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What’s Wrong With Today’s Society Captured In 58 Though-Provoking Illustrations By Al Margen
We all know that nothing is perfect. Our modern society included. Many things are problematic and troubling, and even though we notice them, we are not too fast to work on fixing pressing social issues.
Al Margen, an illustrator from Buenos Aires, Argentina, creates depressing drawings pinpointing the world problems of our times. He creates dark drawings that are sometimes louder than words and are extremely thought-provoking. The author himself is very critical about his works and talks about them in a really artistic manner: "They are children of boredom, nonconformity or anger. <...> They are the representation of discarded ideas. They are the garbage of the subconscious. But they are more visceral and sincere than other sad drawings because they have no obligation to please. <...> Because they were born only by an impulse and nothing more. Because they were born to annoy because they show the problems with society."
Take a look at some of his satirical works on social problems below and let us know which one was your favorite.
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I love this one. I teach 7th grade science and this is one of the biggest things I'm trying to figure out how to fix in my class. When I want students to really think, they get so frustrated. They just want to know the minimum requirements to pass. So it's a big mental shift to go from doing enough to pass the test, to actually understanding concepts and applying them to your every day life. It's hard to get them to think strategically and use processing skills that are valuable in science class, but will REALLY be useful in life. Instead of just making them memorize a bunch of c**p that they'll forget the second they get the report card.
I think this illustration shows a different perspective than yours, more in the lines along "formal education suffocates creativity". Which is I believe is more like you say, creativity can only go as far as the person wants, I am thankful for school actually with out it there would be more idiots in the world. A person capable of critical thinking should be able to take only what they need.
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it reminds me the song "we don't need no education" meaning that education kills our power to think.. i don't know what to say
Do you mean "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd? If so then I agree, the message is definitely similar.
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I liked a lot of these. However, this one seems to present a message that is absolutely not true. In stark contrast to what this illustration implies, it tends to be people who lack a formal education that feel that formal education "stops thinking" or that it "squelches creativity;" and it couldn't be further from the truth. I'd have to agree with Socrates when he said that education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. Nearly every significant medical and technological breakthrough over the last several hundred years has been discovered and developed by men with advanced chemical engineering, civil and structural engineering, and Science based degrees. To say that education simply breaks a person's "light bulb" only to cover it with a graduation cap is ridiculous, and I feel truly sorry for anyone that lacks so much formal education that they actually believe this to be true.
Actually, today's university "education" has become "endoctrination" where only one type of thought is allowed.
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That's what I'm saying for kids. Not for mines but for those I want to hire as cheap, uneducated labour in the future!
Very subjective..depends on many things. School and university (judging by the hat) have a tremendous difference imo. While most modern schools try to conform their students into "mindless working hands", the right choice of university can expand your mind more than anything you ever imagined :D. In my student years I was one of the worst students of the whole school, bad grades, "rebellious attitude", basically I was labeled a bad seed; probably because i wasn't so manageable as the other kids i guess. A few years later, and after some ridiculous jobs, I realized how this life of servitude just isn't for me. I enrolled in a graphic design university which taught me so many-many things, I finally experienced a thirst for knowledge, a spark light up inside of me and I knew...that was it. Now I'm working with a friend as a free-lancing duo and i couldn't be happier and fulfilled....all thanks to a second class university that was able to show me the true bliss of education!
It really saddens me to see so many people blame education for this soul sucking situation we got in our schools. It's the system, not the subject.
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Too bad we do not live where we are free to challenge bad ideas that people promote in college but can not defend. You could be graded down if you don't go with the flow. Perception is not reality and yet it is not only taught as such, but those who question that ideology are called names like we are still in elementary school. ...sad
I see this & it's like whoever is over school curriculum forbids creativity, doesn't allow for individual thought & indoctrinates them with whatever they see fit!!! Most liberal colleges are that way & elementary, middle & high schools are following in their footsteps!!!
"Imagination is more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited." Albert Einstein
I find this a highly pessimistic view of education especially as the assumption here is, there are no ideas or creativity in the first place (non lit lightbulb). I am fortunate to teach students music in a university and I receive stunning composition portfolios all the time. I know pre undergraduate thinking can be somewhat prescriptive in students but once on the path to critical thinking and reflection, the results become remarkably good (should they choose to). I wish I could have been as 'sorted' as some of the 21 year olds I witness on graduation day!
