I remember that when I used to attempt to address divergent issues, I often found myself stuck in situations where it seemed that an agreement or understanding will never be reached anytime soon. In most cases, it happened when I was with the skeptics of climate change. My conversations with the deniers usually ended up with a competition of whose facts sounded the most legitimate(?). It was silly. Neither of us tried to find connections that might potentially reach an agreement or solutions; rather, we opposed for the sake of opposing, causing polarization instead of bringing people together. Though it was frustrating to find out that direct conversation rarely worked for me, I later figured addressing environmental issues through art might actually make a more positive and impact on a larger community.
Beautiful Trouble provides some very useful guidance to not only help to initiate activism projects but also to redirect/reinforce artists toward their path when they are stuck. Some principles I’d like to try out in the future are “Use your cultural assets”,“Balance art and message”, “Kill them with kindness”, “Bring the issue home”, and one that my heart feels truly synced with- “Seeking common ground”. Seeking common ground reminded me of a video I watched earlier this year called “Why Facts Don’t Convince People (and what you can do about it)”. These two aren’t necessarily connected but they basically explained why my way of addressing divergent issues didn’t turn out so well. To bring “us and them” together, it is important to acknowledge what these divergent groups care and want, and from that, we can find common values that “hold meaning for large numbers of people”, so everyone feels included and is responsible to find ways to root for others.
Tactics like “Hoax” and “Inflatables” deploy a certain level of humor and I find that fascinating. Perhaps that explains why the video clips of stand-up comedians addressing controversial issues usually go viral quickly, and get more attention than fact-based news or articles. The tactic I find the most interesting is “Prefigurative intervention”. It promotes creating a glimpse of the world we strive for and therefore makes its existence possible. I’m drawn to projects that deal with issues through destruction and depression that I forget showing an ideal society is a way to promote change too.
Theories that are most helpful to me are the theory of “Points of intervention”, “Meme”, and “Cultural hegemony”. These are good ways to examine whether the strategy is effective and whether the idea that I try to get across has been so deeply embedded in someone's mind that it has become a second nature or common sense.
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