Professional Issues in Creative Media Post 9 - Semantic Violence Wall.

Semantic Violence Wall, displayed within Dublin's 'Design and Violence Science Exhibit'.

This Exhibit shows a selection of words and phrases that are commonly used throughout daily life,
who’s meaning is in some shape or form related to violence. Either by concealing the violence behind
the words by substituting the words with more subtle euphemisms that conceal the damage and ease
the tension, or by society forgetting/overlooking the literal sense of the violent words in favour of
their new meanings that have been acquired over time. The philosopher and published author by the
name of Slavoj Zizek refered to semantic violence as, “relations of social domination reproduced in
our habitual speech forms”. (Violence, Slavoj Zizek, 2008). He also gives the argument that language
in it’s own right has the potential for violence in the way it gives us the ability to think and
communicated in various ways.

We are so de-sensitised in our culture that we are ignorant to the violence that we overlook in our
everyday life. We choose to be outraged and appalled by certain, more well known acts of violence
such as suicide bombings, terrorist attacks and assassinations of political figures, and yet it makes us
blind to the more common and standard forms of systemic violence that plagues our everyday life.
There are the high majority of people that believe themselves to be no more than mere innocent
bystanders, whereas in fact, we are the perpetrators that disturb the balance of peaceful life. We only
see the major acts of violence that we have accepted and overlooked the minor acts of disturbances
of peace that we have committed on a daily basis.

In this piece that was on display in the Design and Violence Science Exhibition, we can see a list of words and phrases that we may not use in the literal sense, or even the new, more laid-back sense, we can actually use them as part of comedy. The phrase ‘Take Care Of’ has been used multiple times in comedy, where it actually is used for telling someone to murder a person to deal with a problem. Or even the phrase ‘killing it’ which can be used to compliment a persons successful attempt at whatever act they put on. When in fact, they are saying ‘good job, you are successfully killing’.

We should keep in mind the minor acts of violence that we commit and share with people before we become completely blind to the power of words.