powerful, but runs the risk of buying into the normative power paradigm. Loud Life disrupts the normative power paradigm, but in practice often amounts to no more than a demonstrative act that is easily written off and marginalized. It would, of course, be foolish to suggest that one is always preferable to the other, or that this represents an exhaustive cataloging. I bring it up for three reasons:

(a) It might be interesting to look at historical movements and see why a certain aesthetic developed in that particular context. I would love it if someone with more historical knowledge than I took on such a project or if folks could point me towards already existing resources in this direction.

(b) We often fall into a rut and repeat similar actions over and over and I think it is important to remember that there are different approaches. Gene Sharp's list of 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action [also available as an 11x17 poster] is a good resource. But in general, I feel like we reinvent the wheel, or repeat what our immediate antecedents have done without reaching out enough to history and parallel movements.

(c) There may be commonalities that can help us understand what works and what does. The call for "fun" actions is often a reaction against lame Liberal demonstrations. But, perhaps it's not (at times, self-indulgent) fun so much as dignity and power that we feel is lacking? Fun, of course, may be lead to those, but we keep demanding it as if it's something new so perhaps a clearer understanding of what we're after would help us get there, and looking at other movements might give us that understanding.