Images in Crisis

206 Writing Journal F231

Writing Journal 1: Iconic Image

After the raid on Stonewall, 1969, Fred W. McDarrah

This photograph, shot by Fred W. McDarrah for the Village Voice newspaper, is of young rioters outside the Stonewall Inn after it was raided.  It captures a moment of celebration after such a devastating event. The photo became, and still is, iconic because it showcases the unbreakable spirit of gay and trans people. They wanted to live freely as themselves and they fought against the oppression they were met with. This raid, and the subsequent riot, sparked the fight for LGBTQ+ rights nationwide. This captured moment of queer joy and resilience serves as a reminder of the people who paved the path we now walk. This iconic image shapes how we remember this time because instead of only remembering the pain and strife of the oppression of queer people, we remember the refusal to back down, and the victory that followed. It indeed was a victory since the first pride parade was held a year later in honor of the event. 

 

Writing Journal 2, Cult of Personality: Donald Trump

Donald Trump is a perfect example of someone with a “Cult of Personality” following. His supporters have a devotion to him that I can only describe as worshipful as they gather in droves, armed with signs and shirts adorned with phrases like “Thank the Lord Jesus for President Trump” or “Jesus died for you, Trump lives for you.” They idolize him to a point that is nothing if not concerning, and they’re constantly putting out images to spread their ideology. Two such examples are the artwork of Trump as Neo from The Matrix and the art of Trump with a halo around his head like depictions of the saints. The depiction of Trump as Neo is particularly ironic because the creators of The Matrix, Lana Wachowski and her sister Lilly Wachowski, are both trans women, and the Trump supporters behind these images are usually anti-trans. This serves to emphasize just how deluded these supporters are. They’re so focused on depicting Trump as some sort of chosen hero that they fail to realize they chose a hero that represents the opposite of what they want. Moving on to the saint-like depiction of Trump: it shows that his supporters are so deeply committed to supporting him that they place him on a pedestal of metaphorical divinity. All of these examples show a calculated and deliberate effort to depict Trump as a larger-than-life figure in an attempt to sway more people to support him.

 

Writing Journal 3: Propaganda Techniques. 

I chose a campaign ad from Donald Trump released in November 2016. (link to speech) Trump utilizes many propaganda techniques in his speech and combines them with the effect of visual rhetoric throughout. 

Almost every propaganda technique is present in Trump’s ad, those present being: glittering generalities, transfer, name-calling, card-stacking, plain folks, and bandwagon. 

Glittering generalities are evident in Trump’s usage of terms like “political establishment”, “the establishment”, and “corrupt establishment”. Terms like these are glittering generalities because they are intentionally vague while also supporting the speaker’s argument. In all of these quotes, we see the word “establishment”; what is the establishment? Is Trump speaking of the same establishment the audience is thinking of? This is particularly important when Trump says “corrupt establishment”. America’s political system is very complex and is made up of many so-called “establishments”, so which establishment is corrupt? Who exactly is perpetuating this corruption?` Trump’s use of glittering generalities causes the audience to interpret his words in the way that best suits them, strengthening his speech. 

Card stacking is present as well, though much more subtly. Throughout his speech, Trump speaks of the political establishment of his opponents causing economic decline for America; while he says this, the video shows many images of Hillary Clinton which causes the viewer to associate these claims with Clinton, and place blame on her. 

Plain folks and bandwagon work in tandem throughout the speech, but they are especially prevalent towards the end. At many moments during the speech, Trump uses words like “we”, “our”, and “us”. When speaking about the loss of jobs, Trump said “our jobs” while the ad shows clips of working-class Americans. Viewers see this and think that Trump is one of them and that he feels the loss of these jobs too. This plain folks effect strengthens the following use of the bandwagon technique. At the end of his speech, Trump says that the only force strong enough to save America is “us” meaning the people in the crowd, aka his supporters. His repeated use of “we” creates a feeling of camaraderie and also tells the audience that other people are doing this, so they should too. 

