2008 Woodie Awards
The Yes Men: Masters of identity correction
Jennifer Cox
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Andy Bichlbaum has a friendly voice and a kind way about him. His black and orange plaid is pleasing to the eye and his smile is sincere. Judging by his calm and demure appearance, one would never guess what a devious and daring mind he possesses. Like Superman, Spiderman, and other great super heroes before him, his day job is only the tip of the iceberg of who he really is and what he really does. Bichlbaum and his partner, Mike Bonanno, are also The Yes Men: a group of activists trying to shake up the world by practicing the art of "identity correction." Their website describes it as "honest people impersonating big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else."
On Friday, April 13th, Bichlbaum addressed a crowd full of enthusiastic students in the Given Auditorium. He told stories and showed clips of his adventures as a Yes Man. "Ten years ago, we wanted to make a difference politically," he said with a shrug. What began as a joke website that sarcastically mocked the World Trade Organization launched a phenomenon greater than Bichlbaum or anyone expected. Though they had created the site in response to the Seattle protests of 1999 and it was clear that it was a joke, the WTO put out a press release calling the mock site "deplorable." In the spirit of the "no press is bad press," notion, The Yes Men took this as an opportunity to get their website out there. "We got our website noticed by Google and other search engines. At the time, there actually were other search engines," Bichlbaum said, causing the audience to laugh heavily.
Strangely enough, the Yes Men's website soon opened many doors for them to invent and cultivate identity correction. They began getting invited to conferences and meetings as the WTO. They attended, giving lectures that featured props as ridiculous as a large golden phallace (to control the slaves), and messages as unbelievable as "bringing back slavery will actually help Africa." However comedic their performances were, the funniest fact was that most people did not register that they were frauds. At one conference, they decided to announce, acting as the WTO, that they were disbanding. The people proceeded to congratulate them, saying they were doing the right thing.
On Friday, April 13th, Bichlbaum addressed a crowd full of enthusiastic students in the Given Auditorium. He told stories and showed clips of his adventures as a Yes Man. "Ten years ago, we wanted to make a difference politically," he said with a shrug. What began as a joke website that sarcastically mocked the World Trade Organization launched a phenomenon greater than Bichlbaum or anyone expected. Though they had created the site in response to the Seattle protests of 1999 and it was clear that it was a joke, the WTO put out a press release calling the mock site "deplorable." In the spirit of the "no press is bad press," notion, The Yes Men took this as an opportunity to get their website out there. "We got our website noticed by Google and other search engines. At the time, there actually were other search engines," Bichlbaum said, causing the audience to laugh heavily.
Strangely enough, the Yes Men's website soon opened many doors for them to invent and cultivate identity correction. They began getting invited to conferences and meetings as the WTO. They attended, giving lectures that featured props as ridiculous as a large golden phallace (to control the slaves), and messages as unbelievable as "bringing back slavery will actually help Africa." However comedic their performances were, the funniest fact was that most people did not register that they were frauds. At one conference, they decided to announce, acting as the WTO, that they were disbanding. The people proceeded to congratulate them, saying they were doing the right thing.
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