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All Is Not What We See

Not only are we not seeing it all, but even what we do see is distorted beyond recognition. The chapter entitled The New World Order by Noam Chomsky points to the fact that many people can spend their entire lives being completely unaware of the full impact that social, political, and economic oppression can have on other nations. Chomsky takes it on himself to go behind the scenes of American foreign policy and expose its ambitions for what they really are. If there weren't individuals such as Chomsky, truth would be continually kept in the dark. Why? Well, leaders know what the people want and need, and they comprehend the functions of epistemology, knowledge, and thought processes. Knowing that many people are not media literate or have not learned to think critically, the American media is able to forge people's opinions and beliefs. In order to maintan a certain image of the United States, the media rarely outrightly criticizes the U.S. government's decisions, and seems to be particularly careful when addressing subjects pertaining to war. Through the careful selection of imagery, words, and sound, the technological world can generate emotions for or against situations and ideologies that have no basis in reality. Essentially, the government can rely on the media to rally patriotic sentiment and reinforce false beliefs amongst citizens. This is a terrifying thought. We cling to the belief that we are individuals with freedom of thought and speech, but how can that be when our thoughts are being formed by a paradigm that is not of our own creation?

If nothing else, the knowledge that even the leaders of our countries can deceive us should challenge us to be more critical and reflective of what we see on television and hear on the radio. Moreover, we should make it our responsibility to explore a wide variety of resources, including books, so that we can compare, contrast, and draw a conclusion of our own. These are skills that we should also pass on to our students. The classroom should be a place where questions can be asked about topics that don't necessarily crop up in the media. The classroom should be the location where discussion can take place and misguided ideas can be rooted out. If we are not shown the truth, or at least not all of it, it is our duty to search for it ourselves.

Haitian School Children

Images of War

The chapter entitled the Aesthetic Pleasures of War captivated me immediately. I was compelled to read on, wondering if the readers shared my view of how images of war were used as propaganda by the very individuals we entrusted with our freedom and security. However, instead of reflecting on the chapter per se, I will elaborate on how I believe images of war affect the viewer. With the dawn of the television age, war-torn scenes made their way into the very homes of people around the world. However, although at first it may have had shock value, the footage soon became a daily occurrence and lost its power to move. It was no longer that unfathomable to imagine human beings massacring each other. Furthermore, as long as the violence isn’t directly threatening the viewer or the viewer’s wellbeing, detachment occurs. Detachment from the horror. Detachment from the people affected. Detachment from one’s own sense of humanity.

Well, thankfully, I have noticed that although news clips may have lost their edge in terms of unnerving people, movies have been able to step up to the plate. Although many would argue that movies such as The Last King of Scotland, Shake Hands with the Devil, and Blood Diamond are romanticized, they have the ability to pull the viewer in and live vicariously through the characters. Everyone has heard of the saying: "Walk a mile in their shoes." Well, I believe that becoming enveloped in Solomon Vandy's life or Dr. Nicholas Garrigan is the closest we can get to doing that. It challenges us to feel. It forces us out of our comfort zone. It makes us realize that war is far from heroic or necessary or romantic. Like in any case, it is how media is used which is the issue, not media itself. Furthermore, it is a problem that so many individuals, including pre-service teachers, are not media literate and take what they see at face value instead of deconstructing it for deeper meaning. One says teachers should challenge students to be critical thinkers, but first one must become one oneself.

Smile While You're Bleeding

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1. A young girl from Kekoldi Indigenous Reserve in the eastern rain forest of Costa Rica.
2. Two Haitian boys carry water to their classrooms to wash lunch dishes.
3. Town children watching Haitian students play soccer from their balcony.

Photo Album

This photo album, entitled Smile While You're Bleeding, was created in order to demonstrate that many people who are impoverished are often captured as cheerful, giving the viewer the idea that "they're happy despite their poverty." However, behind the smiles do lie struggles- social justice battles, health crises, economic insecurities, etc.