Occupy the future

Brigstocke, Julian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2455-0504 2015. Occupy the future. Kirwan, Samuel, Dawney, Leila and Brigstocke, Julian, eds. Space, Power and the Commons: The Struggle for Alternative Futures, Routledge Research in Place, Space and Politics, London: Routledge, pp. 150-165. (10.4324/9781315731995-17)

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Abstract

A remarkable feature of the Occupy movement has been the widespread calls for protesters to ‘Occupy the Future’, reclaiming time as a form of commons: something that is collectively practised, shared, and distributed. In one striking poster (Figure 7.1), a faceless businessman, coloured in red and with an angel’s halo and a devil’s tail, walks towards a little girl holding a large banner saying ‘Occupy your future’. The girl stands in front of a crowd of protesters, and stands firm on the bottom edge of the image. The businessman, by contrast, despite his size, is lost in the middle of the image, anchorless in a sea of grey. The little girl, through her age and gender, embodies conventions of purity and reproductive futurity; the crowd behind her offer the strength to overcome the satanic corporate world. The image articulates a theological temporality of innocence, salvation, and fulfilment.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Publisher:	Routledge
ISBN:	9781138841680
Date of Acceptance:	13 November 2014
Last Modified:	31 Oct 2022 09:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/81312

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