Demotional Posters

Demotional Poster Subjects Bring Comedy Into The Room

The typical demotional poster includes an image on top of a black border-type background. Beneath the image is a subject line in large print, and beneath that is a sentence or two in small print.

Don't forget to read the small print. Although the images alone may be funny, the joke is usually found in the lines beneath it.

It's interesting to compare the motivational or inspirational posters to the de-motivational and uninspiring. For instance, "simplicity" is the subject of both types. One of the serious ones includes shells on a beach and the Japanese characters that represent the word "simplicity." One of the not-so-serious includes a drawing of a triangle. The legs are labeled 4cm and 3cm, and the hypotenuse is labeled X. The text reads, Find x. The x is circled. An arrow points to it from a handwritten phrase saying Here it is. The caption reads, The simplest solutions are often the cleverest. They are also usually wrong. Is it funny? We think so. Is it art? Probably not.

These posters might not end up in an art gallery, but they could end up in a museum display. They may help to define this era of human history.

You might say that demotional posters are a kind of satire. Satire has historically been an important part of comedy. The early Greek comedians might be responsible. According to Aristotle, Comedy is a representation of laughable people and involves some kind of blunder or ugliness which does not cause pain or disaster. Pain and disaster were saved for the more dramatic plays of the time.

Drama and comedy have not changed that much over the course of the last 2000 years. The period of Greek comedy known as New Comedy relied heavily on specific characters like the domineering parent. We see those same characters today in movies like "Meet the Parents."

The thing about comedy, both then and now, is that it pokes fun at society and everyday life without being critical or making an effort to "improve" anything. Although demotional posters may seem somewhat critical, they certainly are not trying to improve anything.

Many people think of motivational posters as self-improvement tools. You see them hanging in psychologists' offices. While we could all benefit from some kind of self-improvement, there are times when you just need to relax.

We live in a fast-paced, achievement-driven society. Taking a break from all of that for a while does not make us underachievers. It might make us live longer.

Think of your demotional poster as your daily medicine. When you get bored with it or when it stops making you smile, buy a new one.