The Boomerang Effect

In the long run, repetition and unison either lead to lethargy or provoke – sometimes even active – resistance. In communication theory, the latter is described as the “boomerang effect”. The term boomerang effect refers to the unintentional turn of a communication strategy by 180 degrees. The attempt to influence a communication partner has the opposite result. Despite (or because of) the objections and counterarguments, they feel more convinced by their opinion, plan or suspicion than before the attempted persuasion. In economic psychology, poorly launched advertising campaigns are plainly described as having a boomerang effect. Instead of increasing the recipient’s buying interest, the additional advertising leads to aversion and anger. The client must fear that the promoted product might not only reduce purchasing but even inspire deliberate boycotting. The Boomerang Effect can mark the beginning of a revolt.

Fürnkäs’s eponymous performance contains an entire series of boomerang effects. A split ego in conversation with itself; a chain of half expressed demands and questions, which, once uttered, turn against their originator. Sometimes they spontaneously merge with a pop song quote, sometimes they get lost in Dadaesque listings. Fürnkäs’s performers, both men, both white, both blond doppelgangers, try in vain to join the two halves of their monologue to form a whole. The moments of sense and connection are, however, mainly accidental. Then: a turn of events. The two men no longer have the stage to themselves when two women in the audience speak up. Using the same staccato as their precursors they bring the conversation to a preliminary conclusion. “Just continue to dissolve my personality,” are the laconic last words of a consciousness that sees itself disappearing. It remains unclear whether it is witnessing its end or its liberation.