The politics of the image

Today you read about and listened to people debating the ethics of publishing a "selfie" photo of the Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. At issue is the question of glorifying, or at the least humanizing a monstrous act.  Does this image make us reflect on the fact that "the boogie man" can be among us, he does not necessarily stand apart and call attention to himslef by projecting a monstrous image.  Or, on the contrary, does it create a barrier to reflection by being so controversial that we may react with visceral outrage , not caring to explore the issue of images when so many lives have been destroyed.  Today you will reflect on what you have read and listened by exploring the issue yourself.  Take a stand and join your voice is discussing the politics of the image.

Meanwhile, take a look at some iconic Rolling Stone covers of the past.

 

Now how does Tsarvaev fit within the framework of these images?

For a look at famous covers, click here

The politics of images in the media

A lot has been said about the way the media construct images of beauty, of masculinity and of minorities.  For example, television and magazines consistantly present images of femininity that are either unattainable for the average woman in terms of impossible beauty standards or in terms of the superwoman who is both perfect wife/mother.

But lately I have been hearing and reading critiques of the way media choose to present images of disasters.  These types of images present a helpless victim/saviour hero dynamic which simplifies the complexity of crisis .  This simplification of disasters  results in a public that is both misinformed on important issues and perpetuates the stereotype of peoples of the developing world as victims.

For a thought-provoking discusssion of the way that the media are portraying the famine in Somalia, listen to Q  "What's wrong with this picture?" . You can also read one of my previous Decmber 2010 blog posts on a related issue, Band Aid and the famine in Ethiopia "There's a world outside your window"

Run

Ran to fix breakfast.
Sped to drive the kids to school.
Sped back home to get ready for work.
Jumped in the car.  Ahhh, I can relax, I'm not late, the sun is shining, Gloria Steinem is being interviewed on Q
 $%%#!!$! a dead moose on the back of a truck, zoom and another, zoom and another, at least six today all the way to Rimouski.

Sauntered to the office,greet colleagues, check Omnivox, Groupwise, Hotmail, telephone messages, catching up, catching up.
Ran upstairs for a meeting.
Ran downstairs for Cool-Aid center.
Strolled to office
Madly produced administrative documents due NOW and  sent them out
Quickly ate lunch with one hand while typing with the other.
Ran downtown to buy a birthday present.
Glanced at watch, holy $%#%!! I have a meeting in 7 minutes.
Sprinted from Alphabet to the third floor of the cegep in 5 minutes.
Arrived at meeting transpiring and out of breath but ON TIME.
Finished the meeting, jogged to the second floor for  other meeting.
Dashed to office, grabbed work, ran to car.

Sped back home, come on lady, you are driving too slow.
Brisked into the grocery store, purchased supper, slight twinge of guilt for not offering all four food groups.
Pulled into the garderie, picked up kids, B is there, N is there--what É isn't there?  Oh, he's at a friend's house.  Aghh!!! which friend?
Found É, drive home, fervently repeating my mantra :serenity now, serenity now (you know, from Seinfeld).
Unpacked backpacks, helped with homework, spelling words, dictation, addition, subtraction, conjugation,
Exponents--Hey, I'm an English teacher not a math teacher ummmmm, let' s see now.....

Walked dog.

Gobbled supper, get back in car, drive É to arena, tie skates.
Drove back home, read stories.
Got back in car--I said buckle up!
Picked up É at arena, come on, hurry up! hurry up.
Got back in car . Drove back home.
Made and eate snacks, read stories.

 Walked dog.

I am wiped out.  I am beat.
Bed time everybody. Sweet dreams.

I can't sleep.

L'air du temps

If there is one holiday that makes me feel like a foreigner in Québec, it's Thanksgiving.  In ROC (rest of Canada), Thanksgiving is a treasured moment in the year when friends and family gather around the table to enjoy the traditional roast turkey, rosemary stuffing, assorted roasted autumn vegetables, cranberry sauce and homemade pumpkin pie.  Here in Québec on the other hand, Thanksgiving is an anonymous holiday without a heart and soul, a banal day like any other. I guess it's a good illustration of the great franco-anglo culinary divide.  On the turkey issue it seems our differences can't be breached.

And so, in the interest of anglo-franco cultural rapprochement, I encourage you to learn more about the art of the Thanksgiving feast by the epitome of holiday festivities, the domestic diva herself, Martha Stewart.  Enjoy and:


    It must be part of  the zeitgeist,of l'air du temps.  As usual, I was driving in my car this week when I tuned in to a Q debate.  The subject :  Carnivore vs. vegetarian!  The debate neatly ties in to our discussion on the ethics of  hunting and eating meat from my previous post, Bullet-proof.  Click here  for more passionate opinions on the subject.  Have a happy Thanksgiving, we have a lot to be grateful for.

My teacher, my friend

When one of my students  asks to be my friend on Facebook should I say yes, no, or do nothing?  Has friending acquaintences on Facebook become such a banal act that I allow anyone to view my private life?  Do I really want to know what my students eat for breakfast, drink on weekends or think about their photos?What about that word friend anyway?  Now there's a word that has evolved to mean anything from someone with whom you have a deep bond to a vague superficial online entity.

I am constantly grappling with these ethical issues surrounding the nature of the role of the teacher with regards to electronic media.  Should teachers be friends with their students, thereby blurring the lines between professional and private life?  Or, on the contrary, do teachers need to keep their professional distance from their students but in so doing, sacrifice a learning opportunity for both students and themselves?

Are you friends with your teachers?  Do you enjoy glimpsing into the non-professional lives of teachers?  Is it necessary for students to be friends with their  teachers or is mutual respect all that is required? Listen in on Q  for a discussion of issues related to teachers, students and Facebook.

Is it art, social critique or crass commercialism?

Last week while I was driving my car to work I remembered that I can listen to CBC on my car radio from St-Fabien to Rimouski (only static from Trois-Pistoles to St-Fabien).  I happened to tune-in to an episode of Q and I was rivited.  The host and the guest panel were talking about a video by Eminem and Rihanna in which a torrid love affair escalates into domestic vioence. 

The discussion included many points of view: praise, critique, outrage, appreciation, cynicism, concern.  Although I know who the two hip-hop/pop stars are, I hadn't ever really listened to their music; however, I knew after listening to the discussion, I just had to watch the video for myself.  Before listening to the discussion, watch the video.  What are your first impressions?  Click on the link for the video and the debate.

       Q Debate: Domestic Violence and Entertainment