For this week’s blog, you will choose your own subject related to our discussions of life narratives. Given the upcoming Canadian federal election, one topic you could explore would be political uses of life narratives. For example, look at a candidate’s web page and the bio note he or she includes. How does that candidate (or more broadly that political party) tell a life story that sets up the person as a political leader?
We also discussed in class last Thursday that you are welcome to talk about HONY, refugee narratives, or your I am Malala case-study work. You could also return to Whitlock and/or Schaffer and Smith, and take their ideas to new case-studies.
Having read 2 of your blog posts, I want to remind you of a few items (below), and then I have an example from a/b scholar Leigh Gilmore doing some paratextual analysis to share with you (further below):
- Remember to accommodate an audience beyond our classroom. Posts that begin “in class yesterday” or “I walked in the Bookstore” won’t provide sufficient context for a public reader.
- Think carefully about what point of analysis you are developing in your post: what do you think is important about what you are sharing? This means pushing yourself past describing what you’re observing, so that you can tell your readers what you are observing AND what you think matters about it.
- Using the HONY work we did as an example, start pushing yourself to develop research questions (this goes hand-in-hand with the “why does this matter’ work).
- Wrap up your post rather than just ending because you’ve hit the word limit!
- Remember we can embed links: if you don’t remember how to do that, I can show you again.
OK, now back to our paratextual analysis: I just read an article by Leigh Gilmore, “Covering Pain: Pain Memoirs and Sequential Reading as an Ethical Practice,” in which Gilmore does similar work to our last blog post in her analysis of book jackets. Reading Gilmore’s article, I was also reminded of our recent discussion of the different sub-titles for I am Malala. I want to share a short excerpt with you from that article, because in it you see how a literary scholar does the interpretive work of analyzing a title. She not only points out what she finds significant (the comma), but she also explains and justifies her interpretation: we understand why the comma matters, relating to larger arguments in the article about pain memoirs.
In her 1993 memoir of diagnosed mental illness and adolescent emotional pain Girl, Interrupted, Susanna Kaysen places a comma between an identity, girl, and an action, past tense: interrupted. Without the audible pause of a comma, girl and interrupted would run together to represent the diagnosis of the gendered adolescent identity of Susanna Kaysen. She is the “Girl, Interrupted” of the title and this name consolidates her identity as autobiographical subject. “Girl, Interrupted” is also a citation of the Vermeer painting “Girl Interrupted at her Music and therefore introduces a visual corollary to the memoir, prompting us to think about the elation of word and image from the moment we encounter the cover of the book. The inaudible pause of the comma becomes an image on the cover of the memoir. The comma visualizes interruption. By attaching interrupted to girl, the comma depicts visually what it attempts to name: Kaysen’s modification from girl to patient during her commitment and two-year treatment for borderline personality disorder at Maclean Hospital outside Boston. Although we cannot hear the pause between girl and interrupted, the comma as visual mark resists the diagnosis the words pronounce. It asks for a pause. It asks to be read as the interplay of word and image. How we look, what we see, and how we respond has been identified in comics scholarship as an ethical nexus, and so it is with memoirs about pain. (110)
In particular, note how Gilmore points out the details she wants us to observe (the comma, in particular) then tells us what she thinks it means, and WHY: she justifies her analysis. I hope this example will be useful to us in developing our own work not just with paratexts but with our research sites more generally.
In response to Blakely’s blog: The connection Blakely made between Schaffer and Smiths “international currency” and his own idea of “political currency” I found to be very effective. Through the statement of words such as “family man” and “middle-class”, many people can immediately relate to Tom Mulcair and therefore gain encouragement to vote for him. So many people claim to hold such qualities I begin to question how people’s interpretation of “family man” and “middle-class” differ. There are so many interpretations of such qualities, that are people too quick to judge a person based on such values, and therefore become blinded to other realities which may not have such positive associated qualities.
