Why do people put “art” on their walls that say things like “Live Laugh Love” and other such saccharine crap?
Try as I might I just can’t understand it.
What’s the message? Is it hopeful? Signaling? Who is the audience and what message are they supposed to receive? Do you need to remind yourself of that, really?
I have so many questions. The semiotics is beyond me.
It serves several purposes. It’s hopeful, it’s signalling to themselves (“remember to be positive, cheerful, whatever”) and others (“I am the kind of person who is positive, cheerful, and who will make you this way”). Some religions, like Mormonism expect people, especially women to “keep sweet.” I think it’s cross cultural, if maybe a little less vapid.
I know of no men who are expected to be mood lighting managers so of course it’s baffling. It’s the meat space equivalent of sharing affirmational pictures to your social media. It’s work being relentlessly positive and upbeat and many people go from jobs that require that emotional performance to homes where they are required to do that as well.
Really, most people seem to dislike complexity, ambiguity, ambivalence and negative emotions.
Jobs as emotional performance. Good observation. This is actually the part of work that I have the most trouble dealing with.
So it’s been great working for a German company as German people do much, much less of this.
Is this about those dreadful “SARK” posters?
Saw this one in a waiting room. Really made me cringe hard.
No, I hadn’t seen those before. Wow, they are truly vile.
Lori, you’ve made my world just a little bit worse. How do you feel about yourself now? 😉