Times Square in the Era of Post-truth Politics

Abstract

In the era of 'Post-truth Politics,' political and activist statements related to different regions on Earth started to appear on the big digital screens of Times Square, New York City. In this paper, we investigate this phenomenon and focus on the role of the screen content (semantics) and the screen material property (i.e. light) in conveying the message and construction of the notion of 'reality.' Four such examples are 'Free Balochistan,', '3 Billboards', 'Midnight Moment' and 'Call for Trump's Impeachment.' These four respective billboards are explored and ultimately outline how billboards may be used with different intentions. Although the examples we depict may not seem commercial, we suggest that they are still some form of advertising. To support this argument, we include the aspects which make Times Square spatially different from other similar public spaces. On our preliminary data collection and analysis of light measurements in Times Square, we found that during nighttime, the Square is occasionally brighter than daytime; seemingly the intensity of light during nighttime contributes to a change of time perception materially. We suggest that the amount of nighttime illumination in Times Square may contribute and augment the transmission of the messages contained within.