“Images”, images are often used as powerful tool to sound the call to action, or to bring awareness to a certain issue. The problem with the use of these “images” is that it can create social inequality for the group it is trying to help or it can demonize a group for its cultural practices. One example is the image of children in the Middle East holding weapons in the air to show the national pride during war. In our eyes, in the United States we see this as extreme and we view that culture as violent but are they? Our cultures’ reasoning dictates that they are a violent group of people, lacking moral judgment and reason, but that brings the question of how do they view us? We allow our children to watch violence on television, in video games and join gangs.
Our children watch violent movies and play violent video games and this from of recreation is a part of our Western culture. How is this different from what little children are witnessing in their home land? In this week article “ Modernity, Cultural Reasoning, and the institutionalization of Social Inequality: Radicalizing Death in a Venezuelan Cholera Epidemic” By Charles Briggs. The point was made that the “ liberal aura of cultural reasoning” is often used to sustain a hierarchy of class by juxtaposing images of that “inferior cultural” to justify another group superiority. The problem with this reasoning is it can be use by either side to justify violence. Resulting in social inequality on both sides.
The question I ask is how these two photos differ?
http://www.gunsforthechildren.org/gangexchange.html
The point I want to make here is that no matter what side of the war you are on or the reasoning you give it, the effects it has on our children are similar.
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