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Looking for the New Che: Arundhati Roy
September 8, 2004
As I began to gather images that could become contrasted, two tone graphics for walls, laptops, or cars through a new for-benefit company called Transforms, I thought about the most successful two tone meme of recent memory, the Che image. Then I wondered, who is the Che of today? Could it be Arundhati Roy? As perhaps the most powerful voice challenging the current war, she is also ridiculously beautiful. Would you buy her image on a tshirt? Does the image cheapen her message? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Posted by Colin at September 8, 2004 5:28 PM
Comments
after reading your blog a few weeks back, i brought up the question you posed about the iconography of che and roy in a conversation with ale and our friend megan. where we came to was -- who is roy in today's climate? che is the logo that he is, for better or worse, because his existence served to fight for rebellion -- fight in a real, complete and violent sense. he is the icon of the latin american 20th century, the icon of the left because he inspired people to believe about themselves-- about their worth, their identity, their hope. roy, as necessary as her voice is, does not trigger the same emotion or anything close. that is not a condemnation of her by any sense, but a statement on the power of him. the feeling i am left with is that the very need for the search for an icon is the problem itself. in the truly-globalized movement, there is not figure on central inspiration. perhaps one is not necessary. but something is.
Posted by: Tim Wojcik at October 11, 2004 4:57 PM
