Fun Or Dumb? Graffiti (1976)

B rules do [Music] [Music] is yes either it's either [Music] either or hey what are you doing there uh nothing that's my wall you're writing on I didn't hurt it any you're defacing the wall look man it's already written all why they on me I know you now either I call the police or you clean the whole wall by definition graffiti simply means writing or pictures scratched or inscribed on a surface the term was first applied to the ancient drawings found on the walls of caves in any event graffiti is as old as civilization some of it is highly prized as a reflection of the culture from which it came even our founding fathers indulged in graffiti George Washington's initials can still be seen on the rocks at Natural Bridge recently some have labeled graffiti art and indeed it can be attractive amusing and interesting often graffiti is encouraged as decoration on certain walls fences and sidewalks it has even inspired art and literature on the other hand by almost any standards much graffiti is ugly some of it distasteful and a little of it offensive one needs only to visit any major city to realize that the Advent of can enamel and magic marker Pens have given rise to a New Look To America which Delights some and disturbs many young people must decide is graffiti fun or is it dumb the most famous and perhaps the most controversial graffiti is that blanketing the New York City subway system one view is that subway graffiti to is of Art and worthy of praise it certainly does change the appearance of an often drab setting yet graffiti here is a definite safety hazard and needless expense the cost to the New York Subway system alone exceeds $2 million per year the expense is born through higher prices apart from the costs are the risks of being caught and the danger of injury a number of wouldbe artists have been hurt by subway cars and electric shock nationally schools are frequent targets of graffiti although seen in virtually every area it seems to be most concentrated in the inner cities and older neighborhoods one reason it is not often found in the suburbs is that it is quickly removed when it appears no one knows how much is spent totally on the correction of graffiti but it is estimated that in schools alone the cost runs into tens of millions of dollars until a few years ago graffiti was limited primarily to alleys vacant buildings and fences today it appears almost everywhere not even works of art are spared nor is the natural environment immune graffiti is everywhere I think graffiti is neak it's our way to communicate graffiti is sneaky dunwin people think nobody is watching I can't see the fun or honesty in that besides what they write is neither art nor literature some forms of graffiti may be highly destructive 10 years ago such damage to works of art was rare now it is common worldwide and the hate graffiti despised here but seen in other countries now appears too often in America many of our historic sites and National Treasures have been affected the defacement of public property has been termed a National Disgrace a good question at this point is why do people do it the motivations for graffiti are many love bravado or even humor but the motivations are not always so innocent graffiti may be hateful insightful or radical some experts say that graffiti is one way adolescents have to express their identities they say this isn't really any different than putting titles on doors of offices or Monograms on things that we own perhaps some of it is an attempt to be unique however another strong reason for graffiti seems to be peer pressure in other words some of it's done to show the other kids you're not afraid to do it or merely to show how many times you can do it or if you can put it on inaccessible places but in still other cases graffiti is used as a way to Mark the territory or communicate in Street language other graffiti Rises out of anger resentment and psychological disturbance in any event it reveals a great deal about the artist's personality the school board and the principal have approved your request to decorate the school walls providing you submit your plans to the students for referendum vote so what do you want to do well if they really mean it why don't we go mod what do you mean by mod you know colors design graffiti anything that we want why graffiti because it's groovy it's where it's at that's not where it's at with me I see graffiti in my neighborhood all the time and I don't like it if you want that kind of jump take it to your own neighborhood what kind of wall do you want I like mural black art pretty things not profanity we're not there's this about graffiti it often starts a debate obviously graffiti is a lot of different things and it certainly can be a problem there are many approaches to solving it to combat the epidemic of graffiti on subway trains some cities have begun to buy them already decorated it is also used on buildings and fences this idea of imitation graffiti sometimes called walls of pride is executed by artist s some experts say this encourages rather than discourages more graffiti where it isn't wanted others have tried to control graffiti by allowing it to be applied in specific places many think that this is a good answer but others say graffiti is only satisfying if you have to write and run schools have met the problem in a number of ways everything from security guard two poster campaigns some schools require parents to pay for the damages others have attempted to solve the problem by architectural means or use of materials which are easily cleaned I think the punishment should fit the crime and those who create the graffiti should be required to clean it up I think the answer comes from Pride because if you're proud of your school you ask others not to deface it k right on toilet walls have psychological problems Let's help them straighten out their heads I believe we should attack the problem and not the symptoms we should give the kids a chance to establish a territory or reinforce their identity we should give them the responsibility to clean up a block in their neighborhood or to plant a tree or to paint a useful sign and whatever they do it should bear their names proudly a lot of kids get themselves over a graffi by doing something instead of one day they decide that it's more fun to use their talents where they'll be appreciated it's not that drawing on a wall somewhere is always such a bad thing but it's not really a good thing either the point is that you can get pretty much the same kick and better recognition in other ways the solution to the problem of graffiti then seems to lie within each of us young people have to decide if this is the kind of decorated World they want to live in for a time there was a Certain Romance attached to Graffiti it was something one did to declare oneself against Authority like funky old clothes long hair and hip talk after a while graffiti wasn't so different anymore there was so much of it and it was used for so many political purposes it was boring many kids began to find it a Discord how could you honestly support the environment and be a graffiti polluter even if you only write environmental slogans you are part of the problem not the solution oh sure seeing your name or something you wrote on the wall might make you feel like somebody for a time but is that the kind of somebody you want to be drawing graffiti is a like getting a tattoo after the thrill of doing it is passed it begins to hurt and the results stay with you for a long long time think it over is graffiti fun or is it [Music] dumb either SCH of break rules [Music] or just