The Power of Mass Media

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A few weeks ago, in our ASTU class, everyone had to pick and analyze a blog post from Riverbend’s blog, Baghdad Burning. Riverbend is a female Iraqi blogger, who describes herself as a “survivor of the war”, and offers an engaging, yet critical perspective of the War on Terror. I read through some of Riverbend’s older blog posts, but the one that caught my eye was the most recent blog post written on April 9th, 2013. There, on the 10 year anniversary of the invasion of Baghdad, Riverbend evaluates  the lessons that have been learnt since the War on Terror.

Riverbend succinctly describes the role of mass media in the portrayal of history by asserting that,

“We’re learning that the leaders don’t make history. Populations don’t make history. Historians don’t write history. News networks do. The Foxes, and CNNs, and BBCs, and Jazeeras of the world make history. They twist and turn things to fit their own private agendas.”

As scary as it may seem, this is unfortunately true. Often, representation in mass media is portrayed in a certain perspective, and can cause biases amongst its consumers. Our perceptions can be shaped and dictated by the way mainstream media reports news, and the voices they allow to be heard.

Now, I want to connect this idea with the concept of feminism. For Political Science class, we had to read bell hooks’ (her name is intentionally uncapitalized) book entitled, Feminism is For Everybody. hooks asserts that that misunderstanding of feminism is largely due to the fact that most people hear and learn about feminism through patriarchal mass media. When people think about feminism, they may think of a very radical, “anti-men” movement that is solely interested in gender equality. However, the reality is far from this. hooks describes feminism as a broad topic that encompasses issues of social-class and racism, and seeks to overturn oppression and sexism as a whole.

To be quite honest, I haven’t really thought about feminism in the way hooks describes it. And though it is partially my fault for not digging deeper into the topic, I think I can also attribute my lack of understanding to the flaws of mainstream media. We are (whether we know it or not) in some ways trained by the media to think and act a certain way about a particular topic. Thus, feminism, and the War on Terror, are similar in that they are grossly misrepresented by how the mainstream media presents them. And this is dangerous, because our limited perspectives can undermine and silence the voices that have been so cunningly excluded.

We need to break out of the tunnel vision that we have become so accustomed to. Though we may not be able to access a diversity of thought through the mainstream media, there are plenty of other alternatives out there. Independent media outlets, blogs, and of course, the internet are some ways to find and uncover perspectives not offered by conventional forms of media. Whether we choose to pursue it or not is up to us.

A comparison between “The Book of Negroes” & “Persepolis”

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Quite a bit of time has passed since I read The Book of Negroes, written by Lawrence Hill, but I was reminded of it while reading Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Although these books are presented in completely different genres (The Book of Negroes being a historical novel, and Persepolis a graphic narrative), I found myself comparing and drawing connections between the two.

When I first read The Book of Negroes, I immediately found myself intrigued by how the book was written from the perspective of a young girl (who was abducted and sold into the  Atlantic slave trade.) Despite the fact that the story is a work of fiction, The Book of Negroes draws upon a horrific history that can be difficult for some to truly understand. I remember feeling a heavy, disheartening feeling while reading The Book of Negroes, and again while reading Persepolis. The different genres of these two books, told through the perspectives of innocent, yet rapidly growing young girls, allowed the experiences of trauma in everyday life to be more relatable. The usage of vivid and illustrative language in The Book of Negroes, is contrasted by the simple, yet powerful graphic illustrations in Persepolis. Their approaches in conveying trauma and history may have been different, but it allowed me to empathize with the narrator’s predicament, and increase my understanding of global conflicts.

Recently, I read a very interesting blog post called, The Forgotten Minority, written cleverly by Connie Zhou. There, she talks about the conflict of having an Asian-American identity, and how racism is not simply and issue between black and white. Rather, it is an issue of discrimination against all coloured people, some who are more neglected and forgotten about during discussions of racism, than others. In her blog post, Connie writes,

I remember sitting in one of my media classes discussing race; we had spent weeks on how blacks and whites are portrayed in the media. As my professor went on and on, I sat there wondering when she was going to bring up Asians, Hispanics, or Middle Easterners. Finally, as if God had heard my plea, a thankfully inquisitive student in the front raised his hand, “What about Asians?”

There was five minutes left in class, and all she said was, “Well, they tend to be the ‘model minority,’” and carried forth with the discussion on blacks and whites.

