Imprisoned by the Media

March 29, 2004

The spectacle of the media is a 21st century form of terror due to its manipulation and ideological influence. Events, information, ideas, and images are filtered, packaged, and delivered to our television screens as soundbytes, slogans, logos, and banners, seducing us into a state of narcosis and submission. This state of affairs is only compounded in times of crisis such as we have experienced since 9/11: the media and the manipulation of its content must be understood as a breakdown between credible, meaningful communication and the frightening distortion of reality that confronts us today – a direct assault on the delicate balance of our 228 year experiment with democracy.

Fox News with its unabashed right-wing leanings and promotion of government tactics, packaged in hyper-patriotic logos and graphics, has become the “TerrorVision” of our time. The viewer of the broadcast medium resides in a self-imposed prison walled by the Orwellian image of the spectacle. Unfortunately, the seductive nature of broadcast news hypnotizes the viewer into a state in which they don’t even realize they are behind bars.

The Media Deconstruction Kit (MDK) is an attempt to break this illusion by superimposing our own techniques of media and illusion as an act of artistic mediation.

The Denim Truth for World Domination

March 01, 2004

“What brings you here today, Mr. Gates?” Dr. Warner thumbed through my chart without looking up. “I think I’m growing taller,” I said. “That’s impossible, Jeff. You’re 54 years old.”

It appears that Levi’s®, one of the oldest maker of jeans, has quietly resized its pant legs. Whatever your previous and long standing inseam measurement, the bottom of your pants now rests comfortably at your ankle. The White House and the Office of Homeland Security refused to comment on the rumor they asked the jean maker to alter its sizes to make Americans appear taller than they really are. But sources close to the White House assured us this is not part of their election year strategy or their quest for global domination.

I have been wearing Levi’s for decades. And while my waistline has fluctuated over the years my inseam has remained steady at 30 inches, top of my shoe to my crotch. While I am an average 5'9" I’m fairly long-waisted (and short-legged).

But all of a sudden my longstanding length is too short. At first I thought my jeans must have shrunk over the multitude of washings and dryings. Or maybe my posture improvement regimen had altered my height. I was standing straighter and taller than I had in years (worldwide domination aside). So a few weeks ago I bought a new pair. Same size. And while they seemed to be just right standing in front of the store’s full length mirror, I was becoming suspicious.