is it the cool stuff your friends are doing? or maybe this summer’s plan-it-x fest tour? no, it’s a coke ad.
Here’s some commentary that might get worked into some kind of performance …
This audio could be talking about the DIY culture that we consider ourselves part of, or even this fest in particular, but its not … Its an advertisement for Coca-Cola.
We bring up the Coca-Cola ad not because we’re angry that a giant corporation can steal ideas like making things independently or being active or use images of tall bikes, DIY screenprinting, or dance parties to sell it’s products. We bring up the ad because it shows that if these ideas or activities can be appropriated by a giant corporation, they don’t have a whole lot of importance or meaning on their own.
That seems strange, because ideas like making media ourselves or activities like riding bikes mean a lot to us. However, its because, perhaps, they were involved in a situation where we learned to treat others better, or were ourselves treated better, where we learned to question our lifestyle or politics as much as we questioned the politics of others. And as much as we can value cheaply produced records or CDs and shows in basements and community centers, or enjoy riding bikes or dancing with our friends, when we value those things before our relationships with others or the questions we pose about the ethics of our lives, they mean very little.
We live in a world where it is difficult to consider our relationship with others and the choices we make. There are many institutions and forces that shape the world in cruel, senseless ways, and it often seems like our best efforts to change them directly are never enough. That doesn’t mean we should stop trying, but its also important to remember that one thing we can all definitely change is the way that we treat our friends, our collaborators, our families, our lovers, and our neighbors and we can change the way that we do things and the choices that we make in our own lives, and always question whether we’re making the right choices. This is no easy task and its very possible that those involved in Defiance, Ohio or Plan-It-X or all of us at this fest today are treating each other very poorly or making very poor choices or ignoring really important questions. That’s why we’ve made a suggestion box so those who choose to can offer a reminder to Defiance, Ohio or Plan-It-X or their friends or even themselves that there are better ways of doing treating people, better ways of doing things, and better questions to ask, than what our lives now represent.