During this month of September, the country of Mexico was hit with multiple devastating earthquakes. The destruction and fatalities generated a response from people all over the world, generally sending an outpour of support and condolences, the majority using the medium of social media. Days after the initial earthquake I went online to further learn about the extent of the damage and the state of the people. Like usual, I drifted around from the news article to the other apps on my phone. I found myself scrolling through and browsing on Instagram. My Instagram feed was filled with pictures of the rubble in Mexico posted by users with captions of support. As I continued to scroll, I noticed that more and more of the photos were of Mexico, but to my surprise some of the images were not of the disaster. Paying closer attention I observed that people had posted photos and “throwback pics” of their trips to the country, accompanied with captions showing (mostly genuine) support. While viewing these images I contemplated the legitimacy of the support, were the photos a way of demonstrating caring for the suffering citizens or were they an excuse to post a selfie on the beach?
A very similar concept is brought up by autobiography scholar, Kate Douglas, in her article which we discussed in class. Douglas explores the shifting view of selfies taken at memorials and sites of trauma by re-evaluating the ways we view witnessing. After being exposed to the new ideas presented in her article, I reflected on other criticism placed on groups and ideas, criticism which need to be reconsidered. From reading the article I understood the disapproving views about selfie culture but could also see the validity of how the youth of today might not be the completely narcissistic and insensitive people that they are perceived to be. Ideas and concepts just like this new form of witnessing are result of a changing world. The critics of the new form of selfie witnessing need to recognize the importance of altering viewpoints. At one time movies were considered a fad and not a true art form to those unwilling to accept the new technology and ideas. Charlie Chaplain once said that “the cinema is little more than a fad. It’s canned drama. What audiences really want to see is flesh and blood on the stage.” Today we can see how colossal the film industry is. The criticism of a changing time and medium parallels the issues presented by Douglas. Kate Douglas’ article illuminated that our judgement or disapproval must not draw a line in the sand, never to be crossed. We must evolve with the changing world in this new form of witnessing.
http://www.filmbug.com/dictionary/moviehistory.php
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1750698017714838
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/23/americas/mexico-oaxaca-earthquake/index.html