Happy Star Wars Day! The caption for this reads: This photograph from what is estimated to be 1944 supports the previous evidence we've presented of Imperial involvement in earth's conflicts. These soldiers atop a conquored building are securing a flag bearing a modified Imperial symbol. Rumors exist of AT-ATs and AT-STs marching all over eastern Europe during World War… Continue reading May the Fourth Be With You
Author: SDM
Ethnography * Technology * Design
What’s that Flag? (from VexTab #43)
Rihanna: American Oxygen
In Rihanna's latest music video, the Barbadian immigrant uses imagery of the American flag to unpack its meaning in terms of American dreams and nightmares, ultimately declaring "this is the new America / we are the new America". Jake Flanagin in Quartz calls it "a surprisingly powerful statement on immigration" (surprising given Rihanna's reputation for non-political dance music);… Continue reading Rihanna: American Oxygen
Billy Talent: Red Flag
Happy May Day! Billy Talent - Red Flag (2006). Director: Floria Sigismondi. [Chorus:] Cast off the crutch that kills the pain The red flag waving never meant the same The kids of tomorrow don't need today When they live in the sins of yesterday [Repeat chorus] Well I've never seen us act like this Our… Continue reading Billy Talent: Red Flag
Flags of the Vietnam War
On this 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, here is a look at some of its flags. The flag of Vietnam, a large yellow star on a field of red, has a simple, bold design. Designed in 1940 for an uprising against French colonial rule, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed it the flag of the… Continue reading Flags of the Vietnam War
What’s that Flag? (from VexTab #42)
Armenian Flags
100 years ago today the Armenian Genocide began at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. In honor of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, a look at Armenian flags: The Armenian tricolor was created by the government of the First Republic of Armenia, based on the colors of the late Rubenid Dynasty (red, blue, and yellow), with yellow… Continue reading Armenian Flags
The Trouble with Icons
Here is a fascinating 37-minute documentary on the use -- by photographers, artists, journalists, institutions, and ordinary citizens -- of the American flag in response to war/terrorism, from British film makers David Dunnico and Cat Gregory. They compare two cases: the 1945 attack by US Marines on Japanese-held Iwo Jima out of which came Joe Rosenthal's iconic photo, and the… Continue reading The Trouble with Icons
Ron English – Flag of Baby America
Bucky Turco at ANIMALNewYork reports on a large US flag mural by "interventionist" Ron English that's gone up on the Houston Bowery Wall (an outdoor exhibition space) in Manhattan. The stars feature star-eyed (or rather star-eye-socketed) skulls, and the stripes are reproductions of English's Propaganda images of ad and currency parodies. The baby Hulk in the middle? “The… Continue reading Ron English – Flag of Baby America
A Vexillological Hapax Legomenon
Back in 2010 linguist Geoffrey Nunberg brought an interesting perspective to bear on the Pledge of Allegiance, which had been in the news when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled, 2 to 1, that "under God" could stay, despite the apparent bridging of church vs. state. He invokes the linguistic lingo hapax legomemnon, "an… Continue reading A Vexillological Hapax Legomenon
Portland Flag Association 