3 Ways T-Shirts Are Like Ventriloquist Dummies
Have you ever seen a ventriloquist and his dummy performing live on stage? If not, you are missing a real treat. Ventriloquism is an art form not completely unlike T-shirt printing. In fact, the two art forms actually have quite a few things in common. If you're not sure we're telling the truth, keep reading.
Ventriloquism relies on the ability of the ventriloquist to convince an audience that his inanimate dummy is doing the talking while its lips are moving. Do the job right and the ventriloquist can completely captivate an audience with an act that can be equal parts crude and classy. As for tee shirts, here are three ways they are like ventriloquist dummies:
1. They Can Make You Laugh
Ventriloquism is almost always performed as comedy. As such, a well-designed and manipulated dummy can make you laugh your pants off. The comedy works best when the ventriloquist tailors his jokes to the look and personality of the dummy. If you are familiar with popular ventriloquists, you know there are some truly funny ones out there.
Likewise, funny T-shirts can make you laugh as well. A well-crafted message presented in just the right way can have you chuckling for hours on end. The best funny T-shirts can leave you in stitches. It is all about finding the right way to present the right message to the right group of people.
2. They Can Offend You
The other side of funny T-shirts are those that offend. To be clear, not every T-shirt someone finds offensive is purposely intended to be that way. Some people just don't have a sense of humor or they take themselves too seriously. You can hardly say a word to them without being offensive.
On the other hand, some T-shirts are purposely designed to offend. Designers want to project a certain message for the sole purpose of getting a rise out of people. For right or wrong, it is what it is.
Ventriloquists work in the same world. Sometimes their dummies are cracking innocent jokes that offend people even though that was not the intent. Other times they are purposely trying to be provocative. Their provocations become offensive when spoken from the mouths of inanimate dummies.
3. They Let You Speak Freely
Pay attention to a ventriloquist and you will notice that he tries to separate his own personality from that of the dummy's. Good ventriloquists are capable of projecting an entirely unique identity onto their dummies to the extent that the audience actually views them as two separate people.
This is pretty cool inasmuch as it allows the ventriloquist to speak freely. Things he would otherwise never say in public can be said through the voice of the dummy and no one cares. A good ventriloquist can out and out insult people – something that couldn't be done offstage – and get away with it.
In a similar vein, tees are a messaging platform that lets you speak pretty freely. You can print things on a T-shirt that you could not actually utter with your mouth. You can present messages that people will willingly read even though they would never allow you to verbally speak them. In essence, you can get away with a lot on a T-shirt.
We sell affordable tees because we love them as an art form and a business opportunity. The fact that our products provide people a platform to speak their minds is an added bonus. We see it as being a lot like ventriloquism. The only thing different with T-shirts is that you get to be your own dummy.