In response to Anna’s blog: I found the image Anna posted of the Iranian women extremely thought-provoking and “beautiful”. It shows how just one image can change such a stereotype, held by predominantly Western societies, of cultures people know so little about. Her attitude was so positive and she reflects on the recent changes that have occurred within her society that us, as Western citizens, understand so little about. Without social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, her short narrative would not have the opportunity to be commodified. Therefore it makes me question how many more people get the opportunity to speak thanks to recent technological advances.
In response to Colleen’s blog: I found the section on the description of “teacher” particularly interesting in Colleen’s blog. The qualities associated with such a word are commonly assumed by a person, possibly subconsciously, as Colleen mentions this word is associated with qualities such as “trustworthy, intelligent, kind, enthusiastic”. All positive qualities which aid his, and the Liberal Party’s campaign. What I question from this is, which descriptions do we not realize the assumed qualities that accompany the words we use in many life narratives. For example the word refugee has many associated terms such as traumatized, poor, desperate, but are people too quick to assume these qualities without considering individual stories?
In response to Rachel’s blog: Humans of New York is such an interesting yet simple concept. I really do agree with the point that Stanton captures not the people “but the humans of the city” (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17287009-humans-of-new-york). To answer your question if Stanton’s book creates actual change or spectators, I think his work accomplishes both. There have been times on Facebook where I have seen commenters find and reach out the the individual Stanton photographed and interviewed, in hopes of helping out with his or her situation. But on the other hand, it seems nearly impossible to go through your own Facebook feed without seeing a shared post from HONY. But in the case, being a spectator isn’t necessarily a bad thing because HONY, especially since it started traveling aboard, has raised awareness for individual problems which, when put together have an impact on society.
In response to Seana’s blog: Your blog post reminds of a part of Rachel’s blog post where she asks if Stanton’s book creates agencies of change or bystanders. From his blog site and other works, I believe that Stanton himself is an agency of change. As you stated in your blog Seana, Stanton publicizes The Untied Nations Refugee Agency in hopes of others to take action and help out. By Stanton taking HONY on the road and sharing narratives from other nations, Stanton has started a movement in which humans are being more interconnected with one another. And once one human shares a connection with another human, it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore the troubles of that other human. Thus, all of this creates a stimulus for human involvement, making positive change a reality of many.
In response to Nana’s blog: I wasn’t aware that George Washington Univeristy and Global Women’s Institute produced a class that centers around Malala Yousafzai’s memoir, I am Malala. Referring back to Rachel’s question of Stanton and if he aspires action-takers or idle players, I think Yousafzai’s narrative inspired action within those two institutions. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if change is more likely to occur if one individual tries or if an organization tries. I think it’s safe to say that change is more effective if an organization tries to bring it about but nonetheless, I still think it’s important for individuals to take action because it was one person who brought attention to a certain issue within that organization.
In response to Blakely:
Reading the very first sentence of your blog made me laugh because that is exactly the same thing I was thinking of blogging about this week. What I find most interesting, and completely offsetting of my previous knowledge, or lack thereof, is the difference between the conservatives in Canada, and the conservatives in the States. Every time I hear “conservative”, I automatically conjure a negative connotation based on how conservatives are seen in the States. They are generally seen as right-wing republicans, focusing around their interchangeable definitions of God and country, where as conservatives in Canada are more closely related to what the Democratic side of politics. It has been so hard to figure out what party I would vote for here where everything is so different than the States, but your blog gave me more insight to other parties that I had yet to research more about.
In response to Seana:
I think that his pictures have already started to create an impact. Five years into this, and he’s just beginning to touch on lives outside of tiny New York. People like looking at pictures, they scroll past something with a lot of words, because let’s face it, people are lazy. Pictures have a wide array of displaying themselves. There are the standards like black and white, sepia, whatever the fancy coloring pick-me-ups add the most spunk. These touch-ups add a sort of quality to the photo that generally adds to the message the photographer is trying to get across. They add impact, in the hopes that these images won’t be forgotten. That’s why I think that as Stanton continues his incredible photographic work, these “fleeting glances” will continue to provoke emotion and maybe eventually even lead to some much needed change in breaking the barriers of stereotyping and pity.
