ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I will revisit the main notions discussed in the case studies and how grotesque transparency has informed and in some ways challenged them. I will start by looking at strategy and its relation to deformative disclosure’s disruptive impulse, confirming some of the presuppositions of old propaganda and questioning its own strategic value in an atomized communication ecosystem. Then, I will explore the paradoxical concept of transparency, which is affirmed and negated by revelations made through the grotesque and the opacity of its excessiveness. I will continue with the transparently grotesque’s aesthetical dimension, to show that it is a constitutive element of its social value and affective impact and not just an accessory. From there, I will explore the ethics of the invisible as an alternative path to understanding the values conveyed by a strategy that relies on the visually disturbing, defying the sacred, and creating moral shock through exposing the impure, sacred, or the profane. Finally, I will present some brief notes about the grotesque beyond the human body, which will reflect on the relevance of this approach in studying public communication about the environment and the living world in general.
