Day: December 1, 2013

Categories
Uncategorized

Analysis of the BBC Article ‘South Africans on Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’

In today’s BBC article about the new South African film about Nelson Mandela, Milon Nkosi highlights the disparities of race even in today’s society. The film, which is a life narrative of Mendela’s life, struck well with most who left the theatre after it finished, which is the method with which Nkosi collected his qualitative data. Interestingly, he highlights that despite the consensus being that the film was accurate and positive, there were clear differences in the comments of the Caucasians who watched the film and the Africans who did.

The Africans who watched the film found it to be very uplifting and symbolic of the freedom Mandela fought so hard to achieve. These young black girls who were surveyed are in fact free, because they were raised after the apartheid ended and so did not face the strife related to it directly. In contrast, those who were surveyed who were Caucasian and slightly older were less effusive, but felt that it was an accurate film for indicating that there is still a long road to travel for the liberation struggle. It can be extrapolated then that those who faced the apartheid saw it as accurate while those who did not simply felt it was a good film about freedom which they have and deserve. It does seem that the girls do not have a good understanding of the gravity of the situation, however.

Race is also brought up in our reading ‘What is the What’, by Dave Eggers. In this autobiographical novel, Eggers writes about the continual subjugation that the protagonist, Achak Valentino Deng, faces. In Africa, Deng is not marginalized due to the colour of his skin, and in fact the opposite occurs, with humanitarian aid workers providing assistance and goods due, in part, to the colour of his skin. When he reaches America, however, racism seriously affects him and there are problems with him getting basic medical care, a good education and also a well paying job. While neither South Sudan nor the United States of America went through apartheid, there is a clear message which links the two. Both show that one must go through an experience which affects your identity in order to be affected by it and have it encapsulate your day to day life. In this case this means racism, but in others this is their gender, ethnicity or age. Removing stereotypes from this is essential to living in a more peaceful life with less subjugation which here is seen to occur globally.

Categories
Uncategorized

Reactions to Evan Aluyen’s ‘Malala Yousafzai and Censoring’

Evan Aluyen’s post about Malala Yousafzai was particularly striking, for it’s evaluative comments on censorship. His main arguments involved the positive elements of censorship, in that officials reserve the right to censor the media produced in the country due to cultural sensitivity. He also made the point though that banning the book is a violation of personal rights, and that it provides valuable social, cultural and political information to students. These paradigms come from a cultural and educational aspect, and I hope to contribute to the issue of the censorship of her book and others like it from a political sense.

Primarily, in case of politics, the censorship of Yousafzai’s book, entitled ‘I am Malala’ is not necessarily an apt political move. In its element as an autobiographical research site, the message that Yousafzai is presenting is meant to reach a multitude of people. When the Pakistani officials censor the novel, those already sympathetic to her cause are angered and creates dysfunction within society. From a Western perspective, it seems preposterous to censor books for their content not being appropriate to the masses, but this is something which has occurred many times in the past, including books like Judy  Blume’s book ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’. From a political standpoint, there are people who support but also negate censorship but it certainly does pose a problem for both Human Rights and for democracy. In the West, living in democratic society, freedom of speech is at the forefront of the rights that we have. This means that it sparks huge controversy when the media is censored, since we are aware of what we are not b. Ieing allowed to do. In the more Eastern societies where democracy does not permeate society, there is still controversy over censorship. This proves that regardless of location, silencing voices tends to limit artistic creativity in the future as well as causing problems with societal acceptance of the government.

It is important to note, however, that culture is being upheld by the Pakistan censorship of ‘I am Malala’. Its messages of dissension mean that not only does it not fall in line with the beliefs of the country, it is also limiting the religious freedom that some people value by bashing it within the book. While it is clear that religious freedom must be respected, it is the question of the morality of the religious and cultural values of the society being accepted at the cost of personal freedom. Many might argue that personal freedom comes above all else, but if Yousafzai’s book is limiting their cultural practices and views, it is possible that censorship can be a good thing in this case.