In response to Tima:
I fee like this is such an intimate way of sharing your life. Even though you don’t know who’s reading it, and the reader doesn’t know who wrote it, it’s such a powerful message from the people sending these notes. They’re sharing their life’s greatest secret with hundreds of strangers, not knowing the outcome. That, to me, is an act of true bravery. What you mentioned at the end, about how some stories had to be kept out, is yet another example of how people are silenced, and again questions who really decides who gets to speak and who doesn’t. Yet when I was reading it, I kept wondering. What would I write?
In response to Jodie’s blog: You have made a great point that social media provide people with a safety net for airing their opinions. One of the reasons is that real identity is not always required on the Internet. In fact, many internet users choose to use a fictitious name to conceal their true identity. It is true that under the protection of such privacy, their feel less constrained when talking about sensitive issues as well as their personal experiences. Hence they are more likely to share their experiences online through commenting. Studies also found that pseudonyms posts are of higher quality given that undesirable consequences that follow are minimal. Hence, social media is a good way to spread life narratives and generate responses.
work cited: http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/159078/people-using-pseudonyms-post-the-most-highest-quality-comments-disqus-says/
In response to Tima’s blog: I really enjoyed reading Post Secret that you recommended. One post that really caught my attention is a black and white photo of a girl who is stretching out her hand with a “stop” word on her palm, sits in front of wall full of insulting words like “retard” and “obnoxious”. It goes a caption “My own mum mocks my mental illness”. The message here is straight forward: parents often overlook the harmful effects of mental illnesses on their child and fail to give them enough care. Though there are only a few words, the story is complete. It also speaks for victims who are not courageous enough to tell their stories in detail. Concrete and direct life narratives work extremely efficient to get messages across in a fast-pace world where readers always scroll quickly down a social networking site and didn’t pay much attention to lengthy paragraphs.
work cited: http://postsecret.com/2015/10/17/sunday-secrets-94/20-jj/#main
In response to Chipo’s blog: Posts on HONY sometimes do leave plenty of rooms for imagination that allow readers to engage themselves in others stories. An example in your blog is a women saying that she is “on my third fresh start”, without telling what the start is. However, can a vague sentence that offers us no concrete information about a person still be a life narrative? In HONY, most of the stories are told in a few ambiguous sentences only. This is apparently not enough to illustrate someone’s entire life experience. Most importantly, stories are often incomplete and leave out most of a person’s background, experiences, and the attitudes towards it. Reader’s response to a post may be biased as it is limited to single event rather than the whole story of a person.
In response to Tima:
I find it intriguing that the sharing of secrets opens up the pathway for an immense amount of empathetic identification (a concept explored in Schaffer and Smith). Something about the sharing of secrets brings more of a sense of intimacy than any other type of life narrative- in my opinion. Not only can people identify with the feeling of holding onto a secret, but also there is a high possibility that they identify with the subject matter or one of the themes exhibited in the secret. Secrets are also juicy, “forbidden” subjects, which causes people to listen a little closer because they think they are privy to special information. I think this response plays a huge part in how much of an impact they have. You mentioned in the blog that the creator of this cite sometimes themes the publications for the week to reflect an awareness, like suicide awareness week. I think this concept is incredibly smart and effective. Secrets have the potential to have a personal impact on a person and therefor there is a high likelihood that people might change their destructive ways. While this sharing of secrets has a high potential for positive change, it also can swing the other way and people might empathetically identify with it in a manner that further depresses them.
In response to Charlotte:
As I was reading you blog I was reminded of Blakleys’ first blog post, where he raised a lot of the same questions about who gets the privilege of being heard. In this instance it is the reverse of the norm. People who tend to be heard in a autobiographical book are more “well-off” and have better access to publishing houses (A phenomena I spoke about in my first blog post). However,of the people HONY published there are those from what would be called an “alternative” life style- whether that be because of their neighbourhoods, manner of dress or the way they carry themselves. The people on HONY would probably have less of a chance getting an autobiography published but they do have more of a chance being noticed off the street. The question might be asked whether or not the medium affects the types of people being heard. Does social media lend itself to more unconventional people? Does book publication tend to be given to those with celebrity status?
