…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
Here you will find tips from the pros about intent, content, and technique to help you be successful in getting your message across.
Update June 27, 2008 from Brad Carter:
Looks like someone put the below instructional to good use and drove the employees and manager of a Burger King nuts:
Burger King Drive Thru Takeover
via fitzmxr
Submitted by Brad Carter from Phone Losers of America, March 30, 2008:
Here’s a video that shows you how to modify an old CB radio to broadcast on fast food frequencies. The things said to the customers at the end of the video are hilarious. And mean. It’s a cool little hack, though.
This is an abbreviated version of OffbeatEarth’s DIY how-to instructional for embedding a keyboard and mouse in jello.
From New Right Australia / New Zealand Web site:
The New Right is organised throughout Europe and beyond. We are strongly opposed to liberalism, democracy and egalitarianism and fight to restore the eternal values and principles that have become submerged beneath the corrosive tsunami of the modern world. The New Right has an interest in the various strands of thought connected with the Traditionalists, the Revolutionary Conservatives; the Nouvelle Droit; and the Eurasianists.
Humour as a Weapon
by Andreas Gaust
New Right Australia / New Zealand
May 8, 2008
This article has been researched and compiled for the purposes of educating New Right and N-A activists in the use of humour as a political weapon. There is a paranoid feeling amongst many on the New Right that the mass media is our greatest enemy. Not so. This article looks at the ways in which activists can use and manipulate the media, rather than the other way around.
As an example: mention the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to any older Australian, and the first image that will spring to their mind is a man on horseback, galloping forward to slash the ribbon with his sword, before the “˜official” representative could get to it. The swordsman was a member of a political group called the New Guard. And while this stunt was not especially humorous, it was certainly eye-catching – it remains in the mass mind to this day. In that same city in 2007, the crew of television show The Chaser made world headlines when they infiltrated the APEC forum (one of them dressed as Osama bin Laden), making a complete mockery of the forum”s expensive security measures.
In general, the media doesn”t give coverage to alternative politics (the recent 9/11 Truth Forum in Sydney was completely ignored, even though one of the speakers was a prominent Japanese MP). But “˜fringe” views can get past the editors if they are presented by means of some humorous prank or stunt. Continue reading “Pranks as Tools for Propaganda”
Submitted by Steffani Martin and Peter Maloney:
April Fool! The Purpose of Pranks
by Benedict Carey
New York Times
April 1, 2008
Keep it above the belt, stop short of total humiliation and, if possible, mix in some irony, some drama, maybe even a bogus call from the person”s old flame or new boss. A good prank, of course, involves good stagecraft. But it also requires emotional intuition.
Psychologists have studied pranks for years, often in the context of harassment, bullying and all manner of malicious exclusion and prejudice.
Yet practical jokes are far more commonly an effort to bring a person into a group, anthropologists have found “” an integral part of rituals around the world intended to temper success with humility. And recent research suggests that the experience of being duped can stir self-reflection in a way few other experiences can, functioning as a check on arrogance or obliviousness. Continue reading “Pranks Psych 101”
Editor’s note: Artist and ArtofthePrank.com editor Joey Skaggs will be joining the online class the week of February 18. Check it out!
Tricksters and Pranks with R.U. Sirius – February 11 – March 23, 2008
Pranks and Pranksters, Tricksters & Tricks — the brilliant ones open up a space in the world for magic(k), ambiguity, and novelty. They encourage us to Question Authority and better still, they cause us to Question Reality.
In this course, we will discuss the history of pranks and pranksterism in the contemporary world. We will examine mythical and world historic tricksters like Coyote, Bugs Bunny, Crowley, Puck, Heyoka, Papa Legba, Lucifer, and more. And we’ll explore and discuss the role pranksters and tricksters play in cultures. I will also discuss some of my own pranks and tricks and legendary pranksters Mark Hosler of Negativland and Joey Skaggs will be dropping in on the course to answer questions.
Finally, we will plan pranks, make pranks, and maybe even leave the course with a dedicated prankster cabal. No fooling.
For more information visit the Maybe Logic Institute. If that link doesn’t work, go here.
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