week six: images of hatred and hope

The following images represent the points of hatred and hope that I think most strongly shape American (and sometimes global) life and identity.

Points of Hatred

Racism
















Homophobia


















Violence


















War


















Poverty
















Narrow-Mindedness



















Points of Hope

Community


















Family and Friends
















Nature


















Democracy and Opportunity


















Education



















For my posting I decided to do a Visual Exhibition of hatred and hope. I began by brainstorming some of the points of hatred/despair and hope that I think are most influential of American life and identity. I then searched key words on Flickr and found the above images. I like using Flickr for projects like this because these are real people's pictures--not manufactured or commercial, but true to life and experience. I ended up spending a lot of time looking at images, thinking about the ways that they represent my various "points," making choices here and there, and exploring different paths.

This project encouraged me to think about visual representation in a different way, to really consider how an image can influence a word, idea, or concept. For example, there were many different images I could have chosen to represent "war," but I hope that the one I chose conveys a sense of sadness, isolation, strength, and even a little bit of irreverence. I looked at so many images of "nature," but ultimately chose one that reminds me of spring, as that is the element of nature most on my mind these days. So, while I don't feel like I am a complete "creator" in this project--I didn't take the actual photographs--I do feel like my voice is making itself heard. These are the images that spoke to me, and if I were to extend this into a full student project, I would love to have students explain why they chose their specific images to represent their points of hatred and despair. Sometimes it comes down to simple preference, but really I think it's more complicated and significant than that.

I also like this kind of project because it teaches students to consider visual, as well as written, coherence. If I had more time I might want to create more of a unified portrayal of an American experience--or maybe I like images that contrast. This gets to the heart of some of the new literacies we've been discussing over the past year, and challenges students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate. And really, sometimes an image does say more than words ever could.