Most of these are ambiguous at best. Some just a bunch of c**p. ESP. No. 4–parents arguing in front of their children is new somehow. Puhleeze. And education? Vastly overstated. You want to be creative? Learn to read and write. You want to be a climate change denier? Skip science class.
Mark Twain - 'I never allowed my schooling to interfere with my education'. You can 'teach' all you wnat, but people will only learn (or retain) what they want.
These are the people that voted for a higher minimum wage instead of getting higher wages. Minimum wage is just that minimum wage no matter how high that wage is. Crying shame the incompetence and ignorance run rampant.
This is why I'm leaving the classroom. I'm tired of pushing someone else's agenda!
An education where we are taught to learn and repeat stuff to gain a certificatation. Whatever happened to objective and free thinking.
Having read all the comments on all the pictures, I must say they are a fascinating insight into boredpanda's psyches!
Our. Education system takes free original thoughts and often replaces them with broken outdated thoughts
"We don't need no education...We don't need no mind control...No dark sarcasm in the classroom..."
No, not true. This picture is how the non-educated come to view education.
Although I don't agree with the thought behind this illustration, I respect the right to your opinion.
The artist is trying to point out what he sees as wrong with our society, so, this is saying the educational system tries to get at the ideas a person has, smash them, replace them with what they are teaching in order for them to be called educated.
I know how it feels to walk up dollar stairs and be met with a d**k to the face
When the mind's defense mechanism is to drown the possibility of thoughts in music.
Peace does not always bring about freedom. And not hard to become a prisoner of peace. Bane said it best, victory has defeated you.
It all comes down to fame and fortune. The artist makes the music the audience wants, becoming his audience and losing himself, then he fades into oblivion and is forgotten.
I think , socety tries to make you look mad if you have different opinions ...or ideas
It's hard to be a kid in a money-less family, when the parents won't change their lifestyles to the lesser amount of money they now have. You have to give up so much of yourself to try to make things better, as far as money goes, and it all goes down the drain anyway. It really, really sucks.
Look at that. He's only chained by his mind. His feet and arms are let free. And the chains leading to his mind are connected to negligible obstacles. It's the mind that's keeping you away from love...
Shackled to the internet. So true. So many people live their lives on the Net, they forget there's a life away from it.
I think it's more to do with stereotyping and how we view people based on a few arbitrary "defining" characteristics. Rich people are greedy, fat people only think about food, police officers are just out to stop people from having fun, and a beautiful woman is just a beautiful body. Flawed thinking.
The one think too much of the past, the other one is embarrassed by the future and the third one can't live the present day, so they all come here to take their "carpe diem" pils...
Turn off consumer mentality. We're supposed to care for the earth, not consume it.
With these drawings, as I believe most of us get what the artist is trying to say here, its clear that we really are in a dystopian society and we just don't see it because we don't want to see it. sigh...
Really? I see power stripping away dignity, strength, and freedom from helpless individuals & obliterating them
How about he who has help and access to better technology is going to produce more than one who's working with old technology on their own. It's about the inherent advantages in the class disparity that leads those who don't even see what they have as an advantage to think they're simply better, or that others are less: less clever, less creative, less able.
Love is blind. You will open the door to your heart and let them walk right in if you don't know the person and only go by appearances, and they could be hiding their intent to do you harm.
Her blood, sweat, and tears have gone down the drain as a college graduate.
Dude takes pills either for drug addiction or Rx and it alters his state of mind so that he is unable to write. Everything that comes from him goes to waste hence the trashcan
Finger nails have a nail bed, so the roses under the nail of the fingers with wedding rings are "a bed of roses". The barbed wire represents a prison you can't escape from. What they though was bliss when they got married turns out to be a life sentence. The man and woman are popping up from a toaster. They are done, dry. Their love has dried up. From her head is a spool of silk. A spring silkworm produces silk until it dies. There is a Chinese thought that likewise, giving one's thought to another person is like a spring silkworm producing silk until it dies. He has a banana on his head. There is a book called Mr. Bananahead at Home about Mr. Bananahead who tries hard to do all the chores on Mrs. Bananahead's list but can't get them right. So the symbolism on their heads means even though they both have tried to to please each other, in the end it is no good, if that is all they do. It is too consuming and they dry up as people.
The life of social media. Everyone posts looking for validation via likes. Only to find opposition from people close to them.
