The 3rd and 4th Chapter

 Ch. 3

Q: "Jesus was, among other things, an activist and an organizer, and, judging by the two thousand-year lifespan and global spread of his message and movement, a pretty good one"(88).

R: This quote reminds me of a long time ago when I spoke to my brother about the real life Jesus of Nazareth. He was not the same holy figure that the Bible mentions, but someone that preached the word of God and aimed to spread it as far as he could. My brother could only ever see the one in religion, which is by no means wrong, but something that really feels like it takes away from the real person that had proactively put his life at risk for what he believed was right. 

Q: "This is why early civil rights activists dressed in coats and ties and the Black Panthers wore leather and berets: both communicate a message, to different audiences and in different contexts. Perhaps more important, people associate the very idea of activism with how we present ourselves. But style is not just about, or even primarily about, what we wear: it’s about the overall image we project"(110).

R: This is always a fun topic to go back to as it helps reflect well on the issues I had with my own intervention as well as connecting it to the Ben Jones exhibit. The way I had dressed gave off an unsettling image, which made it hard to get good responses from people as to many, I seemed intimidating and dangerous. The mask was definitely not the smartest choice on my part. With the Ben Jones exhibit, we learn about the image that the Black Panthers gave off and how it led to many of them getting arrested because of the name they had built up. A fun thing that just comes back to things that I experienced recently.

Ch. 4

Q: "Considered together, the relationship is something like this: Culture works as a representation and reinforcement of culture, and culture shapes and is shaped by Culture"(135).

R: The thought process when initially reading this section was difficult, but it is something that is a lot easier when applied to current day ideas. The difference between culture and Culture is the content and the worlds that content is from. It is something that infinitely spirals as both change and develop the other, leading it to be something that is far grander than one would initially imagine.

Q: "Any successful revolutionary strategy, Gramsci argued, needed both a war of maneuver and a war of position"(160).

R: This quote is such an interesting one as it makes activism so much more interesting as it is definitely a war in its own right. It requires tact and knowledge to make an progressive action. The way the book compared the plans and actions of activists to war is dead on for how much is needed to make it work. It requires more than just an idea, it requires planning and knowing where to be and how to use that position. Otherwise, it'll just seem like mindless rioting.

Pablo Picasso, Guernica (1937) 

Picasso's piece "Guernica" is one that needs no introduction. It was his piece to make the world look at and recognize the pain and suffering others which fell victim to mindless violence. He made people acknowledge this reality rather than turn a blind eye to it. It is a powerful piece that continues to be shown throughout the generations due to how effective of an activist piece it truly is.

Joseph Bueys, I Like America & America Likes Me (1974)

Bueys was such an interesting case as he is someone that looked at art and believed that it should have a further effect on people's life. It should have deeper meaning and truly be life defining. He put himself in a room with an erratic coyote and stayed with as he tried to domesticate it to the best of his abilities as he healed with it. The idea is how life changing the smallest actions can be, something that Bueys had experienced throughout a majority of his life having lived through Nazi Germany.