Situationist prank is a term used in the

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

to label a distinctive tactic by the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

, consisting of setting up a subversive political prank, hoax or stunt; In the terminology of the Situationist International, stunts and media pranks are very similar to ''situations''. The ''

détournement A détournement (), meaning "rerouting, hijacking" in French, is a technique developed in the 1950s by the Letterist International, and later adapted by the Situationist International (SI),''Report on the Construction of Situations'' (1957) that ...

'' technique, that is "turning expressions of the capitalist system against itself," was the essential element of a situationist prank. The Situationist tactic of using ''détournement'' for subversive pranks is such a distinctive and influential aspect of the Situationist International, that they are sometimes labeled as a group of political ''pranksters''. This tactic was used by the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

to mock

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

's Silver Jubilee celebrations. Frank Discussion of the band the Feederz is well known for his situationist pranks and detournement in the United States since the late 1970s. It also inspired the

culture jamming Culture jamming (sometimes also guerrilla communication) is a form of protest used by many anti-consumerist social movements to disrupt or subvert media culture and its mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising. It atte ...

movement in the late 1980s. The expression situationist prankster has been later established as a typical label used on those who perform

media prank A media prank is a type of media event, perpetrated by staged speeches, activities, or press releases, designed to trick legitimate journalists into publishing erroneous or misleading articles. The term may also refer to such stories if planted by ...

s or

publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilize ...

By Situationists

Notre-Dame Affair on National TV

One of the earliest Situationist pranks,Holt (2010) p.252 The Notre-Dame Affair was an intervention performed by members of the radical wing of the

Lettrist Lettrism is a French avant-garde movement, established in Paris in the mid-1940s by Romanian immigrant Isidore Isou. In a body of work totaling hundreds of volumes, Isou and the Lettrists have applied their theories to all areas of art and culture ...

movement (

Michel Mourre Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), S ...

Serge Berna Serge may refer to: * Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitch ...

, Ghislain Desnoyers de Marbaix and Jean Rullier), on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1950, at

Notre-Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

in Paris, while the mass was aired live on National TV. Michel Mourre, dressed in the habit of a Dominican

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

and backed by his co-conspirators, chose a quiet moment in the Easter High Mass to climb to the rostrum and declaim before the whole congregation a blasphemous anti-sermon on the death of God, penned by Serge Berna.

Strasbourg scandal

Taking advantage of the apathy of their colleagues, five "Pro-situs", Situationist-influenced students had infiltrated the University of Strasbourg's

student union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

in November 1966 and began scandalising the authorities. Their first action was to form an "anarchist appreciation society" called The Society for the Rehabilitation for Karl Marx and Ravachol; next they appropriated union funds to

flypost Flyposting (also known as wild posting or bill posting) is a guerrilla marketing tactic where advertising posters are put up. In the United States, these posters are also commonly referred to as wheatpaste posters because wheatpaste is often u ...

"Return of the Durruti Column", Andre Bertrand's '' détourned'' comic strip. They then invited the Situationists to contribute a critique of the University of Strasbourg, and ''On the Poverty of Student Life'', written by Tunisian Situationist Mustapha/Omar Khayati was the result. The students promptly proceeded to print 10,000 copies of the pamphlet using university funds and distributed them during a ceremony marking the beginning of the

academic year An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. School holiday School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which sch ...

. This provoked an immediate outcry in the local, national and international media.

Sanguinetti's ''Report'' to save capitalism

By 1972,

Gianfranco Sanguinetti Gianfranco Sanguinetti (born 16 July 1948, Pully, Switzerland) is a writer who was a member of the Situationist International (SI), a political art movement. He is Teresa Mattei's son. Biography Sanguinetti was deported from France in 1971 an ...

and

Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationis ...

were the only two remaining members of Situationist International. Working with Debord, in August 1975, Sanguinetti wrote a pamphlet titled ''Rapporto veridico sulle ultime opportunità di salvare il capitalismo in Italia'' ( Eng: ''Veritable Report on the Last Chances to Save Capitalism in Italy''), which (inspired by

Bruno Bauer Bruno Bauer (; 6 September 180913 April 1882) was a German philosopher and theologian. As a student of G. W. F. Hegel, Bauer was a radical Rationalism, Rationalist in philosophy, politics and Biblical criticism. Bauer investigated the sources of ...

) purported to be the cynical writing of "Censor", a powerful

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

. The pamphlet argues that the ruling class of Italy supported the

Piazza Fontana bombing The Piazza Fontana bombing ( it, Strage di Piazza Fontana) was a terrorist attack that occurred on 12 December 1969 when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura (the National Agricultural Bank) in Piazza Fontana ...

and other mass slaughter, for the higher goal of defending the capitalist status quo from communist claims. The pamphlet was mailed to 520 of Italy's most powerful individuals. It was received as genuine, and powerful politicians, industrialists and journalists praised its contents and guessed the identity of its high-profile author. After reprinting the tract into a small book, Sanguinetti revealed himself to be the true author. Under pressure from Italian authorities, Sanguinetti left Italy in February 1976, and was denied re-entry to France, from which he had previously been deported in 1971.

