In a class discussion today there seemed to be some underlying tension. It seemed that when Professor Akindes asked us to discuss how we felt about the documentary "Color Adjustment (1991)" and thoughts on it. The class is primarily made up of "white" people. I am Hispanic myself and I am almost completely positive I am the only Hispanic there. Still the class literally has only 3 black students. Its interesting that more than thirty years after the Civil Rights movement that a group of college students seem to have some tension about discussing racial progress. After a bit of thought, I am certain that some of the tension lies in economic wealth distribution.
For as far back as historians are able to record, it seems there has been a consistent connection with race and class. These two seem almost one and the same at times. Or at very least I can say that somewhere along the way, I have internalized this message. At a very young age I learned very quickly who I am and what that means about where "my place" is.
Minorities are always very aware of who they are. Being reminded of it on a regular basis: moment by moment, day after day...this is their reality. It is difficult to ignore that we look so different than each other and we learn that somehow based on these looks it makes us different people on the inside. I have wondered why looks seem so very important to us for a very long time...the truth is I think a great part of it is human nature. We have eyes and we biologically know to use our eyes to observe and essentially protect ourselves from harm. Its one of the five senses.
....It seems to me as I continue on my educational journey I continue to come back to the same focal point in my life. Its the Buddhist idea that we are all connected. I do believe that every soul is unified with the collective humanity. In the back of my head I feel as if Buddhism holds all the answers for us. It seems that every problem in life somehow stems from unhealthy ego. This constant idea that we are in competition with one another is ego. It is the exhausting and a battle we will never win. The idea that Martin Luther King Jr. preached supported our human spiritual connectedness. Everyone we pass on a daily basis is our brothers and sisters. We will always be attached to others in the most human ways. I don't believe there is very much that separates any of us from each other beyond our visual looks.
I believe that it is detrimental to our mental well-being to separate ourselves from each other. I believe that by doing so we create a sense of loneliness in our souls that cannot be quenched. This kind of thinking is what can lead to depression: a belief that no one is like you. In these cases people believe that they are only like a certain "breed." They truly believe that somehow the looks on the outside of the body has some kind of effect on the inside of the mind and heart. This kind of delusional thinking leads to hate: prejudice or racism is essentially a deep hate against another group. Hate has physical effects on the body. According to the website "How Stuff Works" hate (as it corresponds to anger) has dramatic effects on the body...
"If you're constantly being activated by triggers, however, then this state of response can start to cause damage. Chronically angry people may not have the mechanism to turn off these effects. They may not produce acetylcholine, a hormone which tempers the more severe effects of adrenaline. Their nervous system is constantly working and can eventually become overexerted, leading to a weakened heart and stiffer arteries [source: Angier]. There's potential for liver and kidney damage, as well as high cholesterol. Anger may bring along some accompanying issues, such as depression or anxiety."
As we know hate and anger can eventually lead to violence if not solved. In a book called Nonviolent Communication by Rosenberg, he states, “Violence comes from the belief that other people cause our pain and therefore deserve punishment.”
In modern day society, the kind of hate or anger towards "different" people is less apparent than it used to be. It shows up in smaller less obvious ways such as oppression of certain groups through Hegemony. Beliefs that people "choose" to be poor and that they bring upon themselves certain lifestyles is more than ignorant. These beliefs have given way to the continuation of race and class oppression.
I still believe education is the first step to any change.
I love your article. I also find it very interesting how you tight it to Buddhism. I feel like every religion warns people before anger, hate and prejudice. However I feel like sometimes religion is the problem for people. Religion is a very broad term. People can explain things that they read in their own way. And sometimes that is what is the cause of violence. People believing that if somebody believes in something different they are less.
ReplyDeleteWhat do Buddhist-inspired media representations of race look like? How would you re-script hegemonic constructions of race to communicate the humanity you described?
ReplyDeleteProfessor Akindes, I think a Buddhist-inspired media representation of race may not be one that embraces capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system that upholds ego (or the direct competition with others). Taking Capitalism out of the picture would dramatically change media for American Culture. Capitalism is the backbone of a race and gender dividing media. Without singling groups out of the packs, marketers would be at a loss. Marketers thrive on instilling the belief in people that they are different and less than: this creates a consumer in constant need (of whatever it is they are selling). This requires constant attention to race or gender's differences from one another. Marketers not only acknowledge these differences they send messages that these differences are really deficiencies. Buddhism is the opposite of this belief. Buddhism says we have everything in us that we will ever need: mentally, physically, and spiritually. There is no need that we do not already have complete capability of fulfilling ourselves. I don't know what the perfect economic system would be. I would imagine that a socialistic economy would be more in line with Buddhism. Socialism is the economic system in which the means of production are commonly owned and controlled cooperatively. As a form of social organization, socialism is based on co-operative social relations and self-management; relatively equal power-relations and the reduction or elimination of hierarchy in the management of economic and political affairs. I answered your question by first discussing the economic system that media is in because I believe that this plays such a vital role in what types of media a country produces.
ReplyDeleteYou're right -- commercial (capitalist) media is the U.S. standard and explains to a large extent why mediated messages promote hyper-consumption. In the process, we are segmented by gender / race / class to be easily identified and targeted. It would be interesting to analyze media in a democratic socialist country, such as those in Scandinavia. In the Netherlands, for example, programming a TV station was much more democratic and attainable for ordinary citizens. In the U.S. - corporations control the [public] airwaves.
ReplyDelete