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"

It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine

Last month, when I opened my RRSP statement, I was quite pleased to note a 9% increase in my Global Energy Fund.  On the other hand, when I fill up my gas tank twice a week at $126.4/litre I feel a lot of pain.  And when I see images of unrest in the Middle East, I cheer for the victory of the people over the forces of oppression and cringe as pro-regime forces attempt to crush the popular movements and I am forced to admit to myself, as if I didn't already know already, that it's all interrelated. My mutual funds, my car, my CNN, my MTV, my iPhone, my grocery cart are all links in a chain that bind us from our safe -haven of  insouciance to the rest of the world.  My conscience has known this for a long long time but the recent world events that are turning me into a news junkie have made me conscious of my conscience.  I can no longer look away.  I can't go on living as if my actions have no impact on the world.

The paradigm is shifting.  I am struggling with the following question:  how can I continue to live my life as if I am not concerned when the world is in such upheaval?  Are you familiar with the old  R.E.M. lyrics?  It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

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But...I. don't. feel. fine.

I watch in awe and despair as the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis transform parts of Japan  into an apocolyptic ground zero.  And yet, life goes on here.  For example, the night after the earthquake, I watched the news in horror and then stayed up until midnight filled with guilty pleasure, licking the dregs of leftover chocolate fondue while watching Sex and the City: The Movie and revelling in its irreverent silliness.  I am a terrible, frivolous person!

The other day, my kids were incessantly bickering over ipods, iphones ,the  Wii and the laptop.  I couldn't take the spoiled sense of entitlement any longer so I sat them in front of CNN, made them look at the images of devastation from Japan and lectured them:  "You cannot fight over your personal entertainment choices when there is a nuclear meltdown on the other side of the world.  Banality is immoral boys!"  Its the post-apocalyptic parenting equivalent of the old standby:  "Eat all the food on your plate--don't you know there are children starving in Africa?"

I believe in resilience, in social justice, in the victory of the good over the forces of evil.  But today I feel like a helpless spectator with the uneasy knowledge that I am, in some small way, involved in the world.  And as R.E.M. plays in an endless loop at the back of my mind, a line from the prophetic William Butler Yeats (Ireland)  poem The Second Coming emerges to the forefront:  "Things fall apart, the center cannot hold."

If you are in a doom and gloom mood like me, I invite you to ponder  the entire poem, written in 1919, in the disillusioned aftermath of WWI.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer,
Things fall apart, the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed in the world
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned.
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming!  Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Wind shadows of the indignant birds.

The darkness drops again but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocky cradle,
And what rough beast, its now come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?

Blogfest

There are lots of inspiring blogs in the blogosphere where you can read inspiring stories about hope, survival and overcoming great obstacles. The best of these blogs use their circumstances to comment on an aspect of society.

 A subgenre of this type of blog, however, is the fabricated personal challenge blog in which bloggers impose artificial limits on themselves and then write about their trails and tribulations, their triumphs and defeats all in order to to have something interesting to write about in which ME is the star.  This subgenre reminds me of reality tv because both present a narrative arc that is entirely based on artificial challenges and fake fortuitous circumstances.  A classic example of this kind of blog is the Julie/Julia Project.

And so, because I am feeling frivolous and in the hope that one day  I too will become famous and  have a movie produced based on my blog, here are my suggestions for my ticket to fame:

Incognito:  I infiltrate the mafia and write both scathing critiques and lush praise for this deadly yet alluring secret society.

Karaokegirl:  I enter karaoke contests throughout Asia in a bid to become a karaoke star.

$%?*(*&?  -OFF:  I challenge myself to stop swearing in French or in English for an entire six months.

Choxtasy:  I eat a chocolate bar a day (not Mars or Caramilk--the good stuff!) and describe the taste sensations in exquisite detail.  Perhaps Lindt will sponser me?

Canterbury Tales:  I take a year off work in order to write about living like a woman of medieval England.  I write about food, health, education, entertainment, work and family life.  Nevermind that blogging is certainly anachronistic for the year 1310.

Well, I can go on and on but my eyes are getting blurry.  Which one do you vote in?  Do you have other suggestions for me?  How about you?  What's your challenge, real or imaginary?

Vampire

He commands respect.  He represents moral authority.  He inspires confidence and admiration.  He is a coach.  He is a priest.  He is a Colonel in the army.  He is a monster.

As Halloween approaches, we are inundated with images of ghosts, goblins, monsters, witches and vampires.  If we so desire, we may choose to wear a costume representing one of these stock Halloween characters.  In a larger context, one can't escape the omnipresence of popular culture related to vampires:  Anne Rice novels, Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV shows and of course, the Twilight series.  Indeed, we are fascinated by representation the mysterious, sometimes monstrous netherworld because of the classic two sides to being human: good and evil.  The representaion of evil in art or popular culture forces us to look at the "evil" side of the human condition while at the same time confirms to us that we are good:  we are not like them.  Vampires may act human sometimes but humans don't act like vampires.  And so we happily stand in line at the movies to be thrilled, horrifed and thoroughly entertained.

But these days, one can't escape another kind of monster who belongs neither to medieval iconography, nor to neo-gothic popular culture.  This kind of vampire walks among us.  He leads a double life.  He uses his power,status and authority as a mask to hide his real nature.  He stalks his prey and he leaves an endless trail of victims.  He has even become a media anti-star: whenever we turn on the radio or television, there he is again.  This steady media diet of horror is beginning to make me feel sick.  I feel a malaise when I think how the vampire becomes the star but the victims must repeatedly relive the horror over a 24-hour news channel.

Sadly, as much as I may wish, this is not a fairytale. There are no princes or princesses, no chivalrous knights and no happily-ever-after in this story.

Revenge of Bonhomme Carnaval

Our hero on the rampage.--from Actualité

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