Media and Manipulation FOA reflection

Link to my FOA plan and google slideshow

In my second FOA, I presented on how Osama bin Laden is portrayed through the media and how this impacted on American media viewers.

The research process was very interesting and fulfilling as I have been fascinated with the cult of Osama for a while and the conspiracies that surrounded his death. Being a history student also allowed me to make make historical and political connections which further develop a bigger picture of the situations Osama had been involved in. Lastly, as a keen, everyday lurker of the cyberspace, I felt that this research would also help be become a more conscious viewer of the media that surrounds me.

Upon starting on our topic of media and manipulation, I was instantly drawn to "Reel Bad Arabs" which enlightened me about the stereotypes placed on middle-eastern people. Having read "A Thousand Splendid Suns", I have been curious about the so-called "Arab World" and have also been inspired by other sources such as the movie, "My Name is Khan."

The world today is at a state of perpetual political unrest and it is hard to not realise just how involved we are in those turbulent tides as it is impossible to escape it when you are living it. Being in Malaysia right now, the national politics alongside the neighbouring politics of Thailand, the ongoing bloodshed in Israel and Palestine - it is everywhere, everyday and I honestly feel guilty for not knowing more and I feel that I'mg growing more desensitised to such matters.

Thus, with this research, I realize the importance of knowing such politics and a need to be more proactive into reading analytically as my research has been a revelation of knowledge that has simply been ignored.

Since the announcement of Osama's death in 9/11, I had always pondered on the legitimacy but had never dived into further research. The research process has opened a sense of curiosity towards the stark manipulation in everyday media as I had only just realise the subtle tactics of media manipulation and the dire consequences of it.

We are growing more accustomed to these media to the point where being brainwashed is easier and more effective than ever before. The best way to describe the generation of today are simply carcasses that hear but not listen, and see without thinking. Media is affecting the old and the young, and it is important to know that we are being targeted for such manipulation for reasons such as profit, support and many more. Hence, we have to harness an analytical lens towards the media around us and take charge of our knowledge by being smarter viewers as opposed to taking in the media at first glance.

It may seem tiring to be at look for these signs of manipulation constantly, but with practice, I hope that it will benefit us and prepare us for the limitless world of media today.

Political Correctness Reflection

Checking Ideas:

1. Where did PC language come from?

Political Correctness language originated from American Liberals who initially used the term literally, as in to be in alignment with political thought. 

However, it is now used to describe the act of 'adjusting'  language, ideas, policies, or behaviour in order to  minimize offence towards minority groups.

1. Why might it be seen as a good thing?

Based on the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, I agree in relation to its theory,  that words are important tools in giving meaning to abstract concepts, which further allow us to understand the world around us better as language affects the way we think and act.

In the argument for pro-pc language, I believe it helps us to further develop a wider knowledge of ethics as we live in a diverse society and the need to be adaptable is important in fostering intercultural understanding.

For example, the term "black" is a general term that can be applied or restricted in a spectrum of ways but PC language promotes an educated discretion amongst people as different societies uphold different ethical values.

1. Why might it be seen as a bad thing?

There are MANY arguments and conspiracies that denotes PC language and this may not appear strange as the main argument against it is that PC language brings upon connotations.

Connotations, or better known in a social setting as stereotypes, are what that is causing a stir among people as it could be misinterpreted as pejoratives on certain social customs and breaches cultural ethics.

Political Correctness language can also be argued as restricting, through how it implies a certain level of language in certain situations. This can be seen as a form of censorship which limits the freedom of speech.

1. What are your thoughts on the need for PC language to exist?

We cannot deny that we are ever present in a social society and system and would therefore need to adhere to societal rules and regulations as this allow order to be in place and promotes an intellectual and social progress. PC language today serves as not a restriction, but as an intellectual sensibility in today's ever-changing social society.

Media reflections

Inquiry questions for the unit:  - Whose values, attitudes and beliefs are reflected in media texts and why?  - Does the media create or reflect social perceptions?  - How can we detect bias/manipulation in media texts?  - In what ways can we use this knowledge to become more informed media consumers?

In media texts, the values, attitudes and beliefs represent the general opinion of most people of the community however these opinions would largely reflect on popular opinion to better relate to the general population.

Media is largely influence by sensationalism as the only way media is spread is when there are people using it. This however, leads to a reflection of the most popular opinions as the general opinion=general consensus=stable wave of viewers= stable income (?). What we have to see that media is also largely used in the interest of business hence popular opinions are reflected to garner attention and to keep viewers hooked.

Detecting bias and manipulation heavily depend on the media literacy of an individual. If we compare an individual who is only exposed to one type of media, he might be susceptible to bias in other medias or even fail to notice the bias in the only form of media they know as they could not see it from a different point of view. Hence, I believe by being exposed to a variety of media, we could compare and contrast opinions based on what is communicated through it.

Being informed media consumers require us to have a skill for analysis as we any form of media is open to certain levels of subjectivity hence we cannot take the messages communicated through the media at first glance. Being exposed to a spectrum of media resources also allow bigger space for interpretation and perspectives which allows us to analyse a matter inductively.

Discussion reflection

The flashcard prompts from today's discussions were really good.

In today's discussions, I highlighted areas of improvement for myself and in groups. I believe that we need to improve on allocating time for thought or better known as "fillers" to allow a slight breather from an idea to another. Asking for evidence or disagreeing is also another pointer to better improve discussion as it sparks productiveness amongst group members into digging deeper into the text.

