Big Brother and Surveillance

In 1984, the Thought Police analyzed the lives of people. They looked at their daily actions, whether or not they went to work, what they did at work, what they did at home, whether or not they showed up to mandatory meetings, and whether or not they led a private life. They also sought to get into the minds of the citizens and make sure that the government even controlled their lives. Ultimately, the Thought Police were looking for any form of dissent or any thing that didn't follow the laws and rules of the ruling Party. Anything that could destroy their world. Sexual pleasure, writing, reading, alone time, history, all of it was regulated by the government. Language was changed from old English to newspeak.

Big Brother and the Party ran life even in a land without laws. History was controlled by the party. If you were killed, your name was erased from the records, essentially making you an "unperson." You never existed. Even those who knew you, forgot about you after a while because there was no reinforcement of your existence.

The privacy of your own home was also destroyed. Through the telescreen, you could be watched by the thought police, examined for any unorthodox behaviors and destroyed. Children aided in this practice by being trained to and utilized to spy on their parents and look for anything that was not acceptable in the eyes of the party. It was hard for parents to stay alive because of this, and it resulted in a lot of families being destroyed very early on.

Modern day, America faces a similar problem. Edward Snowden has been revealing the extent of NSA's actions in terms of Surveillance. Facebook lets the government access old messages on a whim. The Patriot Act allows the government to monitor your online interactions at a whim, without notifying you.

Brought to you from Airstrip 37, previously known as Cleveland.

Discussion Questions 10/22/14

Have social media sites really helped reinforce and develop stereotypes? 

Does the phenomenon described in the article have the ability to create further divisions in our society? 

Where is the line that defines when a life has become "too public?" Does that line exist? What are the consequences of crossing that line? 

Is there anything we can do on our own to change this mentality or at least not feed into it?

War and Social Media

Military, War, and Social Media

(America's Army 3 Trailer)

Notice something about this Video Game trailer for America's Army III? Well, firstly, there are no women (which are allowed in the military currently and soon will be allowed into Infantry units) present as a character at all. It isn't alone. Call of Duty, Battlefield, they all feature a distinct lack of women.

In fact they all feature a distinct lack of what the military is like at all. For the most part, they seem to romanticize war. They portray it as this giant theatrical production with music playing, heroic speeches, Ramboesque gameplay, they make it seem like a cakewalk. The cut scene to the right comes from a game I enjoyed greatly; Halo: Reach, and it features an example of`this theatrical representation. This picturesque attack with heroic music playing in the background is an example of the theatrical nature of some video games. It trivializes the nature of war, makes it seem beautiful when in actuality, it is a serious matter in which real people lose their lives or are scarred forever. 

Look at games like Call of Duty again, What else do they show? Well, they make it seem like the military is a place of constant action where you go all over the world to these war zones and do these amazing things. You eliminate hundreds of enemies, destroy installations and secret projects, and do amazing things, all without any Psychological effect on the character. It says "there is no side effect to war, don't worry." 

The worst part of all of this, is it sends this message that killing is fun and enjoyable. My eighth grade year, a Marine came to my school to talk to us. He had been through Iraq and seen combat. This caused one student to ask him if he was proud of killing people to the point that he marked his kills somewhere. What type of message are we sending when children think this way? I am not saying Video Games are bad, I am just saying proper education is required so children understand what it is really like to be in a combat situation, or how serious the act is.

Once again, the problem is not Video Games, but education. Children must know the truth behind war and conflict, that way they can develop the respect that these subjects deserve. 

SAP Proposal II

Gender and Digital Media

Think back to some of your favorite movies, TV Shows, Video Games, and pictures. Who are the characters? Usually men and women doing normal things. They follow their stereotypical roles and do what we as an audience would expect. Men are the tough ones while women are shown as the sensitive, thinking types. Male characters in Video Games are the norm, and they normally are the player, especially in first person shooters. They wear functional clothing and are almost always the hero. Women, if they are in these games or movies, tend to be more revealing and open, eager to shown their form to the world. They also tend to be the "Damsel in distress" who require a tough male to save them. 

Facebook's policies for name require that you use your "authentic name" meaning that you must have a name you actually use in your life, something you are actually called. Say there is a person who's name is Richard, for example, and he is always called that. If he created a Facebook account, would that affect him in any way? Well, that depends. 

What if he is called Richard by everyone by everyone but really feels like being a male feels wrong and that he feels weird being one. What if she (Richard) is scared to come out to his family or maybe has and was denied the ability? Does she still have to be Richard on Facebook? What if she meets some people who are supportive and call her by the name she prefers or wants? Can she use that name on her Facebook account? No, because it is not her "official name." 

What about Skype? Signing up for that only gives you three options for gender: Male, Female, or "Unspecified." What if you don't identify as either? Do you just put "unspecified?" This is a personal topic to many and one worthy of attention because it may actually be painful to them. 

To me, digital media is attempting to define who we can and cannot be. It is becoming even more personal than just knowing what you like to shop for or look up because it is now beginning to define who we can be and what is acceptable. Together, they seem to be cracking down on how and what a person can identify as, all the while reinforcing what we are supposed to be (stereotypes) through popular culture with movies and video games.

Where popular culture and digital media lacks, we can step in. Purposely going against Facebook's policies, creating posters about non-conforming shows and people, breaking down stereotypes; the binary was created by an old order, an order that sought control. It is time we break this order and stand up. Demonstrations of non conformity on campus, organization through social media, all are things we could do to combat stereotypes. 

