Thursday, August 7, 2014

Peters World Map




It is ingrained in the privileged to have a “top-down” view of things. If things are higher or on top, they tend to have greater importance. And, things with less importance tend to be lower or out of sight. To illustrate this point - tell me about the last luxury penthouse suite or fancy restaurant you saw in the basement of a skyscraper?
The question posed here is – why does north have to be on top? Why not south? Who decides these things?






Could a subtle nuance in a map communicate something much deeper than the locations of land masses? How does the upside down map strike you? If the US was at the bottom of the map and countries like Argentina, Chile, and South Africa were at the top the psychological brainwashing of Western and European supremacy would be challenged.

So much of our culture is structured around the idea that we are entitled to certain benefits and luxuries because we are American, the same way the Europeans felt that everything was theirs to pillage and conquer, including nations like Africa that is purposely shown on maps as much smaller than its actual size. I'm going to have to order myself one of those Peters Projection World Maps so I can hang on my wall and start looking at the world in more accurate proportions.






















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