Monthly Archives: November 2013

Voices from the “majority”

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In ASTU class, our studies have primarily focused on minority narratives, such as the Iraq war blogs written by Pax and Riverbend, Persepolis and What is the What. However, for there to be minority narratives, there must be the existence of dominant voices, and I will look at some of the voices from the majority.

At the beginning of this year, YouTube was caught up in the “Draw My Life” video tag. Basically, YouTubers are encouraged to draw and narrate their lives, compile it into a video, and post it for others to see. These videos establish a common ground for YouTube community members to interact and relate better with one another. Since then, many YouTube celebrities have created their own videos, which have been received quite positively by their audience. See below:

The popularity of these “Draw My Life” videos illustrates a couple of things:

  • YouTubers love knowing more about YouTube celebrities
  • Story telling, especially personal story telling, “sells well” aka has great appeal

Taking a step back, we see that what happened on YouTube has also been happening in the “Western” world for a while now. Various celebrities have produced autobiographical films that have hit the big screens. One Direction’s This is Us, Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never and Katy Perry’s Part of Me are just some examples of films, regardless of if they are actually good or not, who can count on having a fairly large viewership.

Both the “Draw My Life” videos and celebrity autobiographical films function similarly in that their fans are able to learn more about their celebrity idols. In terms of “community building”, I think that YouTube is more successful in achieving this, as YouTube celebrities and users have a place to communicate, while viewing celebrity autobiographical films in theatres doesn’t really allow for much interaction. Furthermore, while these videos and films tell the stories of celebrities, I don’t think that they act as mechanisms for “bearing witness”, at least, not in the way we have been studying in class.

The narrative work we have looked at in ASTU class centre around the idea collectively bearing witness to trauma. Although the celebrities may have overcome personal struggles, their autobiographical work is still largely driven by other motives. Asides for building closer connections with their fans, I think that celebrities who choose to share a part of their already privileged lives through the media are driven by the promise of money, and an increase in fame. Quite different from certain minority narratives that try to offer alternative views to the dominant voices.

Of course, it would be a shame to not mention the autobiographical films that do try to bear witness. For example, the film, Gandhi, dramatized the life of Gandhi and depicted the struggles during India’s non-violent independence movement. One of the most memorable moments during the film was the re-enactment of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which served to bear witness to the violence and trauma experienced by civilians during the actual massacre.

Although it is a bit upsetting to know  minority narratives are struggling to get noticed wile that dominant voices in life narratives consist of pop stars on tour, there is also work out, such as the film Gandhi, that are substantial and meaningful.

The Rob Ford scandal as Whitlock’s “soft weapon”

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To say that Rob Ford has made a bit of a spectacle of himself would be an understatement.

Ever since Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford admitted to using crack cocaine, an outpour of stories and reports have been dominating the political limelight. Here, we see Miller and Shepherd’s instance of intersecting public and private spheres. While Rob Ford’s drug usage is a private matter, it has become amalgamated with his public reputation as the mayor. Although our studies in ASTU class have primarily focused on the benefits of an intersecting public and private, (such as in PostSecret, Six-Word Memoir, and the blogs of Pax and Riverbend), it is obvious that the blurring of the public and private boundaries is becoming problematic for Rob Ford.

The scandal that has surfaced would not have become so prominent if it weren’t for the various media releases, that take part in the collective act of telling Rob Ford’s story. Notably, a variety of talk show hosts have, in the word’s of Whitlock, “co-opted” and retold Rob Ford’s story to the point where he has become the laughing stock of our nation. Although many media outlets have taken a more serious approach to the Rob Ford scandal, the results are the same: Rob Ford’s public identity and reputation have been ruined.

Of course, all this wouldn’t have happened if Rob Ford hadn’t smoked crack cocaine, made a fool out of himself in front of reporters, etc., etc., but the media does play a substantial role in shaping Rob Ford’s public image. While I’m not trying to take away from the seriousness of Rob Ford’s actions, such an event illustrates the power of storytelling. Before the scandal, I, personally did not even know of Rob Ford. However, when the rumours, news reports and comedic impersonations began to surface, it seemed as though he was only known for his political scandal. Although such a scandal does indicate what kind of personality Rob Ford has, the stories out there do not entirely represent himself as a human being.

Confusing, yes, but it is important to remember that the scandal we are seeing unfold before our eyes is only a small part of Rob Ford’s life. Though it is an extremely prominent and turbulent time in his life, the stories we hear has the potential to limit our perspectives of Rob Ford. For all we know, he could have been a football star, right? (Although this video indicates most likely not.) Furthermore, we can become so focused on his actions that we may forget about some more important questions. What was Rob Ford like as a mayor before the scandal broke out? How were/are the municipal affairs doing? Shouldn’t there be more discussion about corruption in Canadian politics?

While I must admit that the Rob Ford scandal is somewhat entertaining, the way in which media outlets and talk show hosts retell such a story can become what Whitlock refers to as “soft weapons.” That is, these stories can be manipulated in a way that can distract its viewership from raising questions about more important and systemic issues, or even alter their opinion of Rob Ford into something more positive, as attempted here.

