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# General Idea Tells You to Shut the Fuck Up
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/general-idea-tells-you-to-shut-the-fuck-up/
- Published: 2011-05-11T01:30:31.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:40:59.000Z
- Description: There's something about General Idea that always felt ahead of its time. Videos like "Shut the Fuck Up" (1984) foreshadows the mashup culture of today but with a decidedly anti-establishment feel, even though they were obviously designed for the capitalist art market.
- Author: Hrag Vartanian
- Tags: Opinion, #image-position-hidden, General Idea, hypermedia, Video, Videodrome, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-17 09:23 (2009-2011)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2011/05/shutfup-gi-home.gif "shutfup-GI-HOME")

There’s something about General Idea that always felt ahead of its time. Videos like “[Shut the Fuck Up](http://www.eai.org/title.htm?id=10630&ref=hyperallergic.com)” (1984) foreshadows the mashup culture of today but with a decidedly anti-establishment feel, even though they were obviously designed for the capitalist art market.

The video simultaneously embraces and bitch slaps the media and its ability to manipulate and dictate our lives and culture. It is cynical and harsh but strangely soothing and as relevant as ever.

As the video explains, “If you complain, they have you type casted … it’s a waste of time telling the media shut the fuck up.”