What's happened to ADBUSTERS?

[editor]

They used one of my photos a while ago so I get sent free copies, but I just don't 'get' it any more.

It seems to have turned into a mix of super-arty articles and illustrations, peppered with a handful of fairly lightweight jabs at obvious political targets with several pages of really horribly gory photos thrown in (this month: a page full of severed heads and a close up of a bloke with half his arm blown off).

I just get confused by the magazine now. Or am I missing something?

 

[colacubes]

They used one of my photos a while ago so I get sent free copies, but I just don't 'get' it any more.

It seems to have turned into a mix of super-arty articles and illustrations, peppered with a handful of fairly lightweight jabs at obvious political targets with several pages of really horribly gory photos thrown in (this month: a page full of severed heads and a close up of a bloke with half his arm blown off).

I just get confused by the magazine now. Or am I missing something?

Tis shite. memespring got a subscription as a present and it pretty much goes straight in the bin these days.

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

I never liked it to be honest, although some of the fake ads used to be quite clever.

 

[ska invita]

is it canadanian? wheres it made?

 

[The Groke]

It was always horrible.

Sanctimonious beyond belief and surprisingly little content given the heft of the thing.

The kind of thing that Nathan Barley would have edited, had he been to see Chomsky talk in his youth.

 

[flickerx]

Its from Vancouver I think.

Too much about the "invasion of mental space", people taking prescription drugs to combat depression, that sort of thing. Very North-American oriented IMHO, i.e. "first world problems". Not saying everything has to be about militant struggle in some rural part of central America all the time, but a lot of their articles and targets are frivolous, e.g. their massive "hipster" article controversy - yes, rich urban north American people drinking a certain type of beer and riding a certain type of bike equals the end of civilisation. FFS...

 

[Will2403]

can you recommend some better alternatives please. tia.

 

[editor]

I got another issue a while ago. It just gets worse with each issue and the time between opening and binning was down to minutes.

 

[editor]

can you recommend some better alternatives please. tia.

SchNEWS in Brighton do a great free newspaper (well, more of a sheet).

 

[frogwoman]

afaik there was some dodgy anti-semitism type stuff with them a few years ago, could be wrong tho.

 

[i'mnotsofast]

afaik there was some dodgy anti-semitism type stuff with them a few years ago, could be wrong tho.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adbusters#Accusations_of_anti-semitism

 

[frogwoman]

meh, they're kind of annoying anyway imo.

 

[Blagsta]

used to be required reading on some graphic design degrees

 

[Mr Smin]

They had some great spoof adverts about 10 years ago, and they had a hand in instigating/promoting 'Buy Nothing Day', but it's been well fuckin' Mexico for years now.

 

[moon23]

They had an interesting point and idea but not really enough to sustain a long-lasting magazine, movement or campaign. There was not much new to it intellectually that hadn't already been covered by the Frankfurt school's work on the culture industry, and Klein did it to death in No Logo as well.