However, some members simply would not put in the same amount of effort equally like others hence it would be our responsibility to help the learner by giving them space to voice out their opinions, allow them to follow up on ideas brought to the table or simply to give them a turn to contribute to the circle.

I also really enjoyed the prompts used for today's discussions as they further helped us explore other contexts of the novel that we had not thought of before and urges us to remember points from the novel which we may have overlooked before.

"Kabul" by Saib-e-Tabrizi, translated by Dr. Josephine Davis

Final thought:

Has your exploration of the poem developed your understanding of the novel's main concerns, themes, tone or anything else? Explain the connection or contradiction using quotes from the poem to support your ideas.

Throughout the poem, we can see many personifications of Kabul as a woman. The central theme of “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is the role of women in the Afghan society. The poem emphasizes on the many attractive traits of Kabul by using words such as “dazzling”, “sparkling”, “enthralling” and “gaiety” which contrasts the hardships and pain of the women in the novel. This oxymoronic comparison makes us wonder deeper into the meaning of beauty and what is ultimately the meaning of being a beautiful women on the inside.

Moreover, the novel, named after a phrase in the poem, also carry a significant and reoccurring theme of patriotism as “knowing and loving are born of this same dust”, illustrating how every Afghan owe their knowledge to the place where they were first born.

Hakim, or better known as Babi, struck me the most when I read the poem as it elaborates on the beauties Kabul has to offer. Babi, on page 192, was the character who compares Kabul to the two lines of the poem which are:

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”- , Babi, pg 192

One could question on the significance of the phrase from the poem as it plays the huge of the title and possibly an important theme. As Babi displays his love for Kabul in quotes such as “I can’t believe I’m leaving Kabul…. It’s strange to think that I’ll be sleeping beneath another city’s skies soon.”, I relate the poem strongly to Babi’s adhering love despite the chaos and violence of the wars in Kabul that ironically, takes his life away in the end.

Laila, although initially never showing much thought about Kabul, in Part 4 showed desires of returning back to Kabul despite a life of tranquility in Pakistan. As exemplified by the quote, "Kabul is waiting. Needing. This journey home is the right thing to do." -Laila, pg 392, Laila shows her patriotism by recognising the need to serve her homeland as it is her duty as an Afghan.

Term 1 English reflection

It has been a great start to IB with our first term in English being an interesting and productive one.

To start off, it felt like most of us are proactive and initiative in terms of completing work and meeting deadlines but I believe that the confidence Ms. Abena had in trusting us made that happen too.

However, I still depend heavily on Edmodo as it really helps me to be efficient and be on top of my work at all times.

Just in this term, we've read "A Thousand Splendid Suns", performed our first oral presentation, wrote our first written task and explored many interesting topics such as power and language, gender roles, and vernacular english to name a few. The term has definitely felt productive for me and I feel like I'm on par with what is to done in English at the moment. 

Moreover, I feel that I'm getting more practice in terms of writing through reflections and writing tasks which helps my rusty vocabulary bank to get working back again.

However, what I've enjoyed the most this term in English was definitely our exploration on African-American Vernacular English and having Socratic Circles as AAVE is an incredibly interesting topic and socratic circles help me widen my perspective on many topics through discussion. Socratic circles also allow me to practice my social skills in terms of being patient and being a good listener as opposed to being just a good analyst and speaker and I believe it is a skill that may seem easy but definitely requires practice to be good at.

Socratic Circle Reflection

Today, we discussed about literary criticism as we are starting on the Literature part of our IB English course.

At first glance, these term vaguely make sense to me but when some classmates raise their hands in confusion of the term, I realise that I myself don't really know the term well enough besides the rough idea of some sort of critical evaluation of literature (initially thought as anything that can simply be read).

So, as my circle went first, I suggested that we break down the term into their individual words: literary and criticism. We first discussed the definition of literary as literature, relating it to words such as text, art and written. Upon a quick clear up by Ms. Abena on the distinct difference between literature (work of written nature), text (any work for the means of communication) and art (an expression of creativity), we understood what sets "literature" apart. From there, we further discussed what qualifies as literature.

Before starting on what ideas we came up with, I would like to reiterate a few valuable points from the text to keep in mind:

In literary criticism, the three main points that catalyses the evaluation are:

interpretation: what was the message that the text was trying to convey to the reader?
analysis: how does the author create the effect present in the text?
evaluation: what makes this piece of literature good or bad?

I came up with ideas such as literature needing to contain a sense of extraordinary artistic value that is timeless however another circle member then argued that any text can be a form of literature as long as we have evidence to support the three main points of evaluation as artistic value varies in eyes of the beholder.

In terms of our strategy and techniques for the socratic circle today, it seems that some classmates did not speak up. It dawned to me that sometimes we could be overbearing and this may turn off other circle members from talking due to intimidation and it makes me realise the importance of the circle being a support group instead a fight for power. I realise on my part I had not taken the initiative to be more caring towards others in making them feel more comfortable about sharing their opinions as I was too busy voicing out my ideas.

However, I also recognise myself as being the 'shy' one in certain discussions and it simply shows me how I view the discussion as a competition hence the relenting effort of letting go and showing any signs of being 'lesser' in terms of knowledge. It makes me understand that I should view the circle as a safe zone of breaking down those walls of ego and to feed on the ideas of others as well hence the ability to question with confidence is something all of us should learn.