My Thoughts on “A Rousing Account of Migration in the Language of the Sea”

For my second project, I have chosen to write about “A Rousing Account of Migration in the Language of the Sea” by Yee I-Lann. The picture depicts several water buffalo swimming through an ocean next to shopping bags. The buffalo look a bit lost and confused, and as though they don’t really want whatever is in the shopping bag next to them. I simply chose this portrait because it stuck out to me. It appears that none of it was actually taken with a camera, but instead conjured up either through painting or through photo shopping it. To me, the photo seems to be saying that the youth are caught up in consumerism and are lost, buying things they don’t necessarily need. Keep in mind, these are my interpretations of the picture, and if you disagree you’re welcome to comment and tell me what your opinion is. In no way am I saying my interpretation is correct or that it’s the only interpretation of the picture; I am simply stating one of the several different ways this picture can be seen.

Yee I-Lann was born in 1971 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Her photos are varied, but all of them generally seek links between landscape, perception and cultural identity. (http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au) She created the Orang Besar series (which includes the photo being written about) in 2010. One site, aroundyou.com, has this to say about the series;

“The literal translation of “orang besar” is “big person”, a common term dating back centuries and used throughout the Southeast Asian archipelago to denote a person of elite socio-political-economic standing in a community. The Orang Besar series illustrates the social structure of the orang besar, the body politic, and how this continues to be a major character in the region’s political and economic nature in modern society. By reinterpreting the batik medium I-Lann then contributes a hybrid form and technique that carries with it cultural continuum and multiple entry points for reading.”

It seems as though the Orang Besar series is about the different classes in Malaysia and how they interact with one another.

The first part of the picture I want to focus on is the water buffalo. In the first panel you can see quite a few water buffalo; there are big ones and there are smaller ones. In the second panel, a few of the baby buffalo seems to be struggling to stay above the water. The adult buffalo seem to be enraged, or at least unhappy. In the final panel, we can see most of the buffalo have turned their backs away from the camera, and all of the smaller buffalo are missing. All shots have dark, foreboding clouds, and several bags adorned with a print of a flag.

I think there is a lot of symbolism in the photos:

• The adult buffalo represent the older generation
• The younger buffalo represent the younger generation
• The gift bags could represent products from Europe, or more specifically, Britain
• The rough and choppy water could represent consumerism
• The ominous clouds in the background could be a symbol for trouble coming to Malaysia if people don’t take heed to the message of the pictures

In the first panel, there are several buffalo; many young, many old. The older buffalo seem to have no problem wading through the water. The fact that they’re in the water at all could show curiosity at the British products, but weary not to be suckered into spending all their time and money on them. The younger generation, however, seems to be struggling to keep their head above the water, giving in to the trinkets and baubles from Britain. This might be alluding to the youth being enthralled by the products, buying them and not paying attention to whatever duties that should come first. One could note that the clouds seem the most sinister and dark in this panel.

In the second panel, the clouds are still looming in the background, but seem to be receding. Many of the younger buffalo have assumedly drowned, and some of them are struggling to keep their heads above the water. This could be representative of the youth, again, falling prey to British inventions and useless products that they don’t necessarily need. This time, the older generation seems furious, and they seem to be rejecting the bags.

Lastly, we have the third panel. The clouds have almost completely receded, but the younger buffalo are nowhere to be found. The older buffalo seem to be leaving the bags behind, keeping their head above the water, and are swimming away. I think this shows that while the younger generation has been absorbed into consumerism, the older people aren’t buying into it. The younger people aren’t planning for their future or worrying about what could happen. The older generation, however, is wise enough to turn away from useless products and they’re able to control their own lives, rather than let their lives be controlled by the things they own.

Essentially, this picture says to me that we need to be careful about what we let control our lives. We shouldn’t let our possessions dictate how we live, and we need to rise above our desires for things that aren’t a necessity.