In response to Will:
Berne Sanders appeal does seem to come from the fact that his life narrative is one that a lot of people can identify with. When watching the debate you could see how he kept himself above the political fray and not succumbing to petty politics. I always find it interesting how political leaders life narratives become part of their platform in running- in a lot of cases it acts as a way for candidates to validate their views. A extreme and absurd example would be Trump using his position as a business mogul to garner support for his economic positions. Sanders uses his life narrative to tell the voters that he will work for social reform because he has been in their place and wants to correct a wrong, as you pointed out in your blog. Its almost as if candidates are selling them selves and their stories to the American people in an attempt to gain their trust. Thus, commodifying their life narratives for their own personal gain.
Response to Tanvi: You make a great point here regarding politics- people really do pay attention to the narratives told by these organizations which ultimately effects their decision to vote for a candidate. As you mentioned, the satire piece on Shit Harper Did is intriguing. While most politicians use narratives to relate to the candidates themselves, this “documentary” highlights the narratives of the “common people” which is probably relatable to a larger audience than the white middle-aged family man. It’s a smart move by this organization and it does indeed make this year’s elections very interesting.
Response to Shaan: Your topic is a very interesting one- I never knew that the narratives of South Asian gang members in Vancouver influenced so many people in our generation. The film “Beeba Boys” also seems like a very awesome movie which directly captures the personal narrative of a South Asian gang member (I’m definitely going to watch it; the trailer looks awesome). Although it is common for famous people’s narratives to influence people through books and such, I never thought that an infamous figure such as “Bindy” could have such an impact on society. I guess it brings to light the true power of personal narratives- it can affect the people within a society drastically, both positively and negatively.
Response to Rachel: You make a valid argument on Stanton’s work on HONY- it does indeed create spectators, but adds on the aspect of change as well. Personally, I feel like HONY is mainly creating entertainment for people. I’ve never looked at Stanton’s Instagram and thought twice about its effects on society; it was purely entertainment which kept me occupied while I scrolled through my feed. Even when he posted his work he did in Iran, I didn’t think twice about the situation- I just looked at the picture, read the caption, and scrolled on. Although Stanton’s intentions are good in nature, the reality is that it won’t impact an individual viewing the piece much. In this world filled with infinite amounts of information, one post on the internet is not going to impact society very much (wow, that ended kinda sad… but its true).
In response to Mishal’s post:
I think it’s really interesting about how Trudeau had not gotten his political life handed him to him by silver spoon. I think that a lot of people in any profession, not just politics, who have parents who had similar, if not the same profession have the same stereotype. Some do get it handed down to them, but it makes it harder for people who want to actually prove themselves in the field, and more and more are trying to do so. Even when they do a good job on their own, there will still be some who credit their achievements to their parents. Because of this, there are a lot of ways people try to distance themselves from the family members. There’s Trudeau’s method, in which he published his biography, but some people, mainly actors, take on an entirely different name and identity, such as Nicholas Cage, so they can stand out as individuals. There are many more methods that these children of famous parents do to make their own name and it’s only increasing and evolving.
In response to Emily’s post:
It intrigued me about how you stated that Stephen Harper only had accomplishments and a picture of him while others had actual biographies and info about them. I think that as some people, not just Stephen Harper, get more famous, they tend to think most people already know about their backgrounds, so they don’t tend to talk about it a lot, and mainly focus on their achievements instead. However, this just makes them seem less like a person and more just facts or just a common household name. In the case of Stephen Harper, I think that this is especially true for the young or new voters, who weren’t following the beginnings of his political career and actually don’t know much about him at all besides “politician.” It decreases his relatability, which is an extremely important part of appealing to the voters, which is why most of the other candidates tried to appeal to as many Canadians as they could.
