SOS
Title
SOS
Description
This cartoon is the brilliant takes on how emergency situations are handled by bureaucratic organizations. Here, the only responses of the bureaucrat to a person in distress are either the literal use of the instruction manual as a rescue device or the conversion of the SOS signals into paragraphs of instructions and regulations. This is what Merton would call “trained incapacity.”
Creator
Rozantsev, V.
Date
1970s
Source
Rutgers
Relation
Rights
Source: Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications
Publisher
Rutgers
Contributor
Rutgers
Format
Medium: Poster
Language
Russian
Type
Artwork
Identifier
Art, Satire, Cartoons, Bureaucracy, SOS, Trained Incapacity, Emergency
Coverage
Russia
Files
Reference
Rozantsev, V., SOS, Rutgers, 1970s
Cite As
Rozantsev, V., “SOS,” Virtual Museum of Public Service, accessed April 23, 2024, https://vmps.omeka.net/items/show/479.