Gnome Liberation Front the Plight

Gnome Liberation Front The plight of gnomes is a cause of great concern to an organization of gnome thieves who call themselves Front de Liberation des Nains de Jardin (FLNJ)- Gnome Liberation Front (GLF). This paper is devoted to the discussion of the agenda of the GLF, its goals and the probability that it's actions are a form of culture jamming thus giving it a deeper, more significant perspective.

GNOME LIBERATION FRONT: The Gnome Liberation Front first came to scene in mid-90's in France where they served to liberate gnomes from the harsh treatment they were subjected to. The organization has spread all over Europe having their members instated in France, Belgium, Turkey and so on. The organization became dormant when a French court fined its ringleader and handed him a suspended prison sentence for stealing about 150 gnomes. But it was sighted again in September 1998, when 11 of them were found dangling by their necks under a bridge.

A letter found nearby said "By the time you read these few words," it continued, "We will no longer be part of your selfish world, which it has been our unhappy task to decorate." In the town of Saint-Die-des-Vosges these thieves brutally seized 80 garden gnomes from their owners and lined them on the steps of a local church the following sunday as if waiting to go to a mass.

"French police are trying to find homes for over 80 garden gnomes kidnapped in eastern France earlier this year."(Caroline Wyatt) In yet another incident the GLF stole about 20 gnomes at the gnome exhibition in Paris and the Front's Paris wing said, "We demand.. that garden gnomes are no longer ridiculed and that they be released into their natural habitat" and also threatened to strike again if their demands weren't fulfilled.(Garden Gnome Liberation Front strikes Paris show).

THE PROBABLE COMMENCEMENT OF GLF: There are many explanations as to how the GLF came into being and I shall discuss a few of them. The European gnomes in mid 90s are thought to have mobilized as a result of big business and elitism. Germany manufactured gnomes at far higher prices than its neighboring countries, which resulted in their proliferation. The Czech made gnomes in Germany were targeted and thought of as a disease plaguing gardens.

"The FLNJ originally fashioned itself on the eco-minded German Grune Party, fitting the gnome's traditional relationship with nature. Besides this, during the more famous French Revolution, the red Phrygian cap was the recognised symbol of liberation. But behind their open dislike of hyper-protectionism was a thinly-veiled hatred of kitsch.

"They are ugly, and we have eradicated them from Alencon!" announced the first FLNJ release, claiming responsibility for the disappearance of 200 gnomes from the Normandy town." (Rob Irving) Another article states that the garden gnomes were once considered a status symbol in France. The elite got just another excuse to display their wealth through installing such figurines outdoor. It is also possible that this organization started off just as a practical joke by the less privileged or middle class people disgusted with the aristocracy.

They attributed human characteristics to these gnomes such as grief and pain to ridicule the aristocracy for whom the mundane and more material things in life such as gnomes held more value than actual human beings.

The attention that these people got from stealing gnomes might have inspired them to continue with their pranks which have now magnified to such an extent that they have their networks spread all over Europe as now the gnomes are being perceived as not only the victims of the upper class but of all of society. THE FUTURE OF LIBERATED GNOMES: These gnomes liberated by the GLF are left in forests or beside lakes etc.

At times they are repainted blue indicating the sky and green indicating the grass, their clownish red noses are covered up. These gnomes are liberated in a ceremony, which involves techno music, fire works and, police suspect, drugs. More than 40 gnomes stolen and liberated by a shadowy French underground movement were found covered with dust in cupboards by a police chief hunting for the thieves. Michel Klein, the local police chief said, "The liberators have failed.

The gnomes are now going to spend the rest of their lives locked up in dusty cupboard."(Philip Delves Broughton) So the gnomes being liberated are not being put to any useful purpose but are being left homeless to litter the forests and lakes and in some cases streets. THE PROBABLE AGENDA OF GLF: In Britian it is said that the GLF might be involved in the re-sale of the gnomes stolen by them and money is the only objective of this organization.

However that is not how the objectives of GLF are perceived in the rest of Europe. There appears to be a hidden message or higher purpose behind all these gnome robberies. The Gnome Liberation Front appears to practice a form of culture jamming. Culture jamming is a form of political communication, which has emerged as rebellion against the commercial isolation of public life where people are more interested in identifying with brand names than focusing on the problems surrounding their commercial environment.

The actions of the Gnome Liberation Front are in line with the opinions of Kalle lasn according to whom "the best culture jam is one that introduces a meta-meme, a two-level message that punctures a specific commercial image, but does so in a way that challenges some larger aspect of the political culture of corporate domination. Another is "Media Carta" which calls for a serious charter to make the public airwaves truly public, and not just a corporate domain.

Another is the call to rewrite the corporate "genetic code" so that corporations have fewer licenses to become social and environmental predators, and more responsibility to contribute to the well being of society."(Culture Jamming) In short if you want to get your message across you need to say it in the most bizarre way possible.

When people read articles about the commercialization of our culture, they remember it only for a short period of time before getting back to their usual routine of watching TV and hanging out in McDonalds or any other fast food restaurant. "This is how the spell is broken" says Lasn, "This is how the revolution begins." (Lasn, 421) However, when garden gnomes get stolen from exhibitions and end up hanging from bridges, people.