Basic Instinct – The Power Of The Crotch Shot

September 27, 2012 6 Comments


Shock value. It’s probably the reason you clicked on this link or opened this email.

There is value in doing something that has never been done before.

It will get you attention.

Sometimes we are afraid of attention, so we keep our heads down, not wanting to shock anyone, offend anyone, or get noticed in anyway.

There is a major problem with this.

My premise is that unless you offend somebody it is impossible to change anything.

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About GeoffTalbot: Geoff Talbot is the founder of this Creative Blog. He loves writing words that encourage creative people.

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  • http://32in32.com/ Pauline Hawkins

    Good point!

  • Sidris

    Hi, Geoff. I’ve been sporadically following your blog and what I think is your personal progress since before it was renamed Seven Sentences. If you ever need it, I’m certain I have a full archive of at least the last two years. This isn’t my reason for commenting, just a slight introduction.

    Yes, the time usually does arrive for each of us when we have to speak our truths and those who take offense be damned but as I’ve grown older I’m finally convinced the best route to take, as much as possible, is to speak our truths with kindness aforefront. It’s when we know we are going to deliberately offend others that we really should know the outcome may very realistically be eternal alienation.

    For the sake of brevity I should have probably sufficed all this to say “strike a balance” as much as you can unless and until you know beyond all doubt that the loss of friendship and love no longer matters.

    • http://sevensentences.com/ Geoff Talbot

      Thanks so much friend. Yes kindness and truth combined…its important? What about kindness without truth?

  • http://philrood.blogspot.com/ Phil Rood

    I’m afraid I’ve gotta disagree with some of this. I’ll give you the idea that shock value has value in getting attention, but it always seems cheap and easy. Shocking people gets you attention, but I think at the end of the day you will be seen as a novelty, a huckster and a swindler who got attention, not for being talented, but for screaming “Hey, look at me!!” through some kind of shocking content. That said, if you’re making a statement through your art, and the statement is true to you and your artistic voice, and that statement happens to shock people, I think that has value. Basically, it’s the difference between “South Park” who is making satiric commentary on a news topic or society issue, and “Family Guy” who is basically saying “Hey look at me, I’m telling dick jokes on TV”.

    • http://sevensentences.com/ Geoff Talbot

      Fear call Phil… maybe two sides of the same coin… Offending and shocking can be two different tools in the artists kit bag. My point was really that “if you are going” to say anything of value with your art… You will almost certainly offend someone.

      • http://philrood.blogspot.com/ Phil Rood

        that’s a solid point Geoff… I took it as the idea of being abandoning your artistic voice in the name of being shocking and offensive, just to get attention. That’s a trend I see more and more of and it is troublesome to me. You’re making a great point that art, no matter how honest and smart it may be, will offend somebody. I agree that we have to put away any hangups about this if we’re going to grow as artists