November 7th

I liked this class a lot. I wish that Ian's lecture was less in a lecture setting. If that had been just a regular conversation it would have been much more interesting to add input. What I learned today has to do with understanding how to get a message across. What catches our attention are shocking images, so you must learn how to shock people in an activist fight. In North America we are already surrounded by thousands of different fights to fight, it’s just a matter of what seems to be more important to you or me. What bothers me about this kind of activism, it’s an obvious bother too, is that activism shouldn’t exist, in my view. Ideally we shouldn’t have to raise awareness about issues, we should already be aware and doing something about it. If we all want to live in a perfect world, you need unity and equality. Obviously we do not live in an ideal world and activism is an extremely important part of life so finding out the most effective methods of putting forth this awareness is essential.
Another thing we discussed was revolution. I don’t know if I grasped the entire concept of what Ian was talking about, but I’ll try to think critically. What came to my mind most when discussing revolutionary theories was that isn’t it assumed that people must feel that a hegemonic entity is taking over their culture for them to rebel? Most rebellions are staged by a majority of oppressed people who feel they have a better logic than the current one. When a system is not working for a majority of people, that system changes, unless there’s something in the way like Hitler, or Mussolini, or Saddam, or Gadaffi. What I’m trying to say is that I felt these theories were obvious. When people are angry with a system, they will rebel, and usually what they are rebelling against is a hegemonic element. As more and more people feel that the dominant logic is not one meant for their kids or themselves, they will find ways to change it.