OUGD401 - Politics, Society, Culture and History

Today we learnt about two manifestos - the First Things First manifesto which was rewritten in 2000 and the Incomplete Manifesto of Growth by Bruce Mau Design.

This is the definition of a manifesto:

man·i·fes·to  

/ˌmanəˈfestō/

Noun A public declaration of policy and aims, esp. one issued before an election by a political party or candidate. The Incomplete Manifesto of Growth was written in 1998 and Bruce Mau Design follow this in their design process. So far there are 43 statements in it, and here are a few that I liked:3. Process is more important than outcome.  When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there. 8. Drift.  Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism. 15. Ask stupid questions.  Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant. 16. Collaborate.  The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential. 29. Think with your mind.  Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent. 39. Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms.  Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the interstitial spaces — what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference — the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals — but with no actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations. And here are some that I disagree with: 18. Stay up late.  Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world. 25. Don’t clean your desk.  You might find something in the morning that you can’t see tonight. 26. Don’t enter awards competitions.  Just don’t. It’s not good for you. The First Things First manifesto was originally written in 1964, but was re-written by 33 graphic designers in 2000. It expresses how people perceive designers to be very commercially driven, designing things like 'dog biscuits, designer coffee, diamonds, detergents, hair gel, cigarettes', amongst other things, because that is what a lot of designers do. The designers who wrote this manifesto think that our skills are capable to designing towards more worthwhile things such as 'cultural interventions, social marketing campaigns, books, magazines, exhibitions, educational tools, television programmes, films, charitable causes and other information design projects'.  TASK In pairs we had to write down 20 words that came into our head in a list, to do with the words Politics; Society; Culture and History. POLITICS Government David Cameron Conspiracy Theories Speeches Voting Tax United Nations Downing St Corruption Cuts Law Money Spending White House Capitalism Obama Parties Loans Ballots Elections Riots SOCIETY Class Divisions Political Correctness Controlled by Media Diversity Racism Opinions Dole Newspapers Coexist Areas Cities Statistics Education Segregation Jobs Unemployment Teen Pregnancy Public Transport Lifestyle CULTURE Arts Crafts Dance Music History Social Global Events Festivals Rituals Traditions Religion Innovation Diversity Language Creativity Pilgrimages Society Design Trends Styles Cosmopolitan Costume Fashion Theatre Drama Food Habitat Lifestyle Architecture Landmarks HISTORY War Law Monarchy Empire Slavery Fashion Art Religion Global Women's Roles Anarchy Revolution Experimentation Architecture Inventions Globalisation Cultures Tradition Climate Then we had to sort these words out into positive and negative aspects of the headings. POLITICS + Government Speeches Voting United Nations Downing St Law Money Spending White House Obama Parties Ballots Elections POLITICS - Government David Cameron Conspiracy Theories Speeches Tax Downing St Corruption Law Cuts Money Spending Capitalism Parties Loans Elections Riots SOCIETY + Community Diversity Opinions Newspapers Coexist Areas Cities Statistics Education Jobs Lifestyle SOCIETY - Class Divisions Political Correctness Controlled by Media Racism Opinions Dole Newspapers Areas cities Statistics Segregation Unemployment Teen Pregnancy Lifestyle CULTURE + Arts Crafts Dance Music Hype History Social Global Events Festivals Rituals Traditions Religion Innovation Diversity Language Creativity Pilgrimage Society Design Trends Styles Cosmopolitan Costume Fashion Theatre Drama Food Habitat Lifestyle Architecture Landmark CULTURE - Music Hype History Art Tradition Religion Cosmopolitan Fashion Lifestyle HISTORY + Law Monarchy Empire Fashion Art Religion Global Women's Roles HISTORY - War Law Monarchy Empire Slavery Religion Art Women's Roles We then had to write five statements that were positive about Politics, Society, Culture and History. POLITICS A democracy is good because everybody's opinions is counted. Law is good because it gives society order. Having numerous parties is good because it gives people a choice to vote for as they all have different priorities. Spending is good because it means education and healthcare are free, so everybody has the same opportunities to learn and get better. The United Nations is a global organisation which ultimately aims for world peace.  SOCIETY Diversity is good because people learn about a range of foods, religions and culture. Education is compulsory so everybody has an equal chance of getting a job and knowledge to do so at school. Cities are good because there is so much to do and see, there is a wide range of things to be interested in. Newspapers are good because we get to hear about news from all over the world. As a country we are lucky that there is free health care, because in places like America you have to pay for it, and have health insurance, and if you are dying but can't afford the care then it isn't fair. CULTURE There are so many events, exhibitions, galleries, courses and shops to do with art, design and crafts which are educational, informative and engaging. Learning about other cultures foods is fun and interesting, and there is so much choice for whatever you fancy. There are so many genres of music, and there are festivals and nightlife which cater for these which are fun, and is a very good way of connecting with people. Having different cultures fashion is good because everybody looks different and has different styles and are individual. As Britain is very multi cultural, it is good that you don't have to travel the world to see culture, as there are many food and clothes shops etc that stock things from all over the world. HISTORY Abolition of slavery was a victory. Learnt about historic events such as women's suffrage and revolutions. Interesting films about history such as War Horse, Django Unchained and Saving Private Ryan. Changed the way we live today (war victories, inventions, slavery, empire, deaths). Learning of past mistakes helps us not to make the same ones today. We then swapped sheets, and wrote down things that we don't like about these subjects. Here is what Sarah wrote down: POLITICS I don't like the misuse of taxpayers money on unnecessary or selfish reasons. I don't like the dishonesty the government radiates. I don't like the fact that people feel they need to riot and protest to get their point across as they feel the government isn't listening. I don't like the negativity associated around the government and the negative relationship the majority of society has with that. I don't like how the law is inconsistent; harsh punishments for small offenses and therapy for unforgivable offenses. SOCIETY I don't like how there are some societies who live in this country but who never make an effort to be involved with it. I don't like how you can be on the same amount of income if you are employed or not (unless you have a disability). I don't like how some societies are estranged and uninvolved from one another. I don't think some societies embrace cultural diversity as much as they should. I don't agree with the inconsistency of opportunities for different societies from the government. CULTURE I don't like how computer generated music is monogomising the style of popular music today. I don't like how postmodern art can receive as much credit for cultural impact as traditional or computer generated art styles. I don't like the prejudice and stereotyping of people interested or involved multiculturally.  HISTORY I don't like the lack of enthusiasm from younger generations about learning about what has gone before them. We now have to do a task which is to write a manifesto for our own views on politics, society, culture and history.