Intervention poster. Public pic pending

 For my poster I really wanted to emphasize reflection on mental health in the effect of capitalism. Often times people appear well balanced when their struggle with mental health goes much deeper than just individual struggle. This has become so common and prevalent among the Working class that keep capitalism afloat. Mental health struggles can stem from hereditary conditions to an effect of environment. That being said the physical and emotional demands of our position in capitalistic society were not made for people who already struggle with mental health, disabilities or any other factors that cannot be beneficial to exploitation of the working class. 

In John Berger ‘ways of seeing’ he states, “the pursuit of individual happiness has been acknowledged as a universal right. Yet the existing social conditions make the individual feel powerless. He lives in the contradiction between what he is and what he would like to be. Either he then becomes fully conscious of the contradiction and it’s causes, and so joins the political struggle for a full democracy, which entails, amongst other things, the overthrow of capitalism; or else he lives, continually subject to an envy which, compounded with his sense of powerlessness, dissolves into recurrent day-dreams.” (Pg 148). To break down what Berger is saying you have to understand that our idea of image is sold to us with publicity and consumerism. To sell things we need to project this idea of a happier more successful you. In order to keep people working to uphold the top beneficials of capitalism we need to be sold this idea that we can either be that beneficiary or be happy being the little guy. But the struggle of being overworked and under payed, the effects of socioeconomic disadvantages, is in constant battle with what we are being sold. Berger suggests that people who realize this either choose to keep this ideal day dream at personal cost, or come to the conclusion that the only fix is a change to the system. In my opinion and experience both drain you mentally in different ways. 

In my project the text on the mirror is to allow the viewer to truly reflect on their own state of happiness and struggle. Although the message of why that may be is open ended as a stand alone poster, self reflection on your own mental state may lead to many of the same root issues.

WARNING! people in mirror may be struggling more than they appear.