She is a prostitute. Her tongue holds powerful men in her prison. Bc with the ability to blackmail she has power over them with the words she speaks. The only one who pleases her is her drugs where she can find escape from what it is she does.
Ayer means yesterday in Spanish and his mind is a pencil being shaven (wasting away) because all he can focus on is the past.
She looks at him as her knight in shining armor. She sees the man as her warrior, her savior. People generally look to other people to complete them.
"What's wrong with today's society". Are you kidding? This has been around since the dawn of man. Parents arguing in front of their kids? People lying to others? Smoking is bad? If you think working 9-5 in a computer chair sucks, then imagine working five in the morning until seven at night in a coal mine during the 1800's with no safety regulations. Oh yeah #5? What's that about? Going to college destroys ideas? Nah going to college is a means of expanding your knowledge in a particular field. /rant
Exactly. It should be "What's wrong with an industrialised society".
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Almost as boring as complaints about pessimism.
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The author needs a little introspection regarding his view towards women as it has delivered another of society's failings--a deeply sexist and misogynist view of women. All women in his art are depicted as sexual objects or in the domestic sphere. He has eliminated them from all other aspects of life. This is deeply troubling and shows a severe disconnect with reality, illustrating that his illustrations deeply lack verifiable evidence of the world's problems.
If Bored Panda has an article titled "Satirical Cartoons show what's wrong w/society", its gonna be a bunch of pessimistic BS. Trust me.
This disgusts me. People should try to see the good in the world. We should be aware of the bad things but there cartoons make it seem like that's all there is.
Not only that, but they're usually rehashing exactly all the same "wrong things" that have been illustrated over and over again.
Load More Replies... I didn't see much of society, at-large, here. The drawings are hugely autobiographical. The artist is steeped in contempt, contempt for education, women, the family unit and mental health treatment. He seems to be aware of some social ills, but still trapped in those same tired conventions. I did enjoy the one linking the parasitic relationship between the courts, law enforcement and the criminals.
I feel like art captures emotions, be it in music or any other form of art. Your simply relate or you don't. This artist is amazingly talented and gets his message across. Job well done
I think that there are too many series titled "What's Wrong With Society" basically this is just complaining through drawings. What we really need are series titled "What We Can Do to Make Society Better". Something that will motivate people to make a change rather than just sitting around knowing that people suck.
I remember when I studied in Spain back in 2000 I participated in group meetings with Libertarian Anarchists. There was a magazine called Al Margen and I believe that all of the artwork in it was showcased from this particular artist. I found one of the old magazines, and a flyer from an Anarchist book fair that I attended. He's truly talented and I believe the artwork is meant to express his political views. He's from Argentina I believe. There are a bunch of snarky comments regarding his work....I'd love to see those people who have so many negative opinions artwork displayed...Oh wait!!!
All of them are thought-provoking, some of them with a clear anti-technology and anti-education bias, but my favorite is the one of the man lighting the fuse to the bomb in his chest.
Smoking is bad... Selfies mean a lot of people look at you... talking heads on TV hurt your brain... sleeping recharges your batteries.... These are hardly novel insights. (I'll admit that I don't quite get #9... I do rather like the child as an ear.)
I found it reflective of today's society and a bit sexist ( society still is LOL) every illustration told a story with many textures.
Really very provocative, the best I like the picture with the model
Though-Provoking? Please learn to proofread before posting. I'm not sure what "though-provoking" actually means. "Thought-Provoking," though, makes more sense.
The only one he missed is a complementary photo for the one with the woman climbing the money mountain to the man's crotch. It's counterpoint could depict the issue of male sexualization of the female body, as I noticed female sexualization of the male body is the only one of the two illustrated here. It could include elements of the pressure males put on females to take their clothes off for those booty selfies...I mean, they aren't taking them for ME because I'm not one of the hundreds of thirsty men who inevitably express their undying love for a set of boobs that ANYONE can buy, but only a select few are willing to reveal to the world.
Fantastic art...deep in some, dark in others; was very reflective & true! Artist was magnifico
Um, huh? I kind of got the reference with the girl taking a picture, but I was lost on all the others. Maybe have an explanation below them for those of us blind to thinking non linearly? Then again, interpreting art is my weak spot. As a technical person, I don't get art, but I appreciate it. Expecting me to understand this would be the same as expecting an artist to know how to fix a car.
Honestly, I think it's pathetic that the author didn't even take the time to spell-check the article title.
