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The films that circulate through our society have an astounding ability to shape our perspectives of the world around us. Actors and actresses, doing nothing but their job, acting, present society with a visual representation of events; a place where what we have heard can be transformed into what we can see. Recently in my ASTU 100 class here at the University of British Columbia, we watched the movie American Sniper. If you have seen the movie you would know it does very well to represent the horrific consequences that come with war, and it pays tribute to the sacrifice so many brave men and women must make in fighting for their country. War movies such as American Sniper act as a platform for citizens of western society to access a visual representation behind the events occuring in war zones in other countries. The problem with using these popular movies as sources of information is that it leads to strong biased beliefs and leaves people with the perspective of a single view. Movies are not created to convey information, they are created to attract attention and to gain popularity, so when making decisions about our beliefs it is important we harness information from other genres than movies.

When I was around eleven I asked an adult why there were terrorists in the middle east. They told me it was because they had corrupt minds and they hated our freedom. In American Sniper the main character, Chris Kyle, while watching 9/11 on the TV says, “look what they did to us”.  America, in the film is referred to as “the greatest country in the world” and the terrorists in Iraq are referred to as savages multiple times. This shows how the film acts to divide the east and the west, strengthening the us-them dichotomy. Additionally, the film does not pay tribute to the thousands of civilian deaths resulting from American invasions, nor does it give any reasons behind the terrorists residing in Iraq. I am by no means a sympathizer of terrorism, but I think the representation of them as savages that hate our freedom is inaccurate. Terrorism is roughly defined as using violence as a means to pursue political aims. In the film American Sniper terrorism is redefined as violence caused by evil savages with no goal but to cause pain and suffering. This representation of terrorism acts to eliminate any validity behind the terrorists political aims. The film is structured in a manner that it gains support for the war in Iraq and dehumanizes citizens in Iraq. It portrays America as good and Iraq as evil. In reality war is much more complicated than good and evil, and to depict the war this way eliminates the potential of viewing it from an Iraqis perspective.

When countries are at war with one another the way we perceive life in other countries changes. We begin to see life in the countries we are at war with as invaluable and a threat to our own well being. Movies like American Sniper enforce these norms and can lead to rapid growth in racism and American nationalism. Because American Sniper and other movies like it have been seen to have high popularity in our society, we need to be critical of the message it is sending to our society and recognize the representation of war we are presented with can be very flawed.

Most recently in my ASTU 100 class here at the University of British Columbia, we have been investigating poetry, or more specifically, war poetry. Poetry is filled with dynamic emotion that can have a profound influence on readers with only a few simple verses. It is surprising to me how reading a few sentences in the form of poetry can have just as large of an effect on my emotion as a whole novel. It is as if the simplicity of the small articles of writing frame the potency of the mental state of the writer in such a way that it can be directly transferred to the reader.

All the poetry we have reviewed in class I have thoroughly enjoyed, but one in particular remained in my thoughts longer than the others. This was a poem called You Throw a Stone. This poem is characterized with the lack of punctuation and random spaces between words, creating distance and confusion. It carries the emotion of a disconsolate emptiness but also of a puzzled misery. It makes the reader question our motives for war and the consequences that it brings. In the end of the poem, when both characters lie died, not representing single individuals but rather whole nations, it pays tribute to the unquestionable pain that war brings. The dead do not feel honor, those who have lost the ones they love do not feel the victory of their nation, only an emptiness; a confused misery.

When I first read the poem, I read it through the voice of a child, which was perhaps why it had such a large effect on my emotion. It reminded me of two children, unaware of the racial and geographical boundaries that separated them, being divided by forces they didn’t understand. While realizing that the humans that inhabit this earth are different, with different cultures, different beliefs and different dreams, this poem reminded me that we all have children. We all must care for our young. We all must nurture them into existence, and when they die, we all feel pain. The death of a child is perhaps one of the most terrible sorrows we can encounter, and this poem, to me, was asking what is worth the cost of this misery? Is there any benefit to war that outweighs the death of our children?

The genre of poetry to me is one of immense beauty. It brings a new and diverse vision of our society to life. The poem You Throw a Stone is not direct; to different people it can have different meanings and allow them to ponder over different questions. Although not always having a direct message, poetry is thematic and it draws our attention to new ideas and integrated emotions that the poet is trying to convey. In this way, I believe poetry is valuable in our scholarly discussion, for it does not represent facts or direct representations of history, but rather abstract ideas, philosophical questions and a pondering over our society and our behavior.