And it’s true. Back in elementary and high school, I remember we often talked about the history and racism against black people more than any other minority races. I’m not trying to detract from their significance, or say that they aren’t worth talking about, because they certainly are, considering all the awful things that have happened to them throughout time. However, I think that the education system fails to properly address and educate students about other minority groups, such as Asians and Middle-Easterns. Before entering university, I have to admit that I knew more about the issues of black people, than the history and predicament of Middle-Eastern people, or of my own culture, the Asian race. In my opinion, while The Book of Negroes and Persepolis are two successful and highly praised books, I think that The Book of Negroes is more widely known, partially because talk about history and racism tends to be more about black people. (This is just based on my observations and conversations with family and friends, so let me know if your experience differs.)

Anyways, this is why I am grateful that university has opened me up to reading more about the “forgotten minorities”, and I think that my knowledge and understanding of the Middle East has definitely grown. Thanks ASTU!

 

 

Hey Canadian government, what happened to “reconciliation”?

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With the various Reconciliation events happening in BC this month, to say that we are in a period of time full of promising hope would be an understatement. Having heard a few of the many heart wrenching, raw, yet also inspirational stories at the TRC event held at the Pacific National Exhibition, I feel that it is important to look at the government’s effort in “reconciliation”, since they did play a major role in the residential schools. 

In 2008, an official apology was issued by Prime Minister Harper, on behalf of the Canadian government, to the First Nations peoples for the Canadian residential schooling system. An excerpt from the statement expresses that: 

“The burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long.  The burden is properly ours as a Government, and as a country.  There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the Indian Residential Schools system to ever prevail again. You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time and in a very real sense, we are now joining you on this journey. The Government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.”

This unprecedented apology issued by PM Harper was cleverly crafted, but how well has the government fulfilled their role in reconciliation? Not very well, if you ask me. As a culture who is dependant on the stability and health of the land and water, the environment is undoubtedly vital to the First Nations. Their tradition, culture and spirits are shaped by the environment in which they inhabit. Yet, the Harper government is creating more burdens for the First Nations people, not to mention the rest of Canada, by their reckless disregard for the environment. Bruce Cox, executive director of Greenpeace Canada, argues that the gutting of environmental laws and regulations, threatens our climate, land, and waters.  Essentially,  it makes it easier for oil and gas companies to expand their already devastating fossil fuel projects with fewer governmental restrictions. Clearly, the Harper government holds the interests of fossil fuel companies above the interests of the Indigenous peoples, and the rest of Canada.

However, people from around the nation have been rising up in resistance to the inconsiderate actions of the government. Last year, the Yinka Dene Alliance embarked upon a nation-wide journey, dubbed the “Freedom Train”, in order to defend their territory against the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline and tanker route. We also saw the birth of Idle No More last fall, sparked by the introduction of the second omnibus bill, Bill C-45.  Serving a corporate agenda, Bill C-45 limits federal protection to only 159 Canadian lakes and rivers, compared to the 2.5 million waterways previously protected.  Not only will water be subjected to privatization, it allows for oil and gas companies to go through unprotected waterways without a federal environmental assessment.

Outrageously, it took Attawapiskat Chief Teresa Spence over a month of hunger striking in order to finally secure a meeting with Harper to talk about the woes of her people. When the ‘Nishiyuu Walkers‘ completed their 1,600 km journey to Ottawa in support of Idle No More, Harper was busy in Toronto greeting pandas, sparking criticism over his display of priorities.

So where does Harper and his government’s priorities lie? I think that if the government was truly interested in reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples, they would not be trashing the environment, supporting corporate agendas, and ultimately threatening their livelihoods.  The Indigenous peoples of Canada have been at the forefront of social and environmental inequity throughout history, and still are one of the most marginalized groups in our society today.

One thing I took away from the TRC event is that reconciliation requires the participation of all members from a community, regardless of if they were directly or indirectly affected by residential schools. In order to reconcile with the past, I believe that everyone must be respectful of one another’s culture and beliefs. With the leadership of the TRC, I think that we are headed in the right direction towards  healing, and creating a better future. What we need now, more than ever, is for the government to make a commitment in sustainable alternatives, and truly listen to the struggles of its people. Only then will the quality of life improve for the current generation, and for the generations to come.