The aforementioned use of “we”, ‘us”, and “our” combines with Trump’s praise of the American people and, through the technique of transfer, applies that praise to himself, thus painting himself in a good light. Listeners get so caught up in the bandwagon effect that they project their own emotions and thoughts onto Trump, which helps curate a strong image and demeanor. All of these techniques and effects combine to convince viewers and listeners to vote for Trump in the election, and he never once has to say the words “vote for me.”

 

Writing Journal 4: War & Hollywood

I chose to analyze Platoon, a 1986 film about the Vietnam War written and directed by Oliver Stone. The film portrays the vile nature of war and what it does to people, particularly soldiers. It is important to note that this film did not receive support from the Pentagon. It was met with solid disapproval due to its portrayal of the military, though one could argue that the lack of Pentagon interference in the script makes it a more accurate film. While Hollywood does shape audiences’ perceptions of war, a movie with no Pentagon interference is more likely to keep that perception close to the truth. 

There are many scenes in the movie that show viewers a far more human and flawed side of the military than previously seen. One such scene (link) is when the main character, Chris Taylor, first arrives in Vietnam and speaks about an anonymous quote saying, “Hell is the impossibility of reason.” and compares Vietnam to hell. He goes through a list of things he has to do: wake up at 5:00 am, hike all day, make camp at 5:00 pm, eat, dig a fox hole, set up an all-night ambush and a three-man guard post, repeat. He speaks about his exhaustion and says he’s so tired that an enemy soldier could be right in front of him and he wouldn’t know it. Taylor also says that the soldiers who have already been in Vietnam for some time don’t care about the new guys, and would leave them to figure out the way of things on their own. This scene is important because it shows the audience that a soldier is not an indestructible vision of strength and honor, he is just a man, and men are capable of weakness and cowardice, which means the army is too. 

Another far more graphic and disturbing scene (link), occurs when Taylor and his fellow soldiers are interrogating a Vietnamese man and his mother. Taylor starts screaming at the man and shooting the ground near his foot while yelling at him to dance. Shortly after Taylor stops, another soldier throws the Vietnamese man down and crushes his head with the butt of his gun. He then goes on to threaten the man’s mother, who is a seemingly frail old woman. This scene is especially impactful and shows why the film did not receive Pentagon support because it showcases needless and vile brutality carried out by the U.S. military. The other soldiers in the room are left uneasy by this display, but nobody makes a move to stop it. This scene is a perfect example of Hollywood showing the audience the incredibly dark and evil side of war when the Pentagon would rather audiences see the ideal side, the one of respect and honor that is clearly not present here. 

The final scene I included (link) is when a soldier by the name of Barnes suspects a man of being a VC, or Viet Cong. Barnes holds the man’s young daughter at gunpoint and threatens to kill her if he doesn’t admit he is VC, but the man seems to say he isn’t VC and begs Barnes to let his daughter go. The scene builds to where it seems Barnes is going to kill the girl, but another soldier, Sergent Elias, stops him and they fight briefly. Elias questions why nobody tried to stop Barnes, but the other men pretend nothing even happened. A soldier was about to commit a war crime, to kill an innocent child, and only one man tried to stop it. Barnes’ actions are a depiction of a sick and twisted man unworthy of his rank in the army, but he is there nonetheless. 

The choices made when writing and filming these scenes, as well as the movie as a whole, clearly illustrate that Hollywood wanted the movie to portray the dark and gritty reality of war. War breaks men and turns them into shells of themselves, capable of brutality beyond measure, and this film makes sure to show that to the audience.

