Most news is just a…
We have been brain-washed: if it ain’t written, it can’t be true. The arrogance of cultures who live by the written word is breathtaking.
But go tell that to the people in India where Sanskrit – Hindi’s mother language - was kept alive for centuries by sheer memorising. Oral cultures get bad press. The written word rules.
The tyranny of the written word. The world went berserk when the Twin Towers fell. For one year, every single day of the week, the Globe and Mail cried. Coming from Peru I was used to the indifference towards the Third World and was taken by surprise by the emotional response of the First World. I told myself: these people are, after all, able to feel compassion for those who suffer. Where is their compassion when the attack is not against their own?
¨White people are being attacked by the Islamic monster!¨ was the rallying cry. The West kept countless minutes of silence. A silence absent from Haitian, Bolivian, Palestinian, Bangladeshi, Chilean, African tragedies. One minute of silence while the demonizing words flow.
We have to accept the truth: El Conquistador Capitalista has won hands down. The sword is the Word.
The onslaught of the written word rarely fails: it pulverized ¨socialism ¨ and ¨feminism¨ among others. Gertrude would say, there is written word and written word. It is also used to resist. Thank god for dazibaos!
All is not lost: truck drivers can sing their truths to the world in their preferred manner: florid writing. "I'm ugly but my loving is delicious"!
Back at the Media Ranch all is under control. El Conquistador Capitalista controls the news. They do it by not putting the events in context. Context must be avoided. They rant against Chávez and Morales but avoid explaining the preceding 200 years. If they write about Haiti its all about bodybags and pathos. Cannon-boat diplomacy? 20 billion dollars in extorsion payment? 150 years embargo? Why add to the confusion with so much detail? It is much easier to show people of color suffering and dying. Take the context out and leave the pornography of misery. That’ll teach’em.
Tags: Advertising and culture, Carlos Ferrand, photo essay