Graffiti: Social Deviance or Freedom of Expression?

This video showcases the two sides of the graffiti debate: a socially deviant crime or artistic expressions?Both sides view themselves as correct, but which one is? I plan to give both sides a voice through pictures taken in the local Athens area as well as the campus of Ohio University and quotes from research and newspaper articles regarding the subject.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• graffiti
• deviance
• sociology

[TheJAMROLE]

another point i would like to make is that most of the grafitti in this video is the only bad kind of grafitti its pictures like this that give grafitti a bad name. i would like to see what people would say if their was a picture of one of the thousands of beautiful grafitti murals around the world

[TheJAMROLE]

grafitti is an art not a crime the fact that ur uncle and grandad fought a war against hitler (which i will admit was very brave of them) doesnt mean that when i get some spray paint and express myself doesnt mean i want to offend your grandad and uncle i do it because i want to and because i can if you spend your life obeying every rule you are faced with you are just another victim of society like many others.if you do grafitti you are able to make something that makes an impression on society

[markmfos]

Racist graffiti or graffiti stating tht someone is a poof or a prick or whatever can get fucked, but wen someone has taken time and effort to put there name up then why get rid?

The wall they do it on probs originaly looked shit and wen the government try and scrub it out its usually really obvious and your left with a white wall and like a big blue patch.

Besides graffiti has became such a big part of culture and gives people a chance to get there name up and it IS an art form.

Also if it cost

[Godophobe]

@bojoben No, unjust laws are a matter of personal perception. They are just laws to other people, and it is up to you whether you respect other people's views or not. When graffiti is cleaned off it is charged in the form of tax to the hard working poor people. Respect them or piss on them: the decision is yours.

[bojoben]

@Godophobe Unjust laws need to be broken, state needs to have as less an intrusion into our freedoms as possible. I am a political graffiti artist, and I will continue to do so while stupid laws and injustice exists.

Refuse to obey laws that should not be obeyed.

[theLVD]

First of all, I don't need to know about the the Third Reich to be able to tell that you don't have a good point. You said "graffiti would be banned." It already is! Thats why its illegal. Just because its banned doesn't mean people will stop.

Second, graffiti is so minuscule compared to what WW2 accomplished that saying it was pointless is just retarded. You make graffiti sound like its worse than a Nazi regime!

Lastly, don't change the subject by correcting my grammar/spelling.

[Godophobe]

@theLVD Hmm... you obviously don't know much about the Third Reich. Grafitti would not only be banned, but so would many things which ARE worthwhile. Black people for one! It is metaphoric though, isn't it, when older people say that they wish they hadn't fought because everything they fought for - in terms of their imediate environment - is sprayed. If I am ignorant, why are you the one writing "your" instead of "you're"? That's ignorant.

[theLVD]

@Godophobe I know you posted this a long time ago, but I couldn't help but respond. Your saying they'd rather live under Hitler than have to deal with present-day graffiti? Are they crazy? Seriously, are they mentally handicapped? Your forgetting that there would be graffiti no matter what rule we are all under. And saying graffiti makes WW2 pointless is pretty much the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Its pathetic.

And no, graffiti is not a result of ignorance. Your ignorant for saying that..

[rawallison]

Graffiti is both deviant and artistic expression. Graffiti is the method of artistically expressing oneself by defacing public property. This means that inherent in the act of artistic expression is the deviant act. The deviance is the point. To ask whether graffiti is "Social Deviance or Freedom of Expression" is disingenuous.

[Godophobe]

The video says "SOCIAL DEVIANCE OR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION?" which of course is complete bollocks because of course it is social deviance (look up "deviance") and of course it is not freedom of expression because it is not freedom in any sense of the word. It is illegal, so freedom really isn't an applicable term.