Categories
Uncategorized

Facebook and Its Success

Facebook is an intriguing source for an autobiographical site due to it’s relative newness and the structure it has which makes it so successful. The site has unique features which make it continually popular, and with frequent updates it is constantly adapting to the public’s improvements to the site. While the company gets larger and larger, this sector of the public is expanding to reach people in less developed nations as well as the Western world. What is it, precisely, which makes Facebook so pervasive in recent years? And perhaps more importantly, what are the effects of Facebook on us in the future?

To address the question of Facebook’s pervasiveness, I draw on this 2012 study by psychologists Ashwini Nadkarni and Stefan Hoffman. They determined that Facebook is so common in today’s online world for two major reasons. Firstly, the ‘fundamental desire to belong’. We are social creatures by nature, so it makes sense that a tool for creating and establishing connections promotes happiness within us. One example of these connections being established is the band God Street Wine, who were reunited thanks to a loyal fan creating a Facebook page for the group. Secondly, the ‘self-representation’ aspect of Facebook in which we recreate ourselves on the Internet as better versions of ourselves. It is this image, created by numbers of friends and photos, which cause us to aspire to change to be more like our online selves. This is not a healthy desire, however. If we focus on our real life friends rather than the image the public and our friends have of us online, we would be a lot happier.

Moreover, spending too much time on the Internet is bad for humans as we need proper social interactions in our lives, which is one of the dangers of a more connected world. In terms of answering the question of what the effects of Facebook are in the future upon us, there is a vey real threat of inhibiting social connection so much that it affects our health negatively. Dr. Aric Sigman cites Facebook and other social networking cites as reducing the skills of interpreting body language and limits our social skills in his BBC article. In time, social networking will ‘alter the way genes work, upset immune responses, hormone levels, the function of arteries, and influence mental performance’.

These are very real potential consequences of online networking, but it is important to note that there are also other sources for these issues and the potential problems of cancer, dementia and heart disease that it causes. Too much television, not eating healthily enough and not enough exercise can lead also to problems of cancer and disease. These messages have permeated Western society almost as much as Facebook has in recent years, and have become umbrella phrases for living healthier lives. One such example is this article by Express, a British newspaper. It is clear that we should be providing more specific advice to people rather than generalizations for the entire public sphere, as no person is the same as another. Perhaps social networking will limit us in the future, but so might these umbrella phrases of which I speak.

Categories
Uncategorized

‘What is the What’ as a Useful Autobiographical Research Site

The novel ‘What is the What’, written by Dave Eggers, concerns the migration of children across South Sudan and into Ethiopia and Kenya. In it, Eggers provides the detailed memories of one such boy, deemed the ‘Lost Boys’ for their nomadic nature, in a rich autobiographical site. The problem lies within just this element of the novel, however. The image of the issue of the forced migration of African children that Eggers portrays is incontestably different than one which Achak Valentino Deng would provide. The problems lie within the words of Deng, the Lost Boy who provides the novel’s information, being transcribed by Dave Eggers. Is it transcription which is ocurring, or is it transformation?

On the one hand, the American author is a good thing for Deng’s story. Eggers’ fame from previous successful books meant that when ‘What is the What’ was published, his already substantial fan base read the book. Then, through word of mouth and popularity causing media attention, the demand for it increased and it earned the title of New York Times Bestseller, among others. This is most certainly good news for the plight of the Lost Boys to be told and provided a wider audience for the message to spread. There is something disheartening, however, in the fact that it takes a famous and successful author in order to broadcast a message which is not necessarily something catastrophic or urgent. These are the stories which the media picks up as they happen, and so despite many children dying along their travels from Sudan, it did not garner as much media attention as it could have when it happened.

This relates to the idea of what is being put on the shelves as being available to the public, as well. In some cases it is the public who decide what goes on the shelves at the forefront, by sheer popularity. In other cases, however, it is the bookstores which put books in prominent locations in order to be read. With the immense power these book stores have to spread the message authors are trying to present, perhaps more emphasis should be made on books with clear information to be spread.

There are also problems of such a famous author writing the story. It is not a direct autobiography in any sense, because Eggers is taking the words of Deng and ultimately shaping them in his own perspective. It is this ‘shaping’ which creates losses in the meaning of Deng’s words and reduces the authenticity of Eggers’ work. It is a negative paradox in that it takes an author like Eggers to garner the attention, but the book itself is not as accurate because of this.

Spam prevention powered by Akismet