Though the 14 cows couldn't bring back the thousands who died on Sept. 11 and they were never brought to America, they represent the understanding and sypmathy of the nomadic Maasai of Enoosean Village. The fact that these people gave up something so precious to them for people they didnt know is very admirable.
While others sent relief in the form of money to victims of the terrorist attacks, the Maasai sent cows. This story could be confusing for someone who didnt know what the cow means to the Maasai and how precious it is to them.
I found the difference of values between what the Maasia people and American to be interesting. In the Wisconsin it is quite common to drive past a field full of cows and to not think anything of it, but to these Kenyans a cow is a precious, important animal. For a nomadic people cows may represent power or may be a symbol for life in their culture because cows have so many uses, whereas in the U.S., money, a flimsy piece of paper, represents power.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Representation and the Media
In Stuart Hall's analysis of representation and the media he describes the double meaning of the word representation. I agree that it can be used to describe a person's affiliation with a group similar how a politician represents its citizens, and that the media re-presents information to the general public.
Hall mentions the Gap of Representation and the challange the media is faced with reducing this gap. With recent advances of technology, this "Gap" is smaller than ever. Journalists are able to put articles online moments after a breaking news story occurs along with photos and videos. However I feel that no matter what technology we have there will always be a "Gap of Representation" because it seems impossible to close that gap entirely.
Another challange in representation of information is the varying points of view, beliefs, and values people have. Any number of people may see an event, but they all could have different points of view and would therefore re-present that information differently. Secondly varying beliefs and values people have influence on what a reporter or journalist deems important enough to report about. What that journalist chooses to represent may leave out other seemingly insignificant details that others may want to know about.
With these things in mind I feel that accurate representation of events and information by the media is something that is highly sought after by the media, and with today's technology the media is able to bring the general public closer than ever to the actual events.
Hall mentions the Gap of Representation and the challange the media is faced with reducing this gap. With recent advances of technology, this "Gap" is smaller than ever. Journalists are able to put articles online moments after a breaking news story occurs along with photos and videos. However I feel that no matter what technology we have there will always be a "Gap of Representation" because it seems impossible to close that gap entirely.
Another challange in representation of information is the varying points of view, beliefs, and values people have. Any number of people may see an event, but they all could have different points of view and would therefore re-present that information differently. Secondly varying beliefs and values people have influence on what a reporter or journalist deems important enough to report about. What that journalist chooses to represent may leave out other seemingly insignificant details that others may want to know about.
With these things in mind I feel that accurate representation of events and information by the media is something that is highly sought after by the media, and with today's technology the media is able to bring the general public closer than ever to the actual events.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
