A couple of years back, Sisley had an advertisement campaign that featured a model getting friendly with a pig:
In the blog g.o.r.i.l.l.a./livingfromlove, based in Brussels, the author asks the question:
"For example if you are one of countless Muslims who live near this advertisement in central Brussels, how do you handle its challenge to your cultural preferences?"
Figure that pigs are actually very nice animals, and that the religious ban on eating pork could actually have more to do with them being too human-like to be eaten than them being "filthy" (as the only reason why they might be 'filthy' is that humans keep them in filthy conditions)?
Well, a corporation like Sisley might not be the best advocate for that kind of revolution of the mind, but a girl can dream, can't she ...?
2 comments:
I hate it when pigs and other animals become symbols of intolerance and offence. They are animals, for earth's sake - not things.
Reminds me of Eino-Olli's old cartoon illustrating Stanislaw Jerzy Lec's aphorism: "Art leads the way, the critics follow." The happy-looking artist was carrying a picture of a plump pig into the art gallery, while he was being followed by an angry-looking old lady and a stern policeman.
The art example seemed hilariously innocent, but Sisley's purpose was clearly to provoke, although not necessarily aimed at Muslims (or Jews). They just wanted some attention from sissy upper-class Europeans who would be shocked by the contrast between the well-groomed model's white Sisley pullover and the "dirty" swine. Maybe they even wanted to seduce people to think about pornography. (Which reminds me of some guys from the Middle East who have told me that they think it is very dangerous to have a big dog in the house, because it might molest women...) The filth is in the mind of the beholder.
Sometimes I think that the only truly pure souls in the world are not the ignorant ones, but those who can transcend their dirty thoughts and focus on what is truly important. In this case, the wellbeing of the living creatures involved.
I read somewhere that the ban on pork in ancient Judaism also included a clear ban on killing pigs.
Big dogs molesting women??? Well, come to think of it, Mitsu did molest quite a few men during her lifetime. (But it probably wasn't 'molesting' for her, she just wanted to get to know them, like dogs do ...)
Hmm, I will have to research more into the ancient ban on killing pigs.
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