The Worst View In The World

I’m staying in the hotel with the worst view in the world.

It’s the tagline for The Walled Off Hotel, an immersive art experience and accommodation designed by the anonymous artist Banksy and positioned immediately in front of the border wall separating Israel and Palestine.

There’s a lot to be said about the occupation and apartheid happening here in the Occupied Territories of Palestine, but I’ll spare you most of those details for the moment. What I will say is that Banksy opening a hotel here in Bethlehem, famous for it’s inhospitable accommodation arrangements since the birth of Jesus Christ in a stable some 2000 years ago, is an absolute power move.

I likely never would have come here, or immersed myself in learning deeply about one of humanity’s most enduring and violent conflicts, if Banksy hadn't had the gumption to weaponize artistic expression against the ongoing crusades of the unjust and the oppressive.

“Art should comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Alright then, where was I?

Ah yes, The Psychedelic Satire Festival - this is my power move against the ongoing injustices and absurdities in our world.

Reality has become so twisted, up for debate, and gaslit by various actors in our world that almost nobody knows what’s actually happening right now. I certainly don’t pretend to have a handle on what’s going on at large in the global village. But I do know that cartoonishly misrepresenting a situation, filling the funhouse with smoke and mirrors and directing attention at an egregiously obvious distortion of the truth, may help people to more readily discern what is not happening, which will hopefully lead people to more truthfully assess what is happening. Or something like that.

If you’re not completely baffled, then you don’t fully understand.

The festival is kicking off July 21st, 2022, and will be a hybrid online / in-person event. The deadline for submitting a piece is July 10, 2022.

The broad strokes approach is two-fold:

1.There will be an online screening of the videos and skits selected for participation in the festival, consisting of both vertical videos (Instagram Reels / Tik Tok videos) as well as an online screening of horizontal videos selected for participation.

2.There will be corresponding in-person screenings wherever we can get them organized. I will be personally hosting an in-person Psychedelic Satire Festival premiere, details TBA. The festival will then tour over the next year, popping up in different cities around the globe. I will personally organize and attend as many of these screenings as possible, in as many locations as possible.

The details and technical specs are available on my website, and more info will be rolled out on an ongoing basis as we approach the festival launch date.

Please directly respond to this email or hit me up in the DM’s of @mycopreneurpodcast instagram if you wish to participate or support with the Psychedelic Satire Festival

“Confusion is the best form of communication.” - Salvador Dali

DW