Persepolis 1 & 2: A Comparison

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Marjane Satrapi’s book, Persepolis 2: A Story of Return, brilliantly illustrates a coming-of-age story, where young Marji struggles with her Iranian identity and history, all the while dealing with her frustration and loneliness in Vienna. Having escaped the war in Iran, Marji settles in Vienna while trying to assimilate into “Western” culture, leaving her feeling insecure about her identity. While Satrapi’s first instalment of the Persepolis series focused on the trauma she experienced as a child in Iran, the second book of the series shifted its focus to her identity crisis.

In Persepolis 1, Marji’s relatively young age allowed for her to remain somewhat idealistic about her identity, as illustrated in the picture below. Here, Marji is certain about her ambition of becoming a prophet, and displays conviction in her beliefs. While the trauma Marji experienced during her childhood was scarring, she was not at war with her identity, as portrayed in Persepolis 2. In Vienna, Marji attempts to distance herself from her Iranian past, yet simultaneously finds herself feeling conflicted and ashamed of her abandonment. The harsh illustrations of Marji’s stay in Vienna is reflective of her internal conflict, as many of her facial and body expressions depict emotions such as anger, loneliness and depression. In the illustration below, Marji lashes out at her classmates who were making fun of Marji’s appearance and her denial of her Iranian identity. Marji’s furious face is drawn to be larger than the other girls in order to echo the degree of anger and resentment she feels. The illustrations that follow reflect upon Marji’s yearning for the comfort and security she had as a child.

The inner turmoil that Marji experiences as she transitions from the final stages of her childhood to adolescence, allows for Satrapi’s readership to further connect with her character and story. The childish innocence in Persepolis 1 helped the audience understand the difficulty in comprehending and portraying trauma. Marji’s struggles through some of the lowest moments of her life Persepolis 2 is relatable, and allows for the audience to better understand the identities of those who are displaced by war.

Interestingly, Persepolis 2 reuses the chapter title, “The Veil”, which appeared at the very beginning of Persepolis 1. The psychological effect of the veil, which was imposed on the young Marji, produces the feeling of incompleteness in her identity. Although Marji escapes from Iranian fundamentalism in Persepolis 2 and acquires a greater degree of freedom, her feelings of fragmentation still exist. Marji is unable to escape her traumatic past, thus suggesting that psychological dissociation is a inescapable byproduct of trauma and conflict.

Satrapi’s first instalment of the Persepolis series establishes the difficulty and futility in attempting to accurately portray trauma. By sharing her struggles as a young adult in Persepolis 2, Satrapi’s audience have a greater understanding of the effects of trauma on one’s identity. While we may not be able to fully comprehend the extent of Satrapi’s suffering, we, as the audience, can take part in her act of witnessing through her perspective.

Are “minority” narratives best-sellers?

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As I was flipping through my ASTU notebook, I stumbled upon a couple of questions that I jotted down about a month ago during our discussion about autobiographical narratives. At the time, we were talking about how some life stories receive attention from the global community, while others remain silent. The question that I would now like to return to is this: “What kinds of life narratives become best-sellers and how can they affect others?”

While I was researching online, I came across a set of data posted by The Guardian that plotted the best-selling (auto)biographies since 2001. Although autobiographical work only made up a small percentage of book sales in 2012, it interesting how life narratives were at their peak of sales in 2001 and 2005. This set of data indicates several things. First, the genre, Arts, consistently remains at the top of all autobiographical book sales. Second, autobiographical book sales were at its highest during the years of 2001 and 2005. Lastly, after 2005, there has been a dramatic drop in the sales of autobiography. See below:

How can we can make further sense of this data? In the article, Conjunctions: Life Narratives in the Field of Human Rights, Schaffer and Smith note how Post-WWII global transformations have led to an increased interest in the production of autobiography and concern over human rights. The first half of the new millennium were full of global conflicts and transformations; the early 2000’s also saw various wars begin and end, coup d’états, and other crises that should have resulted in a greater proliferation of life narratives about such global events. If there is a greater production and interest in autobiographical work (especially in the genre of Arts) during times of conflict, then it should explain why book sales in the early 2000’s were significantly higher, right?

Apparently not. I was quite surprised when I came across this next set of data detailing the  50 best-selling autobiographies since 2001. Here are the top 5:

Looking through this list, I notice that only one of the top 5 best-sellers is explicitly about trauma, specifically, child abuse. Somehow, our studies in ASTU class led me to believe that books explicitly about trauma and bearing witness, such as Persepolis and What is the What, would widely popular, and possibly best-sellers. However, as I scroll through the list of the top 50 best-selling autobiographies, I realize that a majority of these books are written by and catered to a predominantly  “Western” audience. Judging from the book sales, minority narratives, particularly from the East, do not not have as great of a sale reception compared to narratives written by the West. Therefore, life narratives from the periphery may not be as widely distributed and consumed as we may think. This raises the issue of how consumers of life narratives may be neglecting the voices that are demanding to be heard and silencing accounts that speak about personal experiences such as trauma, oppression, and human rights abuse.

So now I end with even more questions: Are our priorities being shifted by those who control the book markets? How can consumers realize that their purchasing decisions they may be neglecting the voices that desperately need to be heard? Why has there been a decrease in the sales of autobiographies in the last few years, considering the tumultuous events that have occurred? What can we do about all this? Let me know what you think!