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Political satirists The Yes Men to speak March 16

Posted 3/3/2011

photo courtesy of The Yes Men.

Whether it be roasting Former President George W. Bush, or skewering major corporations such as Dow Chemical, the work of The Yes Men consistently draws international attention. The Yes Men’s Mike Bonanno will bring the duo’s unorthodox political satire to Nashville on Wednesday, March 16, with a lecture at 7 p.m. in Room 103 of Wilson Hall. 

This lecture is part of StudioVU: The Vanderbilt Department of Art Lecture Series 2011-2012.

The Yes Men are an activist duo consisting of Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, who have “gained acclaim and notoriety for exposing dehumanizing business practices and helping to keep critical issues in the international spotlight,” according to their website.

Through their two documentary films (The Yes Men, 2004, and The Yes Men Fix the World, 2009), fake websites and elaborate pranks, they have become legend by creatively protesting what they consider to be problematic social issues. 

“What we do is a bit like a mash-up between Borat and Michael Moore. It's a form of public political satire. Creative Protest. We have pompously come up with a more specific term for it: Identity Correction. Unlike identity theft, which small-time criminals practice with dishonest intent, Identity Correction is the art of impersonating big-time criminals to humiliate them for conspiring against the public good,” according to the pair’s artist statement.

Live presentations by The Yes Men may include discussions of their legendary hoaxes and “identity corrections” through storytelling and multimedia, often featuring props used in the pranks and unreleased footage from their recent and classic exploits.

All Studio VU lectures are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact The Vanderbilt Department of Art at 615-343-7241.