Ken Knabb Ken Knabb (born 1945) is an American writer, translator, and radical theorist, known for his translations of Guy Debord and the Situationist International. His own English-language writings, many of which were anthologized in ''Public Secrets'' (1 ...

br>''Gianfranco Sanguinetti''
/ref>

Others

Film ''

Hurlements en faveur de Sade ''Hurlements en faveur de Sade'' (English: ''Howlings for Sade'') is a 1952 French avant-garde film directed by Guy Debord. Devoid of any images, the film was an early work of Lettrist cinema. Description The image track of ''Hurlements en faveur ...

'' (Howls for de Sade) (1952) by

, had 24 minutes of black screen. Book ''

Mémoires ''Mémoires'' (''Memories'') is an artist's book made by the French social critic Guy Debord in collaboration with the Danish artist Asger Jorn. Its last page mentions that it was printed in 1959, however, it was printed in December 1958. This ...

'' (1959) by

and

Asger Jorn Asger Oluf Jorn (3 March 1914 – 1 May 1973) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International. He was born in Vejrum, in the northwest c ...

had the cover made of

sandpaper upright=1.35, Sheets of sandpaper with different grit sizes (40 (coarse), 80, 150, 240, 600 (fine)). Sandpaper and glasspaper are names used for a type of coated abrasive that consists of sheets of paper or cloth with abrasive material glued to ...

Legacy

The situationist tactic of a détournement-based hoax was notoriously used in February 1977 by the Sex Pistols, who played their version of "God Save the Queen" while sailing down the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

past the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

to mock the Silver Jubilee river procession in honor of

.Marrone, Gianfranco (2005
''Sensi alterati: droghe, musica, immagini''
p.45, quote: The expression situationist prankster has been later established as a typical label used on those who perform

s or

s, as in the cases of ''

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

'',Vincentelli, Elisabeth (2004
''ABBA gold''
/ref> the ''

K Foundation The K Foundation was an art foundation set up by Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, formerly of The KLF, in 1993, following their 'retirement' from the music industry. The Foundation served as an artistic outlet for the duo's post-retirement KLF inc ...

'',Fortnight, Issues 335-345
p.349

Genesis P-Orridge Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was a singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmissions arti ...

,The rough guide to rock edited by Peter Buckley
/ref>

Harun Farocki Harun Farocki (9 January 1944 – 30 July 2014) was a German filmmaker, author, and lecturer in film. Early life and education Farocki was born as Harun El Usman FaroqhiMargalit Fox (3 August 2014)''New York Times''. in Neutitschein, which is n ...

,Harun Farocki: working on the sightlines By Thomas Elsaesser
p.106 and others.

George Gimarc George Douglas Gimarc ( ; born 1957) is an American disc jockey, record and radio program producer and author based in Texas and is in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. He is known for his extensive and authoritative knowledge about the classic rock ...

(1994
''Punk Diary 1970-1979''
p.47Sabin, Roger (1999
''Punk rock: so what? : the cultural legacy of punk''
p.182 A growth of campaigns using tactics such as the

Flash Mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organized via t ...

Subvertising Subvertising (a portmanteau of ''subvert'' and ''advertising'') is the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements. The cultural critic Mark Dery coined the term in 1991. Subvertisements are anti-ads that def ...

in recent years can be traced to situationist pranks. These tactics, notable in stunts by

The Yes Men The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo and network of supporters created by Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos. Through various actions, the Yes Men primarily aim to raise awareness about problematic social and political issues. To date, th ...

, campaigns by

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

, and guerilla art by

Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams ...

, have been characterised by their appropriation of establishment symbols, shifting the intended purpose of public (now private) space, or creating bizarre reality hacks that merely remix the cultural context, as opposed to providing something entirely surreal.New Statesman (2013
''The Spectacle of Disintegration''
/ref> Some surreal pranks continue to exist in more subversive movements, such as the Alley concept,Alley Concept (2013
"Alley Concept"
/ref> and are traceable to situationist pranks in their deliberate constructions of surreal situations that juxtapose the

Spectacle In general, spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. Derived in Middle English from c. 1340 as "specially prepared or arranged display" it was borrowed from Old French ''spectacle'', itself a reflection of the ...

thereby aiming to reawaken authentic desires and liberate everyday life. The concept forms the primary genre on popular Australian television series "The Chaser's War on Everything." Worldwide media attention followed their successful entry into the G20 Summit held in Sydney, Australia - September 2007. The group formed a motorcade with a Bin Laden-esque character inside a limousine flying flags of a non-existent country.The Chaser's war on Everything - APEC Motorcade
Sep 12, 2007 - Chas dressed as Osama bin Laden the Chasers drive a disguised Canadian motorcade ...

Notes

References

*Holt, Douglas and Cameron, Douglas (2010
''Cultural Strategy: Using Innovative Ideologies to Build Breakthrough Brands''
Oxford University Press {{Guerrilla theatre Political art Protests in France Religious scandals Anti-Catholicism in France Situationist International 1950 in France