Thoughts on "The danger of a single story"
I love this talk on the danger of a single story. When I was young, I also had the same impressions toward Africa. Because of images I saw and news I heard, I thought people are all poor and starve everyday, and there is only desert. I was shamed of it as I learned more and more about Africa.
When people only hear one side of a story, that's how biases are created. It's easy to create biases nowadays especially. We consume so much fast media that present the opinions of events instead of simply presenting the facts. Over time, fast media will influence how we think about certain things, which can depend on what environment you grow up as well. It's also hard to filter and judge what information is good, and what information is true when there is so much information in front of you everyday.
I grew up in Beijing, China. I learned about the cultural revolution when I came to U.S. because it was erased from my history textbook. The danger of single story is created by telling the same story over and over again. By erasing the bad part of the history, the government thinks it'd create a perfect imagine of the country that it wants the new generations to remember.
The last statement was very well said and summarized the talk, "When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise." Therefore, it's important to have an open mind and challenge stories you hear because you might find your paradise.
Thoughts on "A History of Sound Art"
I find the whole 1.5 hours of recording uncomfortable. There is silence, chaos, textures, and some kind of illusions in the sounds. It's hard to find the beginning, or the end, or rhythm. Even though I didn't enjoy listing to it, I agree that It's very clever to put all the sounds together and to create something completely new and futuristic like. It invokes individuation and imagination. The possibilities of one sound can translate to some other meanings in another context. There are moments where every sound comes together, and they made sense (around 44mins).
Assignment: Short Sound Collage - Modern Day Dating
I had a fun time creating this little sound collage. I wanted to create a modern day dating scene at a busy restaurant. The guy looked nothing like his picture on the profile, so the girl planned on leaving secretly.
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