The sources I used are as follow:

http://artradarasia.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/kerbautriptych-10x30cmx300dpi.jpg – Where I found the photo

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/crossingborders/biography/ilann_bio.html – A short biography about Yee I-Lann

http://www.aroundyou.com.au/events/yee-i-lan-fluid-world#.T2aa_XmwV3I – Speaks a bit about the “Orang Besar” series

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkC2g9N-Qys – An interview of Yee I-Lann from 2007

Do violent video games make people violent?

We’ve all seen these types of games; blood and gore everywhere. Body parts litter the streets. Brain matter plastered on the sides of buildings. Some say these types of video games create violent people; the ones that go on school shootings, or pick fights with other kids, or have anger issues. Some might say banning these types of games would solve all our problems. However, banning violent video games would have a negative impact on our society, and might even cause the opposite of what people would like.

1) Violence declines as video game sales increase

• The myth that video games cause violent behavior is undermined by scientific research and common sense. According to FBI statistics, youth violence has declined in recent years as computer and video game popularity soared. – US News

• In general, youth aggression has declined, while video game popularity has increased. These two things mean video games could not be the cause of violence among kids.

While video game sales increased from under 4 million to around 7 million, violent crimes decreased from over 3 million to just under 2 million.

2) Banning them goes against free speech

• If violent video games are banned, what next? Violent movies? Harsh words?

• The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children, saying it ran afoul of the First Amendment right to free speech.In one of the most closely watched cases this term, in a 7-to-2 vote, the justices said governments did not have the authority to “restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed.” – NPR.org

• It would promote piracy. Just because it’s illegal won’t keep people from playing them. Not only would the producers be losing money from potential sales because of pirating, but loyal fans might even go as far as boycotting a company for not releasing a game in their country.
• Violent games being banned would lead to violent means of obtaining them, like a black market.

A player thanks his teammate for his help after they took down a swarm of enemies. Behind him, one of their teammates prepares to take down a boss.

3) Aggression is caused by anonymity, not violence

• Even games without blood and gore still have rude people in them.

• Anonymity on the internet allows people to say whatever they want without any repercussions.

…Though, it still holds true that anonymity does cause more aggression because if you are alone and no one is watching you, you might feel anonymous and are thus more likely to aggress when in reality it is something you normally wouldn’t do. – psychwiki.com

A user in the game Minecraft uses colorful language to insult a player's building.

It just doesn’t make sense to think banning violent games would cause kids to be less violent. Once video games are gone, what’s next to blame? The anonymity of video games lets people that aren’t necessarily aggressive people act out. If anything, video games that groups you with several other anonymous players should have an ignore feature, so that you aren’t forced to listen to people if they’re being rude.

Another effective strategy would be to make sure parents know what ESRB ratings are. Games rated M are for people 17 and up, not 13 year olds.

As a closing note, I would like to mention most violent or shooting games have a teamwork aspect to them, cutting down on people getting angry at each other. Personally, I enjoy these types, and wouldn’t mind seeing more team-oriented games. I love playing with friends, or finding random people that want to work together. These types of games actually seem to help tone down the aggressiveness quite a lot, because if you refuse to chat with your team, you will lose.

For more information on this topic, you could visit:

1. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/05/10/video-games-dont-cause-children-to-be-violent – a study on video game/violence relation
2. http://videogames.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=003627 – Charts/graphs on video game/youth violence
3. http://www.npr.org/2011/06/27/137446796/court-california-cant-ban-violent-video-game-sales
4. http://www.psychwiki.com/wiki/220947478-Deindividuation – A document about aggressive behavior

Introduction

This is my introductory post (of sorts). This blog is to showcase all my future projects for my New Media and Social Change class at West Valley (hence the description and “NMaSC” in the url). I hope to update it rather frequently with new pictures or projects I’m working on, so stay tuned!

I’m interested in learning about photos that have changed society as a whole, and I’d love to learn about how pictures can be altered to make people think differently. I’d also like to take pictures of my own and post them here, if possible.

 

 

Since I don’t have anything else to write, here is a picture of a cute puppy I found on Reddit!