This morning I saw a young guy walking toward Washington Square Park with his bros, who stood out because of the hoodie he was wearing. On it was printed the word “OBEY!” in large block letters.
On a surface level, devoid of any historical context, this bold and simple statement certainly stood on its own, as an archly ironic hipster commentary on the sad state of our society. In one word it managed to deconstruct the hypocracy of the pseudo-meritocratic structure of our capitalist driven so-colled democracy, giving the lie to that politicial system’s implicit and arguably disengenuous promise of opportunity for all.
I’m pretty sure that if I had gone up to the young man and had asked him to explain the meaning of his hoodie message, he would have said just about the same thing. Although maybe in different words.
But if you are a geek, obsessed with popular culture, that word “OBEY!” has an entire additional layer of meaning. Specifically, it is a key part of the visual iconography of the iconic cult 1988 John Carpenter film They Live, which cleverly recontextualized society’s unseen social and economic oppressor class as literal aliens from another planet.
But it appears that I am even further out on the geek scale. When I see that hoodie message, I think of the 1963 Ray Nelson short story “Eight O’clock in the Morning”, the basis for the film. Of course it helps that when I was a child, I would read sci fi voraciously.
So for me, the word “OBEY!” immediately evokes the Nelson story. I realize this makes me very very geeky, but I’m fine with that. 🙂
I would have guessed it’s related to Shepard Fairey’s art/fashion (Andre the Giant, etc). But then, I live a few time zones (and ironic references) behind Manhattan
It’s all consistent. Fairey was 18 when They Live came out, with its iconic imagery. Of course he would have been influenced.
Note that They Live and Princess Bride were released only a year apart. Collectively they encapsulate key themes of the Reagan era: power and fantasy.
I’m not sure that most kids who wear OBEY brand clothing are aware of either the statement it embodies or the cultural reference it conveys, since it’s a fairly popular and ‘in’ clothing brand.
I agree completely. The fact that the kid probably isn’t aware of the chain of causality doesn’t stop it from being interesting.
Similarly, lots of young people used to wear T-shirts with an iconic image of Che Guevera. I suspect many of them didn’t know just what a complicated historical figure he was, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t think about it.