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“Follow The Poppies“
Guest blog post written by Joe Thorogood, originally published on followtheblog.org here.
Full text below.
‘Follow the thing’ research is sometimes undertaken to ‘pop the bubble’ of ‘them and us’ narratives. You choose a commodity that a symbol of unity for an ‘us’ defining itself in opposition to a ‘them’, and see if its supply chains cross borders, mix up those ‘us and them’ distinctions, and then argue that people have more in common… This is popular approach in the UK. There’s a famous quote by the sociologist Stuart Hall (1992) about the ‘outside histories’ that can be found ‘inside’ the histories of iconic ‘British’ things (see the BBCTV ‘Horrible Histories’ song here). Banksy tried to make this point about Union Jack bunting (Made in India) in 2012 (see our page on this art-activism here). This guest post was written by a former ‘Geographies of material culture’ student who went on to undertake a Masters thesis on the ‘symbolism and alter-geopolitics of the remembrance poppy’ (Thorogood 2018, p.78). Part way through his research, we published what he had found. The focus of your ‘follow the thing’ research should, ideally, be something that’s not been researched before, and something whose supply chains you know little or nothing about (see our ‘who made my stuff?’ detective work advice here). You’re not looking to illustrate a conclusion that you already have in mind. You’re looking to be surprised. That’s why red Remembrance Day poppies were such a fascinating choice for Joe. This couldn’t be a straightforward ‘pop the bubble’ narrative. Poppies are worn on ‘Armistice Day’ (also called ‘Remembrance Day’) which takes place in 11 November each year to mark the ending of the First World War in 1918. Poppies were chosen as a symbol of Remembrance because they had grown spontaneously in the churned-up fields where soldiers had fought and died on the Western Front (see Imperial War Museum nd, np). The Royal British Legion – which makes Remembrance Day poppies in the UK and sells them throughout the British Commonwealth and to British migrant (a.k.a. ‘expat’) communities – says that wearing one today honours everyone who serves to ‘defend our democratic freedoms and way of life’ from the UK and its Commonwealth countries. It doesn’t ‘glorify war’ – they say – but signals ‘Remembrance and hope for a peaceful future’. More than that, it ‘unites people of all faiths, cultures, and backgrounds’ (Royal British Legion nd, np) and recognises that ‘our democratic freedoms’ have been fought for by the diverse peoples of the British Empire, and the Commonwealth of nations that followed. There’s a diverse and inclusive ‘us’ here. But what if some of these poppies are made by former British and Commonwealth armed forces personnel now in prison? What if they – at least in part – contain materials sourced from ‘our’ former enemies? And what if wearing a poppy on Remembrance Day offends them because it symbolises other historical, poppy-related conflict and pain inflicted by ‘us’? This example of ‘follow the thing’ detective work is full of surprises. See what you think!
Page reference: Joe Thorogood (2014) Follow The Poppies. followthethings.com/follow-the-poppies.shtml (last accessed <insert date here>)
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes.
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