Document:Q10652

I do not believe there is a single preferred method of resistance; rather, we must commit to a range of action in order to confront the Bush plan at every step and in all situations. My work utilizes corporate methods and means of distribution to achieve a part of this goal. These icons, which users may adopt as their avatar in AOL Instant Messenger, draw from the tradition of advertising and public service announcements to make their point. They are targeted at an audience used to seeing the most important social messages conveyed through the most mundane media outlets. The antiwar buddy icons coexist with a range of corporately produced and sanctioned icons which are little more than advertising banners -- popular musicians, movies, video games, and more are all advertised through buddy icons. The idea behind this is that if a person adopts a character, phrase, element of a piece of corporate media as their avatar, then they are likely to spread the word about that product, inducing others to make a purchase. Likewise, these antiwar icons, which can be traded during chats on AOL Instant Messenger, hope to spread the meme of resistance to the large body of consumers usingUsers and artists are welcome to submit their own buddy icons via the "contribute" link on the site.
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Some images in this site are based on photographs taken by Sarah Wichlacz and used with permission. AOL Instant Messenger. The product that these icons sell is resistance and discontent, which cost nothing and are not available at your local strip mall.