My friend Andy Bichlbaum of The Yes Men stops by to chat about his experiences causing mayhem and questioning authority as well as exploring his unique sense of humor. We revisit some of the wonderful Hijinx he and his partner in crime Mike Bonanno have pulled over the years, and we discuss whether we have made progress since the early 2000s. Andy Bichlbaum has done a great job of speaking truth to power and using comedy and entertainment to do so, and as far as humans go, he is undoubtedly, one of the good ones! This is a great conversation with a brilliant and amazing human being
WHO ARE THE YES MEN?
According to Servin, the Yes Men concept initially sprang from their creation of a fake website spoofing the World Trade Organization. To the surprise of Servin and Vamos, many believed the site to be authentic, and the two were consequently contacted to speak at a conference in Austria. Since this time, the Yes Men have continued performing large-scale hoaxes, in what they describe as a collaborative effort with journalists to help the media tell stories which they believe are important.
The Yes Men often deploy a satirical approach: they pose as a powerful entity (typically a corporate or government representative or executive) and make ridiculous and shocking comments that caricature the ideological position of the organization or person. Furthermore, they acknowledge the idea that many corporate or government entities manipulate their ideology using spin; in response, the Yes Men use this power of spin to their own advantage, and use media outlets to disseminate their personal interpretation of the situation. A sense of humor and shock value is usually employed to make these issues more palatable to the general public and to call greater media attention to stories of interest Some of these outrageous ideas include the prospect of selling one’s vote or a proposition that the poor should consume recycled human waste. On most occasions, little to no shock or outrage is publicly evoked in response to their prank.
On occasion, the Yes Men’s phony spokesperson will make announcements that represent fictitious scenarios for the anti-globalization movement or opponents of corporate crime. This has often resulted in false news reports, such as those covering the demise of the World Trade Organization, or Dow Chemical paying compensation to the victims of the Bhopal disaster.
The Yes Men have posed as spokespeople for the WTO, McDonald’s, Dow Chemical, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The two leading members of the Yes Men are known by a number of aliases, most recently, and in film, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno
Their experiences were documented in the film The Yes Men, distributed by United Artists, the film documentary info wars, and the book The Yes Men: The True Story of the End of the World Trade Organization. Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno also directed a 2009 film entitled The Yes Men Fix the World
Their third film, The Yes Men Are Revolting, premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
The Yes Men encourage activist and student groups to make their voices heard through crashing conferences, creating fake websites, and getting arrested.
“The Yes Men” comedy satire the W.T.O. World Trade Organization
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmuF3SJhWI4
The Yes Men Fix the World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajkItiDgTLY
TWITTER
https://twitter.com/theyesmen
FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/theyesmenfix/
CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE AND GET INVOLVED
https://theyesmen.org/
Everything we’ve done is to get mainstream press around critical issues — because cool as twitter might be, only journalism can give things the weight they deserve. We’ve done it a few different ways.
We’ve impersonated nefarious entities — to communicate what they really mean.
We’ve created public illusions — made people think something was happening that wasn’t, quite — in order to raise the question: “why not?”
We’ve worked with impacted communities — sometimes not just getting press, but turning “stakeholders” into activists.
We’ve destroyed brands — and now, if you look for them, you find nothing but criticism.
We’ve disrupted events — to expose the weakness of the “powers that be” and the depths of our delusion about them.
We’ve done near-instant actions — making a splash in less than 24 hours, and sometimes in just a few minutes.
And, of course, we’ve failed miserably a lot more than once — but that’s how learning happens.
The purpose of whatever we do is to help bring attention to critical issues, cheerlead other activists, and, sometimes, turn bystanders into participants. All of these things can be done by anyone, given time and energy and desire. (Here’s how!)
If you want some help doing these sorts of things (and others!), why not bring us to your school or work with us on an issue you care about.
The Homeless Romantic Podcast
https://chris-jeffries.com/