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The Balenciaga Controversy

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Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#51

Post by woodruffw »

thepasswordis wrote: post #3

Here’s Balenciaga’s 2023 video showing off their styles for the year. This is from their own YouTube channel. Fair warning: the children shown appear to be dolls, not actual human children, but it is still disturbing: https://youtu.be/Yh_1K9s6UV0 These seem to be adults dressed as literal demons (one of them has horns on their head) many of whom are carrying (probably fake) children, and all marching through the mud.…

I watched this video and I think you've grossly overstated how disturbing it is.

The "theme" (insofar as anything high fashion really has a theme) seems like a mixture of grindhouse and apocalypse. "Child carrying a doll" is a borderline trope in that context: compare, for example, the first episode of The Walking Dead.

I don't know anything about the thing you haven't linked, because you haven't linked it. But the panic over this video doesn't pass the sniff test.

Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#52

Post by akiselev »

p0pcult wrote: post #35
Jerrrry wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Legally, sure. In a society with a court of public opinion, the exact opposite is true.

Oh, so we should aspire to model ourselves after... ...middle school?

I would settle for the second semester of kindergarten.

To model ourselves after middle schoolers would be aspirational to a delusional degree.

Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#53

Post by PuppyTailWags »

thepasswordis wrote: post #41
WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These seem to be adults dressed as literal demons (one of them has horns on their head) many of whom are carrying (probably fake) children, and all marching through the mud. It’s very unsettling. No offense but that’s just a fashion show in a setting involving some mud in the background. It looks a bit like another planet rather than hell. Also there are no children here. I’m still looking for the disturbing part.…

Watch the rest of the video. Eventually the actors are all walking around wearing child carriers containing dolls.

Can you timestamp this? I clicked around (not really desiring to watch 15 minutes tbh) and all I saw was people carrying what looks like a stuffed animal (think like a teddy bear for a child) as a purse with a leather strap and people in otherwise skinny dresses and the like walking in mud. Even the final statement piece just looked like your average avant guard edgy nonsense, straps and belts that made no sense draping someone unflatteringly so the model had to walk super slow.

Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#54

Post by badcppdev »

chrischen wrote: post #10
badcppdev wrote: post #9

"Gabriele Galimberti, who shot the teddy bear ad but had no involvement with the spring campaign, said in a statement on Instagram that he too was given no control over the creative content of his shoot, other than details like lighting and framing. The content — pairing child models with the teddy bear bag — had already been decided before he was hired, he said." There is a valid lesson here for all professionals in…

I honestly think this is going a little too far. The photographer also stated that they were not even involved with the photo with the court case documents... Everyone is quick to judge but everyone is culpable for something bad... This is like China's internet mob justice and "human flesh search" days all over again. Mob justice on the random people hired to do this is irresponsible. Target the beneficial owners...…

The photographer was hired to do a job and he did it. I doubt his reputation will be damaged by this.

Nevertheless I think he showed poor judgement. I doubt he could pretend that he didn't know that the teddy bears were sexually themed as BDSM styling is not that obscure. And it really feels to me that he should be paying attention to what he is photographing.

So I stand by my point that I hope that other professionals pay attention to what they are being asked to do and decide whether they will do it.

Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#55

Post by imwillofficial »

navjack27 wrote: post #43

To everyone commenting on this using the phrases: Seems bizarre Is bizarre Disturbing Seems concerning Fishy If someone shows you who they are believe them Shame Disgusting Literal demons Very unsettling Congratulations! You took the bait! Now you are participating in something called moral outrage. All you are doing is exactly what they want you to do. They being Balenciaga. You are free marketing.

You know, some things are worth being morally outraged at.

It’s called having standards.

Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#56

Post by seydor »

thepasswordis wrote: post #3

Here’s Balenciaga’s 2023 video showing off their styles for the year. This is from their own YouTube channel. Fair warning: the children shown appear to be dolls, not actual human children, but it is still disturbing: https://youtu.be/Yh_1K9s6UV0 These seem to be adults dressed as literal demons (one of them has horns on their head) many of whom are carrying (probably fake) children, and all marching through the mud.…

Nice try, balenciaga marketing dept.

Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#57

Post by navjack27 »

cjbgkagh wrote: post #38
WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These seem to be adults dressed as literal demons (one of them has horns on their head) many of whom are carrying (probably fake) children, and all marching through the mud. It’s very unsettling. No offense but that’s just a fashion show in a setting involving some mud in the background. It looks a bit like another planet rather than hell. Also there are no children here. I’m still looking for the disturbing part.…

I give a wide berth to artists but those teddy bears are not innocuous. They are highly suggestive and in the context of the photo shoot are beyond the pale. In my opinion BDSM teddy bears alone is a bright red flag.

So because you give a wide berth to artists and I assume high art in general... I'm sorry but your opinion is invalidated.

It's invalidated in the same way if some rube off the street told you that they give a wide berth to applied research and then went on to give some sort of opinion about workplace solutions and then summed it all up by saying some one particular thing was a red flag to them.

Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#58

Post by fullshark »

SilverBirch wrote: post #37

Controversy is what it is. Firstly, it's high fashion - they're always courting controversy, but secondly, what exactly do people think is happening when they see some ruling about child porn in a photoshoot? I'm sure Tucker Carlson will run and run with this (and unfortunately there are unhinged people who genuinely think there's a pedo sex cult around every corner), but this is just your bargain basement shock chas…

They think Balenciaga’s rubbing the public's face in it, an easter egg for those in the know.

Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#59

Post by renewiltord »

thepasswordis wrote: post #3

Here’s Balenciaga’s 2023 video showing off their styles for the year. This is from their own YouTube channel. Fair warning: the children shown appear to be dolls, not actual human children, but it is still disturbing: https://youtu.be/Yh_1K9s6UV0 These seem to be adults dressed as literal demons (one of them has horns on their head) many of whom are carrying (probably fake) children, and all marching through the mud.…

I watched the very first 30 seconds and saw literally zero things to worry about. If there's anything there, kindly link to a specific timestamp. Dear God, I wish we were still in pandemic mode so that pearl clutchers could scream about masks instead.

Not people wearing horns, dear god. I think we might be summoning the devil.

Re: The Balenciaga Controversy

#60

Post by mrtksn »

thepasswordis wrote: post #3

Here’s Balenciaga’s 2023 video showing off their styles for the year. This is from their own YouTube channel. Fair warning: the children shown appear to be dolls, not actual human children, but it is still disturbing: https://youtu.be/Yh_1K9s6UV0 These seem to be adults dressed as literal demons (one of them has horns on their head) many of whom are carrying (probably fake) children, and all marching through the mud.…

Sure, disturbing photos and all but what's the problem? This all seems to me like another "save the children" craze, a pretext to oppress speech and snoop into peoples private business.

Artists use provocative or disturbing images all the time, its how some art works. Images of children have always been used in various contexts.

If anything, I will be very disturbed if using imagery of children becomes a new taboo. I hear that in the USA you can't interact casually with other peoples children because they assume that you are some kind of pervert, are we extending this taboo to imagery of kids just because the the elite pedophile cabal runs the government conspiracy theory has become mainstream?

I find all this ridiculous. If there's an abuse or something, jail them already but this has turned into a witch hunt. The western society is just inches away from becoming like Taliban and hunting down people for objectionable art.

There's also a chance this is happening simply because Balenciaga dropped Kanye West but I hope it's Balenciaga's marketing people stirring a controversy.

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