Have you heard the phrase "Rules were meant to be broken." Let's change that into "Stereotypes were meant to be broken. An advocacy for individuality, to show that we all are individuals and that we are not all the same, that is what we must do. Killermann's "You Soup" and "Genderbread man" are good starting places, good calls to action, good bases to work from. We would take this base and use it, work off it, and show off our individuality. 

How do we effect the larger population though? People throughout the world? Well, fight fire with fire. Many of us are tied to our Digital devices. I am stuck to programs like Steam and Skype, communicating with people back home. Facebook is a site I used to use and check religiously I know I am not alone. Others do this more than I do, others use Tumblr and Reddit, sites like that. 

I encourage the reader to do some reading on the Arab Spring. One thing we know was that Social Media played a big role here in that it allowed information to be spread across the region and allowed people to communicate their thoughts. Ferguson showed that digital media can take issues and spread it across the Web. Twitter was ablaze with reports from the front. A few weeks ago, before I came to John Carroll, I remember seeing a news report on a video revealing Police Brutality in New York City. Social media spread it around the country to the point it became a issue big enough for the news to report on it. 

Let's do something to end stereotypes. 

Social Action Project Introduction

Transgender and Genderqueer Allies Project

With my Social Action Project (SAP for short), I wish to address the issues related to the LGBTQ community, specifically that revolving around the issue of being Genderqueer or Transgender. These are issues which are unknown and small. Over the past few weeks I have blogged about two things. Transgender and what it means and the example of a policy against it, that is anti-Trans and the use of the internet to disseminate information. In my post about the Military's Transgender policies, I agreed with them at the time but I feel wrong with doing so now. More specifically, I feel guilty and ashamed. Everyone ultimately has the right to fight for what they believe in and if they are healthy enough, that should mean they can join the Army.

Civilian side, there are also issues. In Ohio, for example,

"It is legal ... to be fired from your job, denied an apartment, or refused service at a movie theater, restaurant or hotel because of your sexual orientation or gender identity. In many cities and counties in Ohio and for many government employees, these practices are prohibited, but there are no statewide nondiscrimination protections that protect all Ohioans" (Equality Ohio).

There are currently 29 other states lacking these same laws, 29 other states not being equal in the distribution of rights to all citizens, 29 states that have taken these rights away without due process of law, 29 states that ultimately do not follow the 14th Amendment. The significance of this cause is that we must work to ensure ALL citizens are extended these rights and ALL citizens are treated equally. Currently there is a battle politically over the equality of women and men. Personally, this should be equality for ALL genders and sexes.

My SAP focuses on a simple information campaign using Social Media perhaps working with the Campus GSA, "Allies." Hanging posters or creating "Guerrilla Art" pieces themed around education and awareness, perhaps using the internet to help the issue get out into the world as well. There are a few speakers like Laverne Cox who will be coming to campus in the coming months, so the publication and support of that meeting could be emphasized.

Ultimately, it would simply be a campaign focused on education and awareness as to make it an issue among the student populace.

Equality Ohio's website actually states that "79% of Ohio registered voters believe that laws should be passed banning discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on both sexual orientation and gender identity" meaning that the project could actually evolve into a few of us writing to the Ohio representatives asking for a bill to be brought up to the Ohio Congress. 

A lot of LGBTQ events center around increasing the awareness of LGBTQ people and issues. Pride Days feature parades and party like atmospheres. People fly Rainbow flags to show support. The campus GSA held a Drag show last week to get some awareness of the issues. These tactics and strategies are actually very very common. It forms an appropriate response because ultimately only support is shown and no one actually has to come out of the closet, per se. It shows the regular, "normal" citizens support these issues and want to see them resolved and make sure that everyone gets what they deserve as citizens of the United States of America. Because we have ultimately nothing at stake, out voice may go farther because it means that the opinions of more than just those who fall under the umbrella of QUILTBAG are valid. Transgender and Genderqueer individuals ultimately are the miniorities, so they need the support of their allies to make their voice heard. Let's help them out. 

Secrets ahoy!

Today, we live in a world where people accusing the government of corruption is the norm. We hear it everywhere, from the news to just everyday conversation. People claiming that they are being left in the dark by a plutocracy who has no interest in their issues. A plutocracy that is constantly seeking to get rid of our rights. 

There is something they forget though. Democracies call for an educated populace. And an education doesn't just fall into someone's lap. It requires work. A lot of people tend to just watch the TV and they consider that to be their education. That is fine and all, but they miss so much by just watching the television. The real education is in the written media. 

In my Government class last year, we learned how people who read the newspaper are more educated about current events than those who just get their news from the television. They also have a greater chance of seeing what the government doesn't want you to see. In the 1970s, there was a case about the printing of the "Pentagon Papers" which detailed all the lies the government told the people about Vietnam. The New York Times grabbed the papers and printed them in their paper. 

Back then, we had the Newspaper. Today, we have the internet. Go look up Wikileaks and see what it has. It can give you all sorts of "Pentagon Papers" and a look into the actions of governments around the world. Twitter is another source of information. During Ferguson, the site was ablaze with "tweets" about what was going on, people reporting from the front directly what was happening. These are only two examples of websites. but they show us that we now have more power than ever to follow our government. We need to stop complaining and start acting! We need to open the door to the closet and find the skeleton ourselves. We have the key, we just need to use it. What we do with what we find though, that is up to the people to decide.