ellen-criticaldebates

[ellen-criticaldebates]

How to see the world

For the reading I read chapter 2 of “How to see the world” by Nicholas Mirzoeff. I found the ideas expressed by the author interesting and valid. People see the world in uniques ways and are influenced by past experiences and personal beliefs. Every person will view something differently such as a piece of art for example, people will gather different meanings from one piece.

I think that vision can also lead to stereotypes forming. For instance in the media young people, especially black men are often shown to be aggressive and violent. This is a biased point of view but many believe it due to just how much they see it everyday. Social media in particular has a very strong influence over people’s perceptions and how they see themselves and others. This is the case with how woman are depicted as being thin and perfect. Though it is getting better, images of woman in the past dominantly portrayed this perfect woman, leading to others who didn't fit these aesthetic to feel inferior. That is how powerful seeing the same images everyday can impact people.

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Project

For my project I have decided to look into how graphic novels represent mental health. I want to look into why this is important for this to be represented and how it can help others struggling with similar issues. 

I want to mainly focus on “Barking” by Lucy Sullivan. It is a good example of the topic and I feel that it helps others to gain a sense of what someone going through that may feel. I plan to do a deeper analysis into the book.

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Human Strike - Claire Fontaine

I read the reading and took down quotes I found interesting. The author talks about how often people are willing to put up with forms of oppression because it is easier to live that way than to struggle. There are times however when that oppression becomes too much for anyone to bare and action has to be taken for their freedom. This has occurred many times in history and continues to happen today.

“Human strike attacks the economics... sexual and emotional positions within which subjects are imprisoned.” p.29

“Adopting behaviour that doesn't correspond to what others tell us about ourselves is the first step of the human strike.” p.29

“We constantly become what other people want us to be, but starting a human strike means inverting that.” p.33

“The human strike is a movement that could potentially contaminate anyone and that attacks the foundations of life.” p.38

“Each struggle has become a struggle against a part of ourselves because we are always partly compliant with the things that oppress us.” p.44

During the seminar, we discussed the reading and our opinions of it. We talked about issues that could lead to people needing to strike and how many issues are not taken seriously be society.

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26/01/2021

During the session we discussed our thoughts on the set reading. We talked about our views on death and various diseases and how they can result in people being treated differently. Not all of the points in the reading are relevant today such as certain practices like not informing a patient about whether they have cancer. 

In the text the author talks about how victims of diseases are often blamed for them. This is often how people are still treated, for example if someone has lung cancer it is the automatic assumption that said person was a smoker and so caused the cancer themselves. This may not always be the case, it could  be caused by a genetic reason. 

We looked at some artists related to the topic. I found the work by Jo Spence interesting. She was a photographer who got cancer and decided to document her experience because of how little personal experiences she could find. Most people don't want to talk about death and often feel uncomfortable around the subject. I think that is is something that should be talked about so people going through life threatening illnesses do not feel as though they cant talk about it for fear of making others uncomfortable. 

One work related to talking about death would be “Michael Rosen’s Sad Book” by Michael Rosen. The book is about how a father lost his son and makes the point that it is okay to be sad and to mourn those you have lost. They don't have to be never spoken of again and pushed to the back of your mind. It shows kids that they may loose people and it is okay for them to be upset about this. The illustrations in the book were don't by Quentin Blake, I think the work is expressive and helps to convey the raw emotions the author feels. I think it is important to show kids this and not hide death from them.

The illustrations in the book were don't by Quentin Blake, I think the work is expressive and helps to convey the raw emotions the author feels.

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‘Illness as Metaphor’ by Susan Sontag

In the book, the author addresses how illnesses are treated differently and can impact on how a person is treated by those around them. For example, with cancer it is seen as a death sentence and many people are wary when interacting with cancer patients for fear of making them fall into despair. Sontag also states that “a surprisingly large number of people with cancer find themselves being shunned by relatives and friends.” (Chap.1, p.6) This suggests that even in modern times people still live in ignorance and can treat people badly because of this.

Sontag writes about how often people with illnesses are often blamed for them.  She talks about how people believed that people who repressed their emotions and lived a lacklustre life were the ones who usually got cancer. “Today they believe that cancer is a disease of insufficient passion” (p.18)

I found the brief history of how those with illnesses were treated and how some thought them to be the result of divine punishment.