I think the artist needs to contemplate his attitudes towards women as part of "what is deeply wrong with today's society" and that is a sexist and misogynist image of women. All women in these painting are depicted only as sexual objects or in the domestic sphere. It illustrates a deep lack of awareness that is positively disgusting and a failure on the artist's part to provide a veritable social commentary.
#10 is an agenda packed one, so I think it's more of smoke and mirrors than thought provoking But the rest were though. I actually missed the message in #9
These creations become WAY MORE Graphic once the sad & horrifying truth behind them presents itself.
Which ones described pathological altruism, obesity worship, cultural Marxism and modern feminism? I couldn't find those.
Everyone claiming that these are "so deep" lol this barely scratches the surface area of greed and corruption within any structural society. These are a tired display of what most informed citizens have thought since they first began learning about their government
Ironically, no-one noticed the spelling mistake in "Though-provoking" in the headline. Unless the article was supposed to provoke though's.
8 is a good reflection on today's thinking, ignoring the beautiful cheetah to take a selfi....need to show this to my daughter.
Tocqueville's "democratic art." Art used to have quality. Standards. It was about the celebration of the beautiful or, at the very least, the genuinely visually pleasing. We no longer have standards. Now, you get THESE piles of nothing. They claim to be thought provoking, but they are anything but. They make statements that everyone over the age of, say, 11, knows for certain. Not that classical or traditional artists NEVER made statements with their art, but it was never at the expense of beauty or quality. These have no statement worth making that hasn't already been made ad nauseam, and no beauty. Zero stars.
“Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall THEY EAT OF THE FRUIT OF THEIR OWN WAY, AND BE FILLED WITH THEIR OWN DEVISES. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” [Prov 1:24-32]
Nothing about this is really anything new or thought provoking. And a lot are that pretentiously pathetic "Fire bad, technology evil, Tesla was a witch*" c**p. Only losers draw that sort of stuff. *Yes, I know it's supposed to go "Edison was a witch" but Edison stole a lot of his ideas from people like Tesla, so I'm correcting the quote.
If for nothing else, it deserves an upvote for not using the facebook cliché again.
These are frigging amazing. Not sure if it's the nostalgia thinking, but this type of commentary/confrontational art felt like was fairly common in the 90s and probably 70s. Feels like there is less of it now or maybe it's being drowned out by mainstream ideas.
"What's wrong with today's society". Are you kidding? This has been around since the dawn of man. Parents arguing in front of their kids? People lying to others? Smoking is bad? If you think working 9-5 in a computer chair sucks, then imagine working five in the morning until seven at night in a coal mine during the 1800's with no safety regulations. Oh yeah #5? What's that about? Going to college destroys ideas? Nah going to college is a means of expanding your knowledge in a particular field. /rant
Exactly. It should be "What's wrong with an industrialised society".
Load More Replies... Almost as boring as complaints about pessimism.
Load More Replies... The author needs a little introspection regarding his view towards women as it has delivered another of society's failings--a deeply sexist and misogynist view of women. All women in his art are depicted as sexual objects or in the domestic sphere. He has eliminated them from all other aspects of life. This is deeply troubling and shows a severe disconnect with reality, illustrating that his illustrations deeply lack verifiable evidence of the world's problems.
If Bored Panda has an article titled "Satirical Cartoons show what's wrong w/society", its gonna be a bunch of pessimistic BS. Trust me.
This disgusts me. People should try to see the good in the world. We should be aware of the bad things but there cartoons make it seem like that's all there is.
Not only that, but they're usually rehashing exactly all the same "wrong things" that have been illustrated over and over again.
Load More Replies... I didn't see much of society, at-large, here. The drawings are hugely autobiographical. The artist is steeped in contempt, contempt for education, women, the family unit and mental health treatment. He seems to be aware of some social ills, but still trapped in those same tired conventions. I did enjoy the one linking the parasitic relationship between the courts, law enforcement and the criminals.
I feel like art captures emotions, be it in music or any other form of art. Your simply relate or you don't. This artist is amazingly talented and gets his message across. Job well done
I think that there are too many series titled "What's Wrong With Society" basically this is just complaining through drawings. What we really need are series titled "What We Can Do to Make Society Better". Something that will motivate people to make a change rather than just sitting around knowing that people suck.