 

Writing Journal 5: Conspiracy Theories

A conspiracy theory is an attempt to explain harmful or tragic events as the result of the actions of a small powerful group. Such explanations reject the accepted narrative surrounding those events; indeed, the official version may be seen as further proof of the conspiracy. Conspiracy theories increase in prevalence in periods of widespread anxiety, uncertainty, or hardship, such as during wars and economic depressions and in the aftermath of natural disasters (source) 

Before she ran for Congress, Republican Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed support for many conspiracies. Chief among them was the QAnon conspiracy theory: a discredited conspiracy that pits former President Trump in a struggle against a group of Satan-worshiping, child-abusing Democrats and celebrities. In August 2020, she tried to distance herself from QAnon and claimed that “it doesn’t represent me.” (source)  In November 2020, Greene became the first open supporter of QAnon to be elected to the U.S. Congress. Greene has also falsely claimed that Barack Obama is secretly Muslim, that a plane did not crash into the Pentagon on 9/11, and that the 2021 California wildfires were caused by lasers from space (Steck & Kaczynski, 2021). (source) 

But what is QAnon?

QAnon is a set of internet conspiracy theories that allege, falsely, that the world is run by a group of Satan-worshiping pedophiles. QAnon followers believe that this group includes Democrats like President Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and George Soros, as well as a number of other public figures like Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks and Ellen DeGeneres; religious figures including Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama are also suspet. Many of them also believe that members of this group kill and eat their victims to extract a life-extending chemical called adrenochrome. It’s clear to anyone in their right mind that this theory is bordering on insane, and is completely baseless. According to QAnon lore, former President Donald Trump was recruited by top military generals to run for president in 2016 to break up this group and bring its members to justice. Since it began, QAnon has incorporated elements of many other conspiracy theory communities, including claims about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the existence of U.F.O.s, and the 9/11 “truther” movement. Since the 2020 election, QAnon has also become a place of support for the false theory that the election was stolen from Trump. Some QAnon believers are adamnt that he is still the president, although some have accepted that he is not. (source)

While some Republicans have tried to portray Greene as a political anomaly, her success demonstrates the extent to which key party leaders supported her and pushed her to victory despite her well-documented history of spreading false claims and violent rhetoric. Critical to Greene’s success was the intervention on her behalf by some pro-Trump figures and Greene’s ability to tap into the far-right online world where baseless claims thrive.

 

Writing Journal 6: Dangerous Adevertising

Ads that are emotionally engaging cause people to make snap decisions about buying a product. Advertising, which is intended to persuade and control, distorts our perceptions, emotions, and behavior in order to profit commercially. These advertisements frequently fall short of the mark, causing controversy that elicits strong responses from the public. Controversial advertisements, which may be insulting, hurtful, or just plain bad taste, can seriously destroy a company’s reputation and, depending on the subject matter, it may never be repaired. 

Kendall Jenner appears in a Pepsi commercial that was produced and launched in response to the Black Lives Matter protests. It received harsh criticism for using the BLM movement as a marketing tool and for making light of the very real and serious problems of racial inequality and injustice. While the protest depicted in the commercial is not explicitly BLM, the timing makes it abundantly clear that the BLM protests are the subject. According to a statement from PepsiCo, the ad’s purpose was initially to reach millennials and “to project a global message of unity, peace, and understanding.” The advertisement was pulled after receiving online backlash, with Pepsi and Jenner being accused of trivializing Black Lives Matter and police brutality.

The ad showcases different artists practicing their craft, presumably fueled by pepsi as it is always on screen, and being drawn away passing protesters. Unfortunately the protest is made out to look more like a celebration and it takes away from the gravity of the BLM protests. Instead of showing the reality of extreme and often violent police response to these protests, instead there are police smiling and accepting a can of Pepsi from Kendall Jenner. Pepsi used the protests as a tool to promote a message of being yourself and living your truth, which is noirmally a great message, but not when the price is diminishing the truth of the protests. Pepsi could have easily promoted the same message by showcasing the reality of the protests and standing with BLM and the people fighting for justice, but they failed to do so. 

