The modern world can be a very confusing and scary place. Often there is so much going on and so much being reported in the 24-hour news cycle that it’s hard to keep up. People have pacified themselves with social media and other distractions, but unfortunately, it has become harder to get away from all the societal ills we experience every day.
Dran, an artist who is also known as the French Banksy, illustrates these problems in his artwork. His cartoons criticize society and what he feels are the things that are holding all of us back. One of his main thesis statements in his work is that art is still meaningful and should have a place in our lives.
These 24 works by Dran illustrate how we see the world, and what we may be missing when we are not looking close enough. Society can’t change unless we are willing to change it.
1 ) TV becomes our window to the world: It’s easy to get lost in the things that entertain us. Whether that’s a TV show or a sporting event, we can get sucked in so easily that we don’t pay attention to what is going on in the rest of the world.
2 ) Staying in touch but never touching: Technology has brought us closer together in some ways, but it has also been pushing us apart in others. Sure, we can transmit our thoughts and communicate instantly, but what if our communication is suffering because of that? What are we really saying to each other?
3 ) Kids with the weight of the world on their shoulders: There’s more pressure than ever on kids to succeed, and the world is not making it easy for them. They are so aware of everything that is going on around them and it sometimes seems that they have no way to escape from it.
4 ) Telling the truth can be hazardous to your health: In an age where people are becoming more aware of the problems in society, it seems harder to talk about those issues in art without being criticized or silenced. The worst part is not the authoritarianism of governments, but the complacency of audiences.
5 ) Helping others or helping themselves?: It’s too easy to believe the images we see of politicians are completely genuine. Are they actually helping people who need their help, or is it all just a publicity stunt? Who’s really benefiting from a politician’s public image? What is it that we’re not seeing?
6 ) Art vs commerce: What is art worth to us? In this day and age, making money from being creative is becoming more difficult than ever. The world is so saturated with content that people are creating, it’s easy to miss the true visionaries who are just trying to get by.
7 ) Is it too late for us to start over?: As the environment continues to decline and humans keep creating waste, it seems almost impossible that there could be a way for us to reverse everything. What if everything has become so bad that even in the far future it would be impossible for us to get a clean start?
8 ) Everyone is getting backstabbed: Business has become more cutthroat in the past few years. With profits being channeled further up the ladder and forward mobility becoming increasingly difficult, it only seems natural that people will begin to turn against each other. There has to be a better way for all of us to get ahead.
9 ) Hooked on our smartphones: Is it convenient to have all of the information in the world at our fingertips? Of course it is. However, we shouldn’t be letting it control us. Sometimes it’s better to just wonder or to not know, rather than having to look everything up in the moment.
10 ) Hypocrisy is hiding everywhere: Even if someone has a positive message, they may not be delivering it in the best way possible. They might not even be aware of the problems they are creating. It’s important to be vigilant and stay aware of hypocrisy in all forms. Otherwise, you’re just buying into another lie.
11 ) What women go through every day: It might be hard for men to understand what women go through on a daily basis, but that doesn’t mean that they should keep feeding into it. Being just a little bit more considerate and aware of your behavior goes a long way.