In response to Kaz’s blog:
I really liked your point that Journalists help to unearth new stories that would have been buried under the mass use of social media. It helps show that journalists are still relevant, even when nowadays, almost everyone is a reporter in their own way. However, those who specialize in reporting help us bring a new perspective into the playing field of a particular event. In addition, they can help validate finding that you find important by saying, that they also find this news important to share. Although they might be biased, if they find your story, they can also spread the news a lot faster because of their larger reach around society, while on Facebook, maybe a dozen people or so will usually see it.
In response to Kaz: As a fan of John Oliver, I was interested to read about how you were investigating his method of getting life narratives across to the public. I have noticed that John Oliver’s method is particularly successful because he knows how to appeal to the common person who may not otherwise be interested in that particular topic. His comedy is effective in that it is informative and educational, engaging the audience in areas they might not otherwise be engaged by a traditional news source. Additionally, his use of the media falls under what Kay Schaffer and Sidonie Smith describe as “interlocking media venues”, which are significant to the circulation of life narratives.
In response to Blakely: As you explained, it is evident that Tom Mulcair recognizes the advantages of and capitalizes on his image of being a middle-class, family man. When I compared his life story to that of Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau, I noticed that they are very different. The difference between their stories is the fact that Trudeau was raised in a more privileged situation, with his father being Pierre Trudeau, the former Canadian prime minister, while Mulcair describes how he has overcome hardship as a common person. Mulcair recognizes, just as Kay Schaffer and Sidonie Smith do, that there is an interest among the public for stories of “individualist triumph over adversity”.
In response to Anna: I thought it was interesting that you chose to focus on the humanitarian impact of Brandon Stanton’s work. I often see well-intentioned ideas presented on Facebook, but unfortunately many of them are not always put into action. Brandon Stanton, however, actively works to engage with the people he interviews as well as the audience, and to establish connections between the two. Stanton’s decision to travel and document outside of the United States allows him to show his Western audience the people they wouldn’t ordinarily see on the street. The audience learns about how different circumstances exist in different places throughout the world, and how despite these different circumstances, there remains a possibility for connection and relatability. Once he establishes this connection, Stanton leads humanitarian action.
In response to blakely’s blog: Being a new international student I can relate to your feeling of uncertainty as to where our political loyalties lie but I think we can use this fresh perspective to our advantage to explore new horizons and decide for ourselves who we stand for without being influenced by external factors such as family or friends or any previously established judgements. While we may have chosen to look up different candidates, I think we are driven by the same sense of purpose to look for a cause we can relate to and a cause we want to support and want to strive for.
In response to nana’s blog: I want to start off by telling that you have handled this important issue very and its beautifully written. I couldn’t agree more with the fact that yes there are still some areas in our world where women’s education is regarded and unnecessary and they are denied this basic human right. And the fact that some girls are forced to marry men twice their age or just not of their choice baffles me but unfortunately this is not new to me because I have travelled to remote areas and villages in my country and I have talked to girls there and hearing all that ignites a burning desire in me to help them and even though I may not have the necessary means to help them now but I do look forward to the day I will be able to help them in some way.
In response to shaan’s blog: I appreciate that you shed light on such an important issue that affects our generation today. Stories and movies about gang culture are attracting a lot of teenagers from around the world, not just the south Asian community because the way the media portrays gang culture, they make it look so alluring that every teen thinks its better to adopt their lifestyle rather than pursuing a degree. Also looking at the example you provided of Bhupindar Singh Johal, gives us an example of the negative consequences of life narratives which we overlook sometimes because we are too focused on seeing the brighter side of the picture.Even though his work had a positive outcome, but it came at the cost of a lot of innocent lives, which is not something one can easily forgo.
