There are other cities besides the ones in the DPRK that have banned advertising, and they all look so pleasant. Here’s Sao Paulo, Brazil:
Ads should be limited to modestly-sized signs attached to your storefront so people know what your shop is when they walk past, nothing more than that.
My parents went on holiday in democratic Germany sometimes in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s and although my dad is a classical anti-communist cold war boomer who makes smug comments about almost everything he experienced on the trip, he noted how pleasant it was to be in a city without advertising everywhere. He says it reminded him of his childhood.
When you’ve been living in diffuse spectacle for long enough, anything else feels weird. It’s insidious because people can’t necessarily immediately notice what it is that’s missing, but they feel like there’s something missing and in the case of the DPRK that means they believe everything is fake since the public spaces aren’t plastered with ads.
I’m still convinced that the reason people think photos of DPRK look uncanny is the lack of advertising or branding.
There are other cities besides the ones in the DPRK that have banned advertising, and they all look so pleasant. Here’s Sao Paulo, Brazil:
Ads should be limited to modestly-sized signs attached to your storefront so people know what your shop is when they walk past, nothing more than that.
I really gotta go visit this place and experience the ad ban
Looking at this, it feels like my mind can rest. Like it’s been clenching without my realizing for as long as I can remember
Just people living in the moment
There’s also the general lack of non-advertising signage that you don’t really see anywhere else
My parents went on holiday in democratic Germany sometimes in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s and although my dad is a classical anti-communist cold war boomer who makes smug comments about almost everything he experienced on the trip, he noted how pleasant it was to be in a city without advertising everywhere. He says it reminded him of his childhood.
Shit I’ve never thought about it that way but you might be on to something there
When you’ve been living in diffuse spectacle for long enough, anything else feels weird. It’s insidious because people can’t necessarily immediately notice what it is that’s missing, but they feel like there’s something missing and in the case of the DPRK that means they believe everything is fake since the public spaces aren’t plastered with ads.