World We Dare to Imagine Post One
When we envision the steps that can be taken to make the world a better place, finding an answer can be more than overwhelming. It's not that there is a lack of options, but rather the overabundance of directions can be daunting. I believe that the best way to approach this issue, for me, would be one that benefits my strengths and aligns with my passions. That is why I think furthering education, exposure, and the general dissemination of knowledge widely would be how I would help make the world a better place.
In my short life experience, it has always been surprising how the information that circles in separate groups can so widely vary. These groups could be separated by nothing more than social circles, yet still, the ideas circulating can be in complete opposition. These opposing ideas can lead to othering and hatred, but I don't believe this is because one group is naturally inclined towards it. Often, a lack of understanding or exposure to certain ideas is what causes this divide. I've seen it within my own friend group at home. Being in LA, I travel in a much more progressive friend-group than I did in rural America. When I come home, I often find myself being the spreader of new ideas. I can get my friends excited or exposed to beliefs and lifestyles they've never contemplated.
Cultural borders play a huge role in the othering that our society so often experiences. It can be incredibly hard to communicate across cultures, due to a two-way lack of understanding of their differences. This can be remedied by further exposure to voices of other cultures. I believe a major avenue to this exposure is through art.
Recently, East Asian media has been gaining far more prominence globally. I see this trend continuing not just with Asian media, but with all international media. As someone who wishes to work in entertainment, I want to be at the forefront of international content's rise in popularity. I want to advocate on behalf of these stories to distributors and domestic film financiers. Entertainment still runs through Hollywood no matter where it comes from, so being the person who can connect global voices and use my expertise to guarantee they are seen domestically is what I wish to do. I think as this art is viewed by a larger audience, we will begin to see the othering diminish. Global exposure and exchange of our experiences will help unite us. It will show us our common struggles and goals and bridge cultural gaps. It's a small and very early step, but I think sometimes that first step can be the hardest when addressing such a large issue.
Hi Kevin!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post and found it interesting that you want to achieve making a difference through the entertainment industry. I can definitely see where this would be a hard step to work out, as there are so many options to choose from.
In taking that first, small step, I think it may be interesting for you to focus on the global perspective of one region to begin with. It may be something as simple as developing a program to help others tell their stories--whether it be in written or video form. You could also take the approach more directed towards pushing stories. So not necessarily helping on writing the stories, but actively going out to find people with new perspectives and making it your mission to pitch them (which seems to be what you want to do). Considering you want to advocate for the stories, I think a large part of the work would actually be going out to find the stories and gathering enough information about others' lives to prove that their stories are worthy of being told. I think it is much easier to show it rather than tell it. And by focusing on one region or country at a time, you can better narrow down the most impactful stories.
Overall, there are so many directions you can take this in, but I think gaining exposure to the stories yourself is an important step in making sure others can feel the impact.
-Samantha
Hi Kevin!
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading your post. I like how you are interested in lessening the "othering" that often occurs in society because of different educational resources.
Since you are interested in the entertainment field, I think a few things you can do is narrow your focus. Is there a specific age group or country/ culture that you can to focus on working with? I think incorporating storytelling to spread educational content would be really cool and engaging. For examples some of my friends are into K-dramas and they began learning Korean and learning more about the culture through that form of media!