In discussing the Fearless Girl controversy, one thing that really irked me was the shameless plug the SSGA Gender Diversity Index put on the plaque: "SHE makes a difference". SHE as in the symbol the SSGA Gender Diversity Index trades under. The irony is clear: a statue with the supposed purpose of raising awareness on the ruthlessness and sexism and greed of large corporation is funded by.. a corporation.
It's frustrating. Why can't it have the same ragged origins as the Charging Bull? Originally thinking the statue was well intentioned and aptly placed, this now seemed faux to me, inauthentic. It seemed just like those extra commercials these days that try to be deep, but at the end of the day are still commercials (*cough* Dove https://eliyastaan.blogspot.com/2017/11/an-expose.html ... Yes I just advertised my own blog while trying to be deep. As they say, form meets content)
Anyways, turns out the plaque was removed the night Fearless Girl was supposed to be expired. Thank God, but it's not for the reason we think hope. According to Fortune.com*, it was just done after the statue got inducted to the NYC Department of Transportation public arts project.
Thus the question arises: Is anything genuine? Fearless Girl, although interpreted by the public as a feminist gesture, has its origin in corporate advertising. Similarly, the writing prompt in class described how politicians "create a faux sense of intimacy" with their constituents. These days it seems like inspiration, and straight up amicability, are only employed to achieve a certain goal, usually money or power. Like I said, it's frustrating when you realize no one (or no statue) is ever really real.
 |
| Drake said it best. |
No comments:
Post a Comment