In response to Jodie’s blog: You have made a great point that social media provide people with a safety net for airing their opinions. One of the reasons is that real identity is not always required on the Internet. In fact, many internet users choose to use a fictitious name to conceal their true identity. It is true that under the protection of such privacy, their feel less constrained when talking about sensitive issues as well as their personal experiences. Hence they are more likely to share their experiences online through commenting. Studies also found that pseudonyms posts are of higher quality given that undesirable consequences that follow are minimal. Hence, social media is a good way to spread life narratives and generate responses.
work cited: http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/159078/people-using-pseudonyms-post-the-most-highest-quality-comments-disqus-says/
In response to Tima’s blog: I really enjoyed reading Post Secret that you recommended. One post that really caught my attention is a black and white photo of a girl who is stretching out her hand with a “stop” word on her palm, sits in front of wall full of insulting words like “retard” and “obnoxious”. It goes a caption “My own mum mocks my mental illness”. The message here is straight forward: parents often overlook the harmful effects of mental illnesses on their child and fail to give them enough care. Though there are only a few words, the story is complete. It also speaks for victims who are not courageous enough to tell their stories in detail. Concrete and direct life narratives work extremely efficient to get messages across in a fast-pace world where readers always scroll quickly down a social networking site and didn’t pay much attention to lengthy paragraphs.
work cited: http://postsecret.com/2015/10/17/sunday-secrets-94/20-jj/#main
In response to Chipo’s blog: Posts on HONY sometimes do leave plenty of rooms for imagination that allow readers to engage themselves in others stories. An example in your blog is a women saying that she is “on my third fresh start”, without telling what the start is. However, can a vague sentence that offers us no concrete information about a person still be a life narrative? In HONY, most of the stories are told in a few ambiguous sentences only. This is apparently not enough to illustrate someone’s entire life experience. Most importantly, stories are often incomplete and leave out most of a person’s background, experiences, and the attitudes towards it. Reader’s response to a post may be biased as it is limited to single event rather than the whole story of a person.
In response to Zoey’s blog: Humans of New York has a very unique way of providing the general populace with different forms of life narratives ranging from the adorable “life in microfashion” posts to the more serious ones about the refugee crisis. I notice myself that the most interesting ones are the multi-post stories, where my attention is grabbed and then I feel the urge to do read more and more due to me being drawn in. Is this discussion of life narratives healthy though? We read different reports on the news of how Facebook causes individuals to over-analyze their lives and compare them to friends, but does this happen with HONY? Do people read these stories then feel as if their own story isn’t important enough?
In response to Anna’s Blog: Whenever I read Humans of New York I simultaneously feel both inspired and fearful. Inspired due to the brilliance of these stories, but fearful because of the attention these individuals can receive from other media outlets. This attention of course isn’t always a bad thing, as it can cause a fundraiser to skyrocket if public interest is large enough. However, I personally wonder if any of these posts where individuals have spoken out about their beliefs or have commented on the culture in their country and how it’s changed have found themselves in danger due to their statements. I wonder this mainly because of the instances of aggression toward free thinking people in Islamic countries. I worry that although Stanton has produced brilliant work, it can come undone due to the testimony of others and the disagreement that can follow.
In response to Kaz’s blog: First of all, it’s very lovely to see another fan of Last Week Tonight. I find it interesting especially when John Oliver is able to effectively engage the viewer in a topic that although one doesn’t know more about, it compels them to learn more about it at hand. Life narratives are, as we know, selected by the media for profit and to garner viewership. They’re sensationalized at times, and can gain your attention even when you don’t particularly want to watch. Is it through the reporting of these topics that are typically uninteresting or unheard of, that cause us as the viewer to be more interested in them? Is the way a story is presented, regardless of content, cause us to become more invested in it? Personally I think it’s the former, but it could just be how I presented the question as well.
Tami: I agree with you in that politicians use life narrative to attract votes. The use of reliability and the feeling of interconnectedness created in establishing similarities cannot be ignored. In my riding as the MP running for the Liberal Party is the father of my sister’s friend from school. I found that it was difficult not to think about him as a parent I recognize from seeing at the playground from a young age but as a potential representative of North Vancouver in Ottawa. In that respect I believe that politicians are aware of the connections voters make and use that aspect of the election process and campaign to their advantage as they relate themselves to as many voters as possible through biographies, speeches and social media.
