Video Screening

I watched the screening of This Space Available. The movie highlights the movement to the commercial advertising that is taking over our society one billboard at a time. Activists that include many artists fighting back against some of the largest advertising agencies and companies to end the visual pollution that can be seen nearly everywhere we look. From large billboards advertising popular fast food chains to outrageous and extravagant flashing neon signs, the society we live in is filled with this visual pollution, many places more so than others. Times Square in New York City is known for its over the top billboards that light up the sky with their bright lights. While some see them as iconic, many see them as a ploy by the companies to bring in consumers on false and many times illegal advertising. The TSA team physically goes out to to cover up many of the illegal works found in New York City. They do so by painting over posters using white paint in an effort to protest against the illegal advertising. Others hang art over large signs as well. The TSA team identifies the difference between graffiti art and advertising as the profit that the advertisers make in response to their illegal and polluting billboards. Graffiti artists do not receive a profit despite displaying their work illegally, while companies who put out billboards do make a profit. The team also looks into the overall effect of billboards and advertising on the communities.   Not only do they state that the public is distracted by these, but the world is cluttered as a result. These are also affecting the environment. Many times trees are cut down to put up a billboard, and taking up over 60,000 football fields of space in the world they are doing more damage to society than they are benefiting society.
In my eyes advertisements are a waste today. They take up and use resources only to not be noticed or remembered. Never have I used the services or been interested to take the time to look into a company that is advertised on a billboard. Television commercials, which many times serve the same purpose and annoy the public just as much as many billboards do nowadays, have just the same effect. The difference between a television ad and a billboard ad is that usually with television there is memorable moment or statement that resonates with us when we are out shopping or looking for something new, and we refer back to the commercial that caught our eye or was interesting. Billboards do not work this way. With a simple image and a simple statement they don't resonate or make us interested, they simply take up space.