Ninety percent of an iceberg lies underwater, leaving a mere ten percent on the top to be viewed. This same effect can be seen while looking at novels. Authors put years of work and dedication into producing books, which is often not taken into consideration while reading them. Another factor which is often overlooked is the history to the making of the book; Where were these ideas developed? Does it have a connection to history? A connection to today’s events? Joy Kogawa’s novel, Obasan, is a perfect example of the depth that can lay beneath the pages of a novel. Obasan is a novel developed from enriched historical events encrypted with Joy Kogawa’s personal experiences and interpretations, which has set forth a wave of realization and a commitment to change after the publishing of the book.

At UBC there is a library called Rare Books and Special Collections which holds tens, in fact hundreds of articles of all genres in regard to Joy Kogawa’s Obasan. Some of these articles contain information regarding the making of the book and portray Kogawa’s struggle and prolonged efforts to shape the book, not just the way she wanted but in a way that it would be accepted.  In this collection of articles there were multiple rejection letters to Obasan, some with carefully constructed criticism and others with very vague remarks, simply stating they would not be publishing Joy Kogawa’s book. There were also collection of rough drafts that would later be formed into the book Obasan, and a list of different proposed titles for the book to come. These pieces illustrate Joy Kogawa’s prolonged efforts and careful construction of the book Obasan. These articles, particularly Joy Kogawa’s rough drafts and list of different titles, also show the consideration that goes into building a book. Each chapter, each character, each sentence structure and use of imagery was put into place carefully with the intention of having a specific effect on the reader.

Just as we can see the efforts that went into the creation of this book we can also see its effects on the individuals who read it, society as a whole and the way in which it has shaped Canadian history. Within the documents at the library there were personal letters wrote from fans to Joy Kogawa, thanking her for portraying the brutality that took place in Canada towards Japanese Canadians during World War Two. The book Obasan as expressed in some of these passionate letters, brings forth an injustice of the past that has often been overlooked and silenced. This book, although fictional, brings a truth claim to the truly immoral acts committed by the Canadian government to Japanese Canadians during World War Two. News articles, within the collection of documents, exposed Obasans effect on all of history while telling how in 1988, a passage from Obasan was read in parliament during the official apology to Japanese Canadians and the signing of the Japanese-Canadian redress agreement. More evidence, such as Joy Kogawa’s letters to the Premier of Ontario and the Prime Minister of Canada in an attempt to use her book as a weapon to initiate change for elder Japanese Canadians Living in old age homes, shows again how Obasan has had a great effect on society and the formation of history.

Obasan has had an important role in delivering and shaping the history of Canada, and shows us, when deciphering the importance of a book we need to look below the tip of the iceberg.

With language and writing being a dominant part of our society, I think it is important to establish bias perspectives in everyday information we are exposed to. Media and other manifestations of information are usually interested in shaping the mind of an individual to make them useful to the user. This often means making people believe that they are selling the absolute best product or in the case of politicians, making people believe that their believes and values are of those that will best benefit society. I am going to be exploring how the genre in which information is communicated in can be used to alter an individual’s perspective on an issue. For example let’s look at advertisements directed towards children. Usually advertisements for kids are exciting with lots of color and lots of action; something that will grasp a child’s attention and not give too much detail as to bore them. Children will often become attracted to certain advertised objects not because of the characteristics of the object but by how the object is advertised. In the photo presented below, we can see how a diverse amount of color and action (portrayed by the bird swinging from a vine) can make a child feel attracted to something, not based on the information presented but how it was presented. This same effect can be used just as readily on adults.

On September 15th, my Sociology and Political Science class had a joint lecture about Japanese internment camps here in Canada during the 1940’s. During this lecture we watched a documentary called ‘A Degree of Justice’ which depicted the Japanese internment camps through eyes of Japanese people who suffered from them. This presentation of information gives the viewer an immediate sense of remorse and dismay for the injustice that took place. Using the affected Japanese people to pass on this information has a great effect on the way in which the information is received. Not only does this presentation show how someone’s life has been torn apart, it gives the presentation realism. It shows that actual people who were affected by this injustice and it is not something that has been forgotten about, nor should it be forgotten about. It proves that the Japanese internment camps are not just a historical event that can now be buried and moved on from, but in fact that there are still people who are alive and suffering from these events. This is an example of how genre can be used in a positive way to convey serious information in a way that it will be heard.

