VI. HISTORY THAT ILLUMINATES

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THESE BLOOKS EMPHASIZE THE ROLE OF UNDERLYING ECONOMIES

Why is it so rarely mentioned? 

Think of the coachmen of Old Regime France who insulted each other with "Your father was a valet!", because so many aspects of life reinforced the belief in the importance of rank by birth. 

Then think of the ads that reveal the mentality that giant companies promote. If you've understood how daily life emanates from the economy and reinforces its overclass, you're likely to grasp the messages behind the promotion of brands, and how views of Paris and its past (etc.) reinforce them:

Ad hovering over the Châtelet crossroad in central Paris.

• No logical reason is given for purchasing. The image promotes the unquestioning acceptance of whatever feels good. History presented as a list of facts with no connection to tangible interests suggests that the past is supernaturally ordained or makes no sense. So one believes what is satisfying, propaganda included.

• The background is a void because only the brand matters. By omitting all that contradicts their often asepticized point of view, most views of Paris and the past are empty too.

Erasure has begun to apply to the past itself. Because its human interest contests the nothingness that advanced capitalism wants to impose?

The façade of the Opéra, one of the most important buildings of the 19th century, became a backdrop for ads in 2023. Eliminating, camouflaging or covering over major sites began in 2017. 

• The figure on the bill board is alone, untied to the real world or to other people. Absence of human agency opens the way to authoritarian leaders and to the belief that the rich succeed through their personal efforts ("Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon. All by himself?" said Berthold Brecht). Of course Parisian insurrections are left out as well as any kind of collective action, the one thing that oligarchs fear. 

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"All that seems to have permanence goes up in smoke, all that was sacred is profaned and men are at last forced to look lucidly at their conditions of existence and reciprocal ties." 

-- The Communist Manifesto 

But the omnipresent demonstrations, most of which are on the left, and the ad below present a different vision:

Mustafa Orhan Selçuk

The arrow points to a new French organization that helps unite protests world-wide.

The company is described here.

Two people look out at the world. As part of a multitude united as a team is, they may change it. 

By unveiling a conditioning of which we are usually unaware these blooks fits their spirit. 

If you find their ideas useful,

please pass them on.

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