The revolutionary degenerate art/ political advertisements created by the Guerrilla Girls have been causing uneasiness to the status quo for over two decades. In 1985 a group a of female artist were outraged that the Museum of Modern Art, an representative of America Art community as a whole, had only 13 woman and even less minority artist of the one hundred and sixty nine featured in the show. They became the Guerrilla Girls, and are unafraid of stepping on a few toes. Their use of cleaver imagery and text they are able to uncover and bring for fount injustice within the art realm, The Guerrilla Girls have since expanded their fight to the theater and movie industry. The Guerrilla Girls are always shown with Guerrilla masks and take on pseudonyms of dead female artists, and have released books and billboards.
The art piece “ The Anatomically correct Oscar” was a controversial billboard, which was erected to bring to light that women and people of color are underrepresented at one of the most prestigious awards in the world. The master story of the Academy Award is that the best of best win the prestigious win the award, but many fail to see that almost all of the winners are white males, is this because they really are the best within their category, or are those who are equally good aren’t even nominated simply because of there outer appearance.
Every year the Academy Awards are watched by millions and are thought to be a complete representation of the best of what the film industry has to offer, but this allusion of chiffon gown and tuxedos is a lie. The real story is the ones that managing the awards and all of the film industry are the masters of this story controlling are the ones that cast the parts, finance the movies, and hold all the power.
“Dualism can also be seen as an alienated from of differentiation, in which power construes and constructs difference in terms of an inferior and alien realm” (Plumwood 42) The one that holds the cards controls the game, and know one wants to upset the status quo. Intersectionality is very evident, in 1963 was the first year that an African American won awarded for Best Actor, this was only after he was snubbed five years earlier. If one does not in the mold of what is deemed desirable then they are rejected “and male ideals which lay claim to universality for men often invoke the elite make identity of the master” ((Morgan 1989:121) Plumwood46) The Awards are formed and “…defined by exclusion … “((Morgan 1989:121) Plumwood 46) by not excluding the minority it is greatest way to maintain control. The main dualism is the privilege powerful rich white man against the world, and the later is winning creating a false idea of equality. When in actuality the true “ way of looking at the world characterize of the dominant, white, male Eurocentric ruling class, a way of dividing up the world that puts an omnipotent subject at the centered and constructs marginal Others as sets of negative qualities. (Nancy Hartsock, Pulmwood 44) This mind set is so engraved in peoples minds, meaning everyone and the media is partially to blame, adding to stereotypes that have been viewed for centuries In the words of one of the greatest minds philosopher Aristotle the“ male by nature are superior, and the female is inferior”(46), this idea has unfortunately rains true within society, without any oppositions to wrongs. It isn’t a coincidence that the Oscar remains the ideal Greek male, perfect commanding and should always be envied of all others, a golden reminder of the many who had to fight for the right to stand on a stage bask in the glory of genuinely being the best.
The Anatomically correct Oscar billboard campaign was put up in 2002 on the sunset strip in Hollywood California. At the time many believed that the Oscars were fair, with their decisions of the winners. Sense then a woman has one for best director, and many more people of color have won awards that they might have one before. It took a bunch of crazy feminist in guerrilla mask to show how truly barbaric and oppressive our “seemingly progressive society.”
Plumwood reading
https://ecampus.unt.edu/webct/urw/lc5122011.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Guerrilla Girls website
http://www.guerrillagirls.com/
Angelica Bigsby
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