Another example of this use of genre would be serious graphic narratives. In my ASTU 100 class we are currently studying the graphic narrative ‘Persepolis’, written by Marjane Satrapi. My professor, Dr. Luger, pointed out that graphic works are generally depicted as something that is not serious but is in fact humorous. Comic books are usually used for entertainment and to tell exaggerated and funny stories about superheroes and villains; to grasp the reader’s attention through imagination and fictional tales. So what is the purpose of using graphics to represent a non fiction and serious event in history? I would argue that the way in which this story is told is the way that will make it most memorable to the most amount of people. Using graphics as a presentation for this story gives readers a morbid and unsettling feeling that makes them ask “Did I just read that?” In the photo presented there is a man being tortured which is depicted in almost a comical way. The feeling that settles across the reader after being exposed to this type of genre is one that will stay with them, a feeling that makes them question the events that they are reading about taking place in different parts of the world. Stated by Satrapi in the introduction of the narrative Persepolis, is that the book was written with the intention of spreading truthful information about what happened in Iran, and to make sure that these events are not forgotten. The genre of this narrative is very effective in this sense for it helps the essence of the book stay with the reader long after it has been read.

Genre can be very effective if known how to use it, so as citizens in our globalizing world, we should take precautions to understanding how genre works. Once we understand the mechanisms in which genre is used we can see how it is affecting our views and even use it to our advantage.

In today’s world, with technology accelerating at an ever impeccable rate, and globalization connecting countries and cultures far and wide, in a world with seven billion citizens and a growing population, what does it mean to be an individual? Are we individuals? Are our thoughts in fact our own, or are they a configuration of the society that surrounds us, morphed by our exposure to bias beliefs and  impending influences?

 In my ASTU class, at the University of British Columbia, we are learning about the importance of academic integrity and contributing to the world of research with our own and innate ideas. During one of my lectures a classmate asked my professor, Dr. Luger, how we can achieve such a thing when all ideas and insights have already been claimed? This thought sparked ideas of my own; how are we supposed to add to such a vast field of knowledge without stepping on someone else’s toes? Is it not true that every claim and every stake we position ourselves on, has not already been brood over by someone else? How are we supposed to affirm our individuality in a world of seven billion, and in a university who is a host to sixty thousand students?

 In my sociology class, we are being exposed to the idea that individuals desires and ambitions are often controlled and seized by the society in which one lives. In the book ‘The Promise’, written by C. Wright Mills, our class read, “Nowadays people often feel that their lives are a series of traps. They sense that within their everyday worlds, they cannot overcome their troubles, and in this feeling, they are often quite correct.”  “Underlying this sense of being trapped are seemingly impersonal changes in the very structure of continent-wide societies”. Reading this script of Mills gave me a feeling of discomfort. It made me think that perhaps we as individuals are as meaningful in being alive as we will be when we are dead. If we are nothing but a product of the environment in which we live, an environment which seemingly has the ability to control our lives, what does our individuality matter?

 After only two weeks of university my mind was troubled with ideas of my own insignificance and helplessness, when I had an epiphany; I realized that the thoughts that were tainting my brain were incorrect. If all the ideas and insights have already been claimed, then why is our world such a mess? According to the United Nations food and agriculture organization, almost eight hundred million people, or one in nine, are suffering from chronic undernourishment. Twenty one children under the age of five die every minute, and not one country can say they have found a perfect political system that benefits all. Teaching students to have academic integrity means much more than just teaching students not to lie and cheat, it is a method to develop Global Citizens; Individuals who use their knowledge and kinship to develop a better future in their community and in others. Academic Integrity to me, means using your knowledge to overcome the boundaries placed on you by society, and use your ideas to build what our future needs to become. In our world, we are in a continuous cycle of approaching new and horrendous challenges, and we will need new leaders, new thinkers and new philosophers to make sure we, as a species, overcome these challenges, and they do not overcome us. As individuals, we do have the power to make a difference, as stated by Prince Ea, in the video Man vs Earth, we simply need the wisdom and drive to do so. Although our society may have an effect on our individuality by pressure and biased beliefs, being aware of this influence on us, only puts us in a better position to challenge it. Being aware of the forces our society has over us, is the answer to finding our individual self within the community, just as academic integrity is the answer to a new, revised future.

 

Photo presented by: http://www.smays.com/2014/12/pick-a-line/