Hello, my name is Nathan Rodriguez Paulino. I wouldn't consider myself an activist. There are things that I would like to fight for and what I believe in. However, I'm not sure where to start or where to fight. I'm a 19-year old sophomore attending New Jersey City University--NJCU for short. I'm studying to be a graphic designer. I aspire to marry my girlfriend, Lia (don't tell her its a surprise). I enjoy drawing, playing games, and watching Youtube. In high school I was in the art club since junior year and I enjoyed working on the projects. The projects were us essentially decorating the high school and preparing decorations for big events, like homecoming, prom, dances, etc.
Understanding Patriarchy:
"It is a word I use daily, and men who hear me use it often ask me what I mean by it."
The word in question, "Patriarchy" is not only about male power and female oppression. Because both sides suffers from the 'weight' of a patriarchy, both express their hurt in unique ways. As an example, women through movements and protests had expressed their suffering under societal norms and suppression. Men through their role in a patriarchy have difficulty of expressing their emotions and low emotional intelligence.
"To indoctrinate boys into the rules of patriarchy, we force them to feel pain and to deny their feelings."
As the 'power' in the patriarchy, boys are indoctrinated young to show power and aggression while also knowing when to do and not do so. Concepts like these are easy to instill in a young mind. However, it is hard to temper and manage because the stage to 'control' a young temper passes due to the parents thinking its still to early to reel the boy back in. By the time the boy grows and shows more dangerous signs of aggression it will be too late or almost too late to show the boy control and patience. One can infer from power and aggression that emotions and empathy are less-desired traits in the patriarch role. A lack of regulation and denial of emotion makes for a dangerous concoction when someone can't understand why their actions hurt others even if it brings themselves some form of satisfaction.
What Memes Owe to Art History
" In the post-internet world, nothing escapes the meme’s comic gaze,"
In the modern world of today, where anyone can pick up a photo-editing software and with a 5-minute video can become skilled at editing. Being able to express your opinion in such a carefree manner along with the added anonymity because meme creators rarely get credit for their work. This makes feel safe to share any opinion, no matter how left field or insane it may be. And with the popularization of streaming and online media, nothing escapes the gaze of someone with 5 minutes of free time.
"What memes expose today matches the guerrilla-style insurrection of their delivery."
Memes are spontaneous and bombastic. As fast as you can burst into laughter from seeing one is as fast as it leaves your mind when you swipe to see the next post or meme. Memes expose this as news outlets jump from tragedy to tragedy every week like clockwork. Think about it, when shootings or tragedies happen and are reported on the news. Its on your mind for the day, maybe the for the week. If your really busy with your own live, then it doesn't even last the hour.
Memes Are Our Generation's Protest Art
"they [memes] can communicate a stance or message at a glance and express the same feelings experts say are behind conventional protest art."
Photo-editing software has catapulted ease of access and expression into the mainstream. From teenagers expressing their dislike of chores to the neighborhood grandma's daily preaching, anyone can post a meme. All it takes is patience and grabbing pre-made images from someone else and voila--a meme. From this, memes can express anger for an injustice or sadness for a tragedy. Usually in the form of a laugh then the shock of realization hitting you.
"The subjects of these activist memes, Jasper noted, are villains, and that’s a key part of protest art in general..."
With the modern attention spam being so limited and corporations taking advantage of this, there is very little space for nuance in the world of social media. Therefore, villains that are easy to focus on are the subject of activist memes or memes in general to bring attention to their actions.
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