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Free Speech vs. “Muslim Rage”.

The explosion of controversy surrounding the “Innocence of Muslims” film and the supposedly “senseless” violence that ensued in Libya and elsewhere after its reception, point to a significant hole in the American worldview. That is, many Americans still cannot comprehend that their nation’s values are not universal, nor even entirely logically sound.

In an insightful article, literary critic Stanley Fish evokes how many Americans cannot imagine that others have values which conflict with the catechism of Free Speech, “the assumption is that if they (the rest of the world) had heard of it (the first amendment) and read it and gotten its message, they would have understood that you don’t target or attack people because of what they have written; you don’t respond to words, however harsh and wounding you take them to be, as if they were physical blows.” But the issue here is based on a clash of two civilizations, one in which our concept of religion is privatized and compartmentalized (if not secularized), and the other where, as Fish goes on to say, “religion is not an internal, privatized matter safe from the world’s surfaces, but an overriding imperative that the world’s surfaces should reflect”. In the context of this other civilization, “a verbal or pictorial assault on their religion will not be received as an external and ephemeral annoyance, as a ‘mere’ representation; it will be received as a wounding to the heart, as a blow, and as a blow that is properly met by blows in return. No ‘sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me’ for them.”

There appears to be radically different worldviews coming into collision here, but in fact, we are as equally defensive of our First Amendment ideals as those in Libya are of their religious convictions. Fish ends his piece with a provocative comparison between belief in “Free Speech” and belief in “God” or “Truth”. For many of us in the West, Free Speech is a value imbued with religious fervor – it is an abstract and invisibly entity that we cathect with meaning and “believe” in – this is why “secular humanism” is called out by some as a “religion” in itself.

The paradox of Free Speech is that we tolerate intolerance. We tolerate those explicitly blasphemous scenes in “Innocence of Muslims” all in the name of Free Speech, but yet we are wholly intolerant of their intolerance – we think the calm rationale of Free Speech sets us apart from the inflamed “sensitivity” of the “Muslim World.” This is where we expose ourselves as hypocrites. We point out “Muslim Rage,” while we too are intolerant of having our most foundational beliefs denounced …and perhaps we are even more “sensitive”, for those in Libya are reacting to slander, while we react with outrage when our worldview is simply not accepted by people half way across the world. This whole controversy reveals the that the West is somehow still incapable of seeing over the rims of its own worldview. This near-sightedness may be what is most “senseless” here.

Read more on Adbusters.org

Ad Age wants to know which icon is tops with readers.

(TrendHunter.com) Photographer Meggan Gould has put together a wonderful series of photographs entitled ‘Workspaces,’ that takes an intimate look into the rooms, offices and studios of various creative people….

Social media has become a powerful tool in attracting a large number of inbound links at a low cost. In this whitepaper, part of the Adrants Whitepaper Series, HubSpot provides ten steps for brands seeking to get others to link to their site without spending a red cent on advertising or other promotions. From guest blog posts to contests to lists to content distribution strategies and more, the whitepaper provides how to tips as well as real world examples of the tips in action.

Download the free whitepaper now to find out how you can put social link building and inbound marketing to work for your brand.

Before "The Master" and before Tom Cruise, there was "Dianetics."

Barbarian Group is out with some stellar new GE work that extends its recent work for the brand’s GE Flyover work which takes people inside factories where GE technology is used.

In this version, visitors can select from one of three locations for each mission. These locations feature technology GE has placed in action and the goal is to highlight the people and the machines behind GE. Selections will be then voted upon and the GE helicopter will head out on its mission.

The work acts on recent GE and Buzzfeed study findings that indicate shared creative content yields far greater results than simple online paid placements.

Well if only batteries could actually achieve what San Francisco 49ers pro linebacker Patrick Willis achieved. Powerful new work from Saatchi & Saatchi NY, Trust Your Power, offers a moving portrait of Willis, the challenges he faced growing up and his drive to overcome them.

Narrated by Patrick, himself, the two minute video examines Willis’ life. In a voiceover, Will says, “Looking back on it…on how I got to where I am, I don’t know if it was because I was running towards something or whether I was running away from it. But that didn’t matter. What I did know is when you run into something something bigger, something meaner, something with the power to knock you down, you have to trust yourself, trust that you can get up and not give in. Ever. Because power isn’t just about going forward. It’s about not letting anything hold you back. You find that in yourself, you can go anywhere you want.”

It’s a very personal piece and one that’s interesting in its own right despite the fact it’s branded content. We’d like to see more brands adopt this approach. Not necessarily with pro athletes all the time. There are plenty of regular human beings out there who have their own very power stories of achievement to tell.

Nice work, Saatchi & Saatchi.

Le duo versaillais Saint Michel a fait appel au réalisateur Louis De Caunes pour mettre en images leur morceau appelé Katherine. Produite par Paradoxal, cette vidéo met en scène les membres du groupe jouant en musique avec les lumières des immeubles de New York. A découvrir en images dans la suite.

Quando Derrick Rose do Chicago Bulls, MVP de 2010/2011, se machucou na primeira partida dos playoffs da temporada 2012, não só os torcedores da equipe ficaram devastados, como também os fãs de basquete.

Desde o primeiro momento, a Adidas transformou o drama e a recuperação do jogador – que lesionou o joelho – em uma grande campanha, chamada “The Return”. Além de manter D Rose e seu contrato milionário na mídia, a iniciativa colecionou o apoio dos torcedores através de mensagens nas redes sociais.

No mais recente filme da campanha, a Adidas mostra o mundo em pausa durante o tratamento do jogador, gerando ainda mais expectativa pelo seu retorno. Apesar da excitante narrativa da marca, a verdade é que D Rose só deve mesmo voltar às quadras no ano que vem, o que não impede, claro, a promoção de uma nova linha de tênis assinada pelo armador do Chicago Bulls.

A criação é da 180LA.

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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No começo do mês, Alicia Keys divulgou o primeiro single de seu mais novo álbum, Girl On Fire, que chega só em novembro.

O interessante é que você pode escolher entre duas versões da música nova para ir entrando no clima do disco.

Existe a versão mais funkeada, mais dançante, e a versão light, para quem quiser ir chegando com calma nas novas aventuras musicais dessa vocalista e multi-instrumentista que conquistou o mundo há mais de 10 anos com sua mistura de neo-soul com R&B.

Enquanto o álbum novo não chega, você pode ouvir as duas versões de Girl On Fire abaixo, aproveitar para dar uma espiada nos bastidores da gravação do disco e ver uma performance da diva mostrando outra pérola de sua nova safra de pop de primeiríssima linha. Divirta-se!

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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