Throughout our Art Studies class, we have discussed the issue on the privileging of voices—who gets heard and who doesn’t, who gets to choose what information to be delivered, and whose voices become marginalized or silenced. While we have extensively critically analyzed the circulation of voices and the shortcomings of representation in autobiographies, I think it may be refreshing for once to look at perhaps the achievements of these genres and the representations they have been able to attain.

I have learned across all my CAP courses is the significant changes the introduction of technology has had on individuals’ lifestyles, especially in the contribution of the globalization and the circulation of voices. In Geography we learned about the “time-space compression” by geographer David Harvey how the upgrading in technology from the horse-drawn carriages to ultimately the airplane, allowed for a mass transportation of people and thus a mass transferring of information about the world. In relation to that, the establishment of social media and the internet through technological advances has allowed for the empowerment of people all around the world. It doesn’t require you to have significant status or power in society–everyone who can access the internet has a voice and equal opportunity to be heard.

Recently, a video has gone viral on Facebook. It is footage bearing witness to a man getting arrested in Bronx, New York by the police after being told to get off the bus to check his fare. It has gone viral due to the unnecessarily harsh procedures taken by the police, holding down this man down to the ground despite being guiltless of the offence as he had evidence that he had paid. Since the spread of this video, within a few days the New York Police Department has reassessed the legal situation of the authority of the police and now “officers…cannot make random stops of people getting off buses” and are  reviewing the inappropriate approach taken by the police officers. This is an example of how effective social media and sharing testimonies can be–it empowers ordinary individuals to keep in those in higher power in check, and promote equality.

This phenomenon has been seen in numerous contexts: The Arab Spring, protest movements in the Ukraine and many many more. While there are many hardships that are happen due to the effect of social media coming in contact with higher powers, I personally believe that with the opportunities in sharing in testimonies allowed by the internet, there is a upward trend in bringing power back to the people from the powerful groups of society.

As a side note, I’d like to emphasize that I am clearly aware of the how there are voices are still excluded from representation. There are yet much limits in representation, and as well as how empowerment is still not equally distributed amongst all of a population. However in this post I am particularly focusing on the positive aspects, commemorating the achievement we have made thus far during our human advancements and innovations.