I remember when I studied in Spain back in 2000 I participated in group meetings with Libertarian Anarchists. There was a magazine called Al Margen and I believe that all of the artwork in it was showcased from this particular artist. I found one of the old magazines, and a flyer from an Anarchist book fair that I attended. He's truly talented and I believe the artwork is meant to express his political views. He's from Argentina I believe. There are a bunch of snarky comments regarding his work....I'd love to see those people who have so many negative opinions artwork displayed...Oh wait!!!
All of them are thought-provoking, some of them with a clear anti-technology and anti-education bias, but my favorite is the one of the man lighting the fuse to the bomb in his chest.
Smoking is bad... Selfies mean a lot of people look at you... talking heads on TV hurt your brain... sleeping recharges your batteries.... These are hardly novel insights. (I'll admit that I don't quite get #9... I do rather like the child as an ear.)
I found it reflective of today's society and a bit sexist ( society still is LOL) every illustration told a story with many textures.
Really very provocative, the best I like the picture with the model
Though-Provoking? Please learn to proofread before posting. I'm not sure what "though-provoking" actually means. "Thought-Provoking," though, makes more sense.
The only one he missed is a complementary photo for the one with the woman climbing the money mountain to the man's crotch. It's counterpoint could depict the issue of male sexualization of the female body, as I noticed female sexualization of the male body is the only one of the two illustrated here. It could include elements of the pressure males put on females to take their clothes off for those booty selfies...I mean, they aren't taking them for ME because I'm not one of the hundreds of thirsty men who inevitably express their undying love for a set of boobs that ANYONE can buy, but only a select few are willing to reveal to the world.
Fantastic art...deep in some, dark in others; was very reflective & true! Artist was magnifico
Um, huh? I kind of got the reference with the girl taking a picture, but I was lost on all the others. Maybe have an explanation below them for those of us blind to thinking non linearly? Then again, interpreting art is my weak spot. As a technical person, I don't get art, but I appreciate it. Expecting me to understand this would be the same as expecting an artist to know how to fix a car.
Honestly, I think it's pathetic that the author didn't even take the time to spell-check the article title.
I think the artist needs to contemplate his attitudes towards women as part of "what is deeply wrong with today's society" and that is a sexist and misogynist image of women. All women in these painting are depicted only as sexual objects or in the domestic sphere. It illustrates a deep lack of awareness that is positively disgusting and a failure on the artist's part to provide a veritable social commentary.
#10 is an agenda packed one, so I think it's more of smoke and mirrors than thought provoking But the rest were though. I actually missed the message in #9
These creations become WAY MORE Graphic once the sad & horrifying truth behind them presents itself.
Which ones described pathological altruism, obesity worship, cultural Marxism and modern feminism? I couldn't find those.
Everyone claiming that these are "so deep" lol this barely scratches the surface area of greed and corruption within any structural society. These are a tired display of what most informed citizens have thought since they first began learning about their government
Ironically, no-one noticed the spelling mistake in "Though-provoking" in the headline. Unless the article was supposed to provoke though's.
8 is a good reflection on today's thinking, ignoring the beautiful cheetah to take a selfi....need to show this to my daughter.
Tocqueville's "democratic art." Art used to have quality. Standards. It was about the celebration of the beautiful or, at the very least, the genuinely visually pleasing. We no longer have standards. Now, you get THESE piles of nothing. They claim to be thought provoking, but they are anything but. They make statements that everyone over the age of, say, 11, knows for certain. Not that classical or traditional artists NEVER made statements with their art, but it was never at the expense of beauty or quality. These have no statement worth making that hasn't already been made ad nauseam, and no beauty. Zero stars.
“Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall THEY EAT OF THE FRUIT OF THEIR OWN WAY, AND BE FILLED WITH THEIR OWN DEVISES. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” [Prov 1:24-32]
Nothing about this is really anything new or thought provoking. And a lot are that pretentiously pathetic "Fire bad, technology evil, Tesla was a witch*" c**p. Only losers draw that sort of stuff. *Yes, I know it's supposed to go "Edison was a witch" but Edison stole a lot of his ideas from people like Tesla, so I'm correcting the quote.
If for nothing else, it deserves an upvote for not using the facebook cliché again.
These are frigging amazing. Not sure if it's the nostalgia thinking, but this type of commentary/confrontational art felt like was fairly common in the 90s and probably 70s. Feels like there is less of it now or maybe it's being drowned out by mainstream ideas.
