The Yes Men are a fascinating phenomenon that have emerged in the age of information. Throughout history, we see the role that tricksters have played on society. Jesters would liven the moods of the poor souls living in the dark ages with wise insights about the world, magicians would revolutionize the technology of theater, and now, we have the imposters of the evil, the Yes Men. This duo has earned a name for themselves by impersonating representatives of major companies and spreading false information through a combination of performance art and trickery.
So, as I've talked about them, who are the Yes Men? Their names are Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno. Of course, these names are fake and are used for the purposes of their exploits, and their real names are Igor Vamos and Jacques Servin. The two met roughly twenty years ago and started their scheme with a fake world trade organization. Vamos describes this first mock website to be nothing more than an Onion like representation of WTO's website. But, many members of the press found the site and failed to read enough to realize that the site was a fake. The two received invitations to come and speak at conferences whereupon they realized the opportunity they had discovered. From there, it was a matter of creating persona's to assume and knowing enough to sound like they were legitimate for long enough to lie on television, or to the press.
Perhaps the most mind boggling aspect of this is the simplicity. These two fellows made a fake website, which can be done by anyone with access to a computer and the internet. From there, it was a matter well planned, but albeit simple lies. At one point, the yes men pose as representatives of Exxon at a conference where they present an alternative fuel called "Vivoleum", which was made from the remnants of people. They presented a candle made of a janitor, so they said, and lit it before they were escorted off the stage and out of the event.
The Yes Men also presented a fake product called the Survivaball, which was an inflatable ball that could be worn as a suit. It was a mock product, presented to Halliburton as a joke. It was said to withstand any and all natural disaster of any kind. This even exposed an important theme that has made these guys' work really amazing, because of the responses to this product. The duo often presents ludicrous ideas to the people who operate these corporations, but the tragedy is that the audience commonly has no clue that they are being deceived. After being shown the Survivaball, the Yes Men were asked about the ball's defenses against terrorism, to which they promptly assured that the ball would have rocket launchers, RPG's, and such. At another conference, the two talked with a man who listened to their joke proposal with the relief to find people who aren't so concerned with safety, and care more about efficiency.
Beyond their simple statement, the duo would go on to falsely represent Dow chemicals on BBC news where they would end up costing the company nearly three billion dollars in stock value. The share values bounced back, but this act shocked a great deal of very rich people. Considering their tenacity of getting in the face of the one percent, it reminds me of the same effect of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds that shocked the world when broadcast. These guys lied so well that they cost a major corporation, responsible for the death of thousands of people overseas, three billion dollars in value.
So, considering all of the things that these guys have done, it's clear they have a common theme to their act, and that their comedy is of a very specific kind. But, this begs the question, what makes it better than watching "Up in Smoke" or "Animal House"? These films are unique because of how pure their comedy is. What I mean is this: these films set us up to expect the Yes Men being thrown out of these events for screwing around and trying to mess with people. But, instead, the audience sees that the people being tricked haven't just been tricked, they're so caught up in their own little bubble that they can't see an obvious lie. This means that the comedy of this film isn't staged, it isn't an act presupposed by a writer who thought you'd think this was funny. The Yes Men have found a bridge that connect comedy and reality together.
I feel it appropriate to explain the importance of integrating comedy with real life. I believe that it is important to maintain a positive attitude about your own situation, and to never take that situation too seriously. It only seems to distract one from doing what they need to do, by making them miserable instead of able to confront their conflict. Finding comedy in life has always proven to be an effective method of maintaining a degree of levity in one's life by being able to laugh at things even though they may otherwise make you upset. The Yes Men have tapped into looking at the horrors of how big companies completely disregard the many human lives they affect in a way that makes the wealthy people look dumb, which they clearly are.
Commonly, the pair either spread a false rumor of overwhelming good, or realistically bad. In multiple cases, the two would go onto television posing as members of oil companies saying that they wanted their companies to liquidate unnecessary subsidiaries and use that money to change the direction of the companies. Of course, they are met with the expected reaction, the anchors are often confused by the sudden difference in what the companies have said and done in the recent past, and what these imposters are saying now. But, the point of their action is not to change the mind of the reporter, but to spread these hypothetical ideas. If they go on television and tell the world that BP is going to donate half of it's wealth to fixing the problems they've caused, people are going to consider this, regardless of the statements truth.
Alternatively, the duo commonly goes to conferences and presents things that are meant to be ludicrously bad. Their intent in this is to show people how awful and inhumane their ideas are, but the result has instead been an exercise in "What rich executive has the worst thing to say?". People's responses to the survivaball were all in regards to its defenses against terrorism. This shows us that all people were concerned with was this idea of terrorism, and whether or not the product would be able to make a viable profit from it. The fake product was intended to protect anyone from any natural disaster, and was an attempt to draw climate threatening companies to consider global warming. But, instead, all they cared about was whether or not these could be sold to protect people from terrorists. It's hard to imagine fixing our problems when those who have the power to do so are looking in the wrong direction. Terrorism is no walk in the park, and by all means it should be stopped, but what's the point of stopping terrorism if we're all going to die from natural disasters anyway?
Getting back on point, the Yes Men are a pair to watch because, firstly, their films are funny. Getting to look at how easily fooled the rich owners of these companies are gives a renewing sense of hope in those who feel like big corporations are unstoppable. They have numbers, but by no means do they have brains. And, the Yes Men also happen to be spreading very positive messages using the power of companies as their medium. People want to know what oil companies are doing, and they have capitalized on that to appeal to the very demographic that poses a threat to us in regards to global warming. The Yes Men really are trying to fix with world, and they're doing it as a comedy. I fully support them.
1. GoingUndergroundRT. "Yes Men in Great Parody of BP & Shell Giving up Tax Relief!" YouTube. YouTube, 01 Apr. 2015. Web. 04 May 2016.
2. The Yes Men. Dir. Mike Bonnano and Andy Bichlbaum. 2003. DVD.
3. The Yes Men Fix the World. Dir. Mike Bonnano and Andy Bichlbaum. 2009. DVD.
4. The Yes Men are Revolting. Dir. Mike Bonnano and Andy Bichlbaum. 2014. DVD.
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