The protesters Jenner joins hold posters that read “Love” and “Join the Conversation” and are trying to convey an urgent, modern feeling using a vague sense of uplifting. But despite its good intentions, the ad makes a blatant error. An advertisement that appears to overtly mention BLM protesters while trying to sell soda is irresponsible in any circumstance, but the reality that, when protestors engage police, it is, more often than not, black people without famous names to fall back on. People who have taken genuine risks to fight for justice, rather than white supermodels selling Pepsi. 

 

Writing Journal 7: Resistance & Political Activism

 

JR’s Chronicles of New York City, a brand-new epic mural featuring over a thousand New Yorkers and featuring audio profiles of each person, is the focal point of the show. Every initiative on display elevates the voices of common people and exemplifies JR’s continued dedication to civic engagement, community, and teamwork.

Inspired by the murals of Mexican artist Diego Rivera (1886–1957), JR began an immense participatory mural series in 2017. Each piece involved filming and taking pictures of hundreds of individuals, either by themselves or in groups, and then combining the images to create a composition that addressed a location or a societal issue in a way that was both narrative and incredibly realistic. The participants made decisions on how they wished to be remembered and represented. 

JR decided to paint New York City for his mural project’s third phase. The mobile studio was stationed in fifteen distinct places throughout the five boroughs in May and June of 2018, all of which were selected because they were particular major intersections. 1,128 New Yorkers from all walks of life were photographed in their neighborhoods by JR and his colleagues. A mural that unites such a distinct slice of the city can only be created via this creative approach. The goal is to use art to communicate the story of New York City today—its people, its vitality, its accomplishments, its problems, and what it is like to live there in 2018. The outcome is a large mural that will be shown in October 2019 at the Brooklyn Museum.

The Chronicles of New York City, which debuted at the Brooklyn Museum, was shown on a wall made of eighteen LOT-EK-constructed containers at Williamsburg’s Domino Park from January to August 2020.

JR’s ambitious undertakings over the past 20 years have broadened the definition of public art by providing visibility and agency to a diverse range of individuals worldwide. The first major exhibition of the French-born artist’s works in North America, JR: Chronicles features murals, photos, videos, films, dioramas, and historical documents. JR interacts with communities at the nexus of photography, social engagement, and street art. 

He does this by photographing individual portraits, creating massive reproductions of them, and wheat-pasting them, sometimes illegally, into surrounding public areas. All of the projects on view honor the voices of everyday people and demonstrate JR’s ongoing commitment to community, collaboration, and civic discourse.

This multimedia display follows JR’s career from his early adolescent years spent documenting graffiti artists in Paris to his more recent work, which consists of digitally collaged murals that form collective portraits of various publics, to large-scale architectural interventions in cities across the globe. 

 

Writing Journal 8: Analyzing film speeches

 

I analyzed the speech from “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” 1939

Mr. Smith exudes a strong sense of determination and belief through his body language. He holds himself straight and looks his fellow senators in the eyes while he conducts his speech. This communicates his dedication to his cause and his strong will. Mr. Smith’s body language starts to indicate physical exhaustion as the speech goes on. He starts moving more slowly, and there are outward indicators of stress like sweat and a little trembling. These reactions highlight the tremendous effort needed to maintain a speech of this length. Mr. Smith becomes more expressive with his body language given the intensity of his speech. His emotions–frustration, rage, or desperation–are shown through gestures like hand gestures and facial expressions, which are sporadic and energized while also showing his exhaustion.  Mr. Smith’s body language conveys a genuine belief in the righteousness of his cause. His use of emphatic hand gestures to emphasize key points, his maintaining of a steady gaze to connect with his audience, and his non-verbal cues all align with the sincerity of his words. The scene also involves Mr. Smith interacting with his surroundings; pacing back and forth, leaning on the podium, and gripping the edges of the desk. These actions symbolize the emotional weight of the situation and the physical toll the speech takes on him. Mr. Smith’s body language adapts to the reactions of both supporters and opponents in the Senate chamber. Positive responses elicit nods, smiles, or gestures of gratitude, while opposition leads to expressions of frustration or disbelief. Mr. Smith’s body language in this scene contains elements of determination, physical fatigue, passion, genuine belief, interaction with the environment, and reactions to the audience and opposition. These nuances contribute to the overall emotional impact of the scene and provide a deeper understanding of Mr. Smith’s character and the challenges he faces.

