Civics artifacts impact surround us daily, and within them are many commonplaces that embody who we are as a culture. An example of this, that is something many young people encounter these days, is propaganda.
Here is a great example of a civic artifact. They are meant to draw in people and force them to care about something that impacts their community, country, or even world. PETA is dripping with civic artifacts, from grotesque commercials, to lawsuits against alleged “animal abusers” to huge billboards that read outlandish things. This is a very good example of “commonplaces” in civic artifacts. The argument of the benefits of veaganism versus non is a major issue we see today, as we live in a world where it’s okay to have such such a unique view. This idea that eating meat is taboo and a total injustice challanges the commonplace that most people share (that meat is made for eating.) This type of civic artifact is very common in a society where sympathy is easily drawn, especially with such shocking imagery. Another commonplace in this civic artifact is not quite as explicit, but is implied by the the way PETA chooses to direct the advertisement to a specific, innocent audience- children. The artifact conveys the commonplace idea that children are innocent and easily persuaded by propaganda. This is something I and I’m sure many others can attest to- I think we all cried when the Sarah McLaughlin commercials talking about how many dogs are euthanized per year came on! Peta’s use of civic artifacts to persuade audiences young and old are riddle with commonplace knowledge that urges us to at least consider reflecting on our own life.
How does one define beauty? In today’s world, women everywhere struggle with the traditional views of beauty. In years past, it has been commonplace that you have to be skinny, or tall, or have brown hair, or a slew of other ridiciulous labels to be beautiful. However, as the world changes and society grows to be more accepting and encouraging of every body type, ethnicity, and human. In a recent commercial for Dove, which is a form of civic artifact it draws attention to the fact that all bottles (which is obviously symbolic for women), are beautiful, not matter what their size! This commonplace is new and refreshing, but seems to raise more questions rather than answering the question of how to define beauty. Why do I believe this? Because, another example of “beauty” is seen in a another commercial, this time, it stars Selena Gomez, a notably gorgeous and famous actress, who struts across the set, talking about how “strong is beautiful.” So, what exactly is this society supposed to believe? That even though we’re told that “everyone is beautiful”, flawless celebrities will always be spokespeople for “beauty” over average women? Civic artifacts can sometimes distort our view of something so drastically that sometimes we struggle to see the truth.
I like how in the part about beauty you highlighted how sometimes civic artifacts can be a negative thing and how conflicting messages from the media continue to hinder society and positive commonplaces. I also really liked how you discussed PETA’s use of sympathy to gather support from their audience.
I like how you chose civic artifacts that challenge already held commonplaces, but still have other established commonplaces they are using. You point out that the PETA advertisement both challenges the concept that eating meat is okay and uses the commonplace that children are innocent and easily persuaded. I like that you also discussed some beauty advertisements which follow a similar pattern, but with different messages.
I thought these were both great examples of civic artifacts. It was very interesting how you made the point that PETA uses the shocking imagery and very extreme example of eating your own cat to get the point across. Also, the whole beauty distortion of our world is something that really stood out and made me think, as it was a great example of a negative civic artifact.
These examples work very well for a civic artifact blog. It was interesting to read how PETA uses commonplaces to advertise against other commonplaces. This emphasizes the power that commonplaces have over society today.