The Visual Culture of the Occupation: Month One and Counting

(Photo: Ed Schipel)

Dr. Alison Trope, Clinical Associate Professor, USC Annenberg
Lana Swartz, PhD Student, USC Annenberg

Since September 17, the Occupy Wall Street movement has produced an overwhelming array of visuals, offering a significant lens on the movement itself, its ties to history, its divergent voices, perspectives and styles, as well as its multiple distribution channels from mainstream outlets to social media. Despite the criticism from experts who do not necessarily see much potential in Occupy’s “brand,” the visual aspects of the protest clearly have impact and traction. Although it would be impossible to fully assess this rich visual output, this blog post attempts to understand its emergent themes as well as the potential uses and value attached to visual commentary and protest.

Jump to:
Politics and Visual Culture
Wall Street Protests and History
The Revolution Will Be Hashtagged: Culture-Jamming and Rewriting Popular Culture
Targets: The 1%, America, The Banking System
Tactic: The Face of the Faceless
Tactic: Ready to Go and Ready-Made
Tactic: Making the Occupation Visible
Final Thoughts

Next: Politics and Visual Culture

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Trackbacks

  1. […] Visual Culture of the Occupation. […]

  2. […] is also an overwhelmingly visual story. Go to the Park, read the signs. Here is a post from academic Dr Alison Trope at USC Annenberg on exactly this subject. It is a theme which is as relevant to news reporting as it is to political […]

  3. […] lavoro di Alison Trope (Clinical Associate Professor, USC Annenberg) e Lana Swartz (PhD student, USC […]

  4. […] from the iconography of popular culture to express their economic grievances, as we explored in an earlier blog post.  Similarly, as we also pointed out in 201o, activists involved in Move Your Money- which ask […]

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