Message-Id: <v01550100b2d4a8b57b46@[193.149.71.133]>
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 13:04:06 +0100
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: joe.magee@mcr1.poptel.org.uk (Joe Magee)
Subject: Re: Godwins Law
Bob - interesting anecdotes. I especially like the fact that two brothers
were SS Colonel and priest. As I'm trying to develop ideas on a purely
visual footing, I already noted similarities between the uniforms of the
church and the nazis. In fact, both SS officer and priest would have seemed
oddly similar next to each other - both decked out in black. No doubt both
were committed to 'spreading the good news' to the other brother....
Derek's point that "Nazism today actually appeals more to people's pockets
than it does to their desire to wear leather trousers": I'd definately
agree - but the desire to dress up must have been an important factor in
the Third Reich masterplan. A book I have - "German Army Uniforms and
Insignia 1933-1945" convinces me that huge efforts have been poured into
military iconography. It puts me in mind of a quote I heard recently -
that "fascism is an aesthetic movement"...
One other thing I noticed recently when looking through old post-war
photographs (UK) was how many people wore 'uniforms'. It seemed that
everyone was a sailor, a nurse or a 'housewife' and could be readily
identified - as though a huge polarisation had occurred. Looking at
contemporary photos - these 'uniforms' have retreated.
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