Carmen - Alternative animation assignment

For this project, I decided to explore narration through a medium other than animation. I examined the topic of the news, and how our perception of world events is shaped by the media’s choices of what to print, what lens to paint it in, and what images to highlight. As a result, there is no way for us to fully understand the true nature of world events: some individuals’ experiences are highlighted at the expense of others’, statistics about death tolls offer us little understanding of tragedy, and pivotal events receive little or no attention. I find this to be a significant problem, especially during this time when so many things are happening in the world (e.g. uprisings in the Middle East, the destructive tsunami in Japan, elimination of collective bargaining rights for some U.S. unions, etc.) If our democracy depends on an informed citizenry, what is the consequence of information that does not give us a comprehensive view of the world’s events? Is there even a way to do this effectively?

           I tried to pose these questions through this piece’s structure. I based the image off a photograph from the New York Times photojournalism blog, and altered it to reflect my intention (referring back to our discussion about appropriation in art.) The image of the man is a paper cut. I chose this medium because the process parallels that of printing the news: some things are cut out to leave the “important” details more visible. His headscarf is made of newspaper, which was intended to solidify the argument that the news establishes our understanding of other cultures through a certain lens. The other people are drawn without solid form and in pencil to represent their imperceptibility as a result of media choices.  The paper clips symbolize the ways in which the news erects a barrier to true understanding of other people’s experiences.

           I don’t know if this piece fully ties into the narrative nature of this assignment, or whether the form effectively reflects my intentions. However, I had an interesting time exploring how to express my questions and concerns through a visual representation of this issue.