 

Writing Journal 9: Editor’s Choice, Myanmar:

When the military, known as the Tatmadaw, overthrew the government in a coup and imprisoned elected officials, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the situation in Myanmar worsened in February 2021. In the November 2020 elections, which the civilian government had won handily, the military claimed that there had been voter fraud. Protests, strikes, and acts of civil disobedience spread across the nation as a result of this action. Global criticism has been leveled at the military’s handling of the protests due to reports of massive violations of human rights, including arbitrary detentions, assaults on nonviolent protestors, and limitations on the right to free speech. Reports of extrajudicial executions and the use of force against civilians have surfaced. There have been serious humanitarian ramifications from the political unrest, including economic disruption, displacement, and a worsening humanitarian situation. A sizable number of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) are the result of the conflict. Human rights violations that followed the military takeover have been denounced by the international community. In addition to diplomatic efforts to address the humanitarian crisis and restore democracy, sanctions have been placed on the military junta. The conflict is compounded by deep-rooted historical and ethnic complexities, making a peaceful and inclusive resolution to the crisis challenging. The multifaceted nature of the crisis is partly due to the long-standing struggles for autonomy and experiences of violence faced by ethnic minority groups in different regions of Myanmar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing Journal 10, Humor & Crisis:

During difficult times, humor can be a very effective coping strategy that gives people a psychological haven and a way through hardship. When faced with difficulties, humor offers a momentary reprieve, enabling individuals to remove themselves from stressful situations. It acts as a social glue, strengthening bonds through shared laughter and igniting a sense of support among people going through comparable hardships. Comedy frequently offers a different viewpoint, assisting people in reframing circumstances and discovering absurdity or irony in the middle of hardships. Finding humor in difficult situations helps people be resilient by preserving their sense of perspective and control. Although comedy doesn’t lessen the gravity of crises, it is an effective tool for fostering group cohesion and emotional control, providing a break from trying situations.

My first image if from Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

This image is from an episode in which the main character, Aang, and his friends train to fight Fire Lord Ozai and save the world. In this training one of Aang’s friends, Toph, pretends to be the Fire Lord but puts a humorous spin on it. The Firelord dummy is a stick figure with a watermelon head, so Toph calls herself Melon Lord and puts exaggerated enthusiasm into the character. This moment shows how Toph uses humor to take some of the immense pressure off of her friends, but mostly off of Aang who is being told to go against his pacifist beliefs and kill the Fire Lord. Toph’s Melon Lord joke keeps the training effective while also keeping the tone light in a dark time. 

 

My second image is from a show called The Good Place. *SPOILERS AHEAD* 

This image is of Judge Gen, the judge of quite literally everything in existence. In the episode this image is from she is looking for a button to press to erase the Earth and restart humanity because she deemed our world to “terrible everywhere and always in a different way” (link). The judge is looking for the button inside a disco themed void and starts singing “gonna erase the earth” to the tune of Anita Ward’s “Ring My Bell”. This keeps the show’s comedic tone even in a tense time when all of humanity might cease to exist. The humor is more for the viewers than the characters, but it still highlights using humor to cope with crisis. 

 

 

 

 

My third image is from the post credit scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home which features Eddie Brock and the Venom Symbiote.

Eddie and Venom, the symbiote creature living inside his body, have just been teleported via magic to a different universe and the first thing they do is get drunk. In this image, venom controls Eddie’s body and suggests they go skinny dipping. Venom has poor impulse control and most often does things simply because he can, he wants to, or he thinks it would be funny. His desire to for them to go skinny dipping is his way of coping with the sudden uprooting of his and Eddie’s life.