I wonder, how would this and previous elections have changed had the politicians focused their speeches, biographies and outreach on politics and politics alone?
Nana: I believe that the one of the most important parts of I am Malala is the fact that it is written in the first person. It is not written by a man on her behalf nor is it written by a Westerner with the intention of commodifying of Malala’s outstanding story. It is written by her. It has since been commodified but her bravery in wanting to tell her story makes it stand out more than others do. A young Pakistani girl who was denied the right to education and stood up for not only herself but for every other girl in her position. The significance of the first-hand experience in this instance is huge. In this way, she is able to tell her story in a way that doesn’t make the readers pity her but inspires action.
Seana: One line in your blog that stood out for me was when you mentioned that the Humans of New York stories “are at risk of being forgotten”. Similarly to what Melissa mentioned in her blog, I agree that HONY is a very effective way to encourage spectatorship in the West. As HONY comes from a social media outlet it is available to almost anyone with access to the internet anywhere in the world. However, despite the millions of readers, only some will “Like” the posts and some will comment yet that appears to be the extent to which the majority of the population reading HONY will go in terms of response. In “liking” the pictures and posts readers can feel connected to what they’ve read but HONY serves a more effective purpose in raising awareness than it does inspiring change in the world. Initially HONY was created to create a sense of connection within the large city of New York, however, now that it has taken on a much more global and social justice orientation, does the format need to change in order to encourage action? Or is it expected that readers will act briefly with a “like” or comment and then move on?
In response to Tanvi’s blog:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/tanvibhatia/
“…organizations and individuals telling us not who to vote for, but rather who not to vote for.”
This quote from your blog struck me after watching a few political attack advertisements. These ads remind me of academic summaries in that they take a political leader’s political and personal life and present it with their own perspective. Their position is often taken by omitting positive aspects and focusing on what can be shown as a negative quality to demonstrate who should not be voted for. Along with quotes taken out of context, they use other low-level details such as gun registry, specific court trials, and poor economic statistics to support their wider idea. Usually ending with a specific phrase or term to wrap up the ad (e.g. “Justin Trudeau: He’s in way over his head.”) they have a very clear position on the issue.
Is this type of ad or short summary of a person a “Canadian” practice? Should these be allowed in Canadian politics?
Political attack ads: http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/08/06/watch-the-evolution-of-the-canadian-attack-ad.html
In response to Seana’s blog:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/seanabruff/2015/10/15/empathy-is-just-a-click-away-2/
Your question of “How can we turn a fleeting glance of a blogger into something that has a permanent impact?” was very relevant to me when reading the HONY stories. The website itself has an seemingly endless scroll of stories and as I was reading them I quickly forgot about the previous as I moved to the next.
Is there a source of information with regards to this type of life narrative that won’t be forgotten? News stories are strictly current events; very few people check newspaper archives. Autobiographies and biographies can be on the bestseller list for a couple of months, but generally fade into the back of the store over time. Artistic instalments displayed for awhile and then replaced with another in the next showing. The internet, as you said, is constantly changing and is another example of a fluid source. Perhaps life narratives are similar to their subjects in that they have a lifespan and they have that amount of time to make an impact on the world.
In response to Tima’s blog:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/wordsoftima/
“To what extent do these secrets represent the people who shared them?”
Your question begged another: “To what extent do life narratives represent the people who share them?”
Does a life narrative require an in-depth telling of a full life story or merely the most prominent events? Can it be reduced to a single idea, or in this case, a secret? In the context of secrets I think they are just a part of the whole. Over time secrets can inflate and cause more of an issue in a person’s life. An example of this could be an alcoholic addiction or an unrequited love. Sending these secrets in the mail to strangers would have a similar appeal to diary writing or private blogging. Relieving thought and emotion can be therapeutic for many. The problem of dark confessions that you mentioned is a questionable one. If a post speaks about depression and contemplates suicide readers may feel the need to seek out the anonymous sender and aid them in their difficult times. Life narratives can have an impact through witnessing, but is it ethical to in this context where the subject chooses anonymity?