313. HARVEY BALL'S EMOTO-CAMPAIGN by un'Americana a Venezia

L’emoticon è una riproduzione stilizzata di un’espressione facciale, che spesso aggiunge un umore ad una comunicazione verbale. Lo smiley, l’emoticon sorridente, promuove una psicologia  positiva, cioè un approccio ai rapporti umani che stimola la costruzione o il rafforzamento di valori positivi. Roberto Rapaccini 

During the last days of this not so merry month of May, marked by unseasonably cold, wet weather in much of Italy, a horrific tornado in Oklahoma, ever deeper economic crisis in the world, and now even madmen who said they wanted to "start a war" with meat cleavers in London, I have been digging a little deeper than usual for reasons to yuck it up.  That ironic line by Bobby McFerrin comes to mind, "Don't worry, be happy," along with an old classic song that says, "When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you."  It's true, smiles and laughter are contagious.  Some people attend organized "laugh sessions" for the numerous benefits of belly laughing in a group.  In fact, research shows that smiling and laughing will not only improve our looks but will also make us feel good.  So what came first, smiles or happiness?  It doesn't matter.  When we meet someone without a smile, we can always give them one of ours.  That's just what Harvey Ross Ball (1921-2001) of Worcester, Massachusetts did upon request back in 1964 for a local company, State Mutual Life Insurance.  It took him ten minutes to come up with a "Friendship Campaign" intended to remind the company's employees, very unhappy about a recent merger, to smile when dealing with customers.  For his Smiley Face icon which appeared in the company's offices, Mr Ball received $45 and no copyright.  Frankly, he himself may have seen the smiley face first on a children's TV program in 1963.  The black features on a round yellow face became nationally recognized around 1970 when two brothers on the lookout for marketable trends, Bernard and Murray Spain of Philadelphia, grabbed and copyrighted the smiley face icon and added an expression that many Americans either love or hate, "Have a nice day."  Soon the smiley face and its trite companion imperative were appearing everywhere:  on mugs, posters, jewelry, bumper stickers, cookie jars, T-shirts, etc.  At the same time, a Frenchman copyrighted the smiley face for use in Europe.  But who was to stop the rest of the world from reproducing it?  Who can or should own a symbol that is so basic and universal that any child could invent it by sheer accident?  Today the smiley face, often appearing in colors other than sunny yellow, still harks back to the 70's for many of us.  Its offspring is a digital emoticon,  :-) , which conveys a little smile, an inner smile.  I myself use the smiley emoticon to mean "happy, amusing, funny, nice," and sometimes, "just kidding around."  Unfortunately, trolls and complicated people always get their minds twisted around the simplest things.  So that Harvey Ball's smiling "symbol of peace, joy and friendship" has since been depicted with its eyes X'ed out; with blood on its brow; as the logo of a serial killer; as a symbol for drug use; as a symbol for alternative music genres, ad nauseam.  A round smiley face is far too easy a target, let's face it.  For some, the smiley face icon has always been too vapid for words.  But that's just it:  A smiley face doesn't require words!  The smiley face found a ready market in America when the Spain brothers decided to launch it.  It was an aid, some theorize, in helping the nation get past the daily horror of Viet Nam.  Children took to the smiley face naturally, reminding us all of the power and attraction of a face that is happy, not sad.  Maybe it's time for another world emoto-campaign?  What would catch on now?  I don't know, do you?  But I do know that societies evolve thanks to new ideas.  One of these new ideas is Positive Psychology, a branch just a little older than Harvey Ball's smiley face icon, which asks not what is wrong with us but what is right, then goes from there.  On that note, I think I'll go and listen to Charlie Chaplin's beautiful old tearjerker, "Smile" ("Modern Times," 1936).  I really love that lyric, "Smile, you must keep on trying.  Smile, what's the use of crying?  You'll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile."  American psychologist-philosopher William James (1842-1910) pretty much said the same thing:  "Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact."  :-)      UN’AMERICANA A VENEZIA