Here is a link to a wonderful experiment filed under creativity and change: Go Around Twice If You're Happy.
Shot in in Dubai in October 2007, writers/directors Vincent Fichard and Matthew Jones are out to prove "that while parrots repeat, cars talk."
I like how road signs serve us, I like what they offer: a message designed to be read/consumed while moving at accelerated rates of travel. These signs in particular are designed to both inform, as a public works road sign, and catch the reader by surprise. Construction signs often ask us to do things like, take caution, slow down, merge, etc.; they are official commands. These sign offered by the filmmakers tell motorists to smile, honk if you're in love, go around twice if you're happy. These signs demonstrate the power of suggestion and perhaps the hidden agency of signs/signage in our culture (inform/observe/obey).
Think of the fun one could have creating similar such signs in your neighborhood! What would your message be?
Keywords: affordances, art, change, creativity, culture, Dubai, learning, lesson plan, participation, participatory culture, semiotics, sign, signs, social software, teachable moment, teaching, YouTube
Comments
Thanks. I needed that break from marking. I feel better now.
Joan
I enjoy the idea of parrots repeating and cars talking. It would be interesting to analyze this statement across cultures. When driving in the US, the car horn is reserved for angsty, raging catharses. But if you go to the Mediterranean, South or Central America, or the Middle East, the horn is actually an important device for communicating a lot of things not necessarily associated with frustration. In fact, after spending some time in Honduras, I would bet horns save more lives and limbs than any sign ever did.
/honk