2.25.2022 - Yearly Reflection

The learning from year 4 was full of new discoveries, reflections, and thoughts. Each semester brought a different perspective towards modern-day media, corporations, and politics. Since the topics were closely related to our lives, I found the lessons to be real and fairly unbiased. Specifically, some memorable units were, the Israel-Palestine issue, analyzing and watching "The Corporation", and the relationship between media and politics (political compass,  BBC, Murdoch, etc..). Moreover, on top of gaining insightful knowledge on these social issues, I also learned how to distinguish between unbiased and biased media, and in terms garner an accurate perspective. In both school and outside of school, I was able to utilize my knowledge and skills to expand my information literacy, and mature how I view the world. Overall, I had an amazing 3 semesters, in which the research and interactive assignments that I accomplished, have and will continue to affect my critical thinking. 

Before Year 4, I had only a slight interest in worldly issues. Although I felt an urge to do something about it, I never had dived deeply into the historical and cultural roots behind an international problem. As such, when Mr. Paterson announced our lessons on the Israel-Palestine issue, I was conflicted at first. I was ashamed that I had been so oblivious about it, and that I had not been able to apply the education I received towards understanding controversial topics. However, now I am appreciative of the fact that I got to watch documentaries, probe through indie articles, and experience social media's role in addressing this issue unbiasedly. For example, when the class compared the contents of 3 different types of American newspapers to indicate biases, I was shocked to see there being subtle but apparent differences between local and major outlets. Looking back at my blog, I've noted the fact that in the New York Times I did not encounter an article about Israeli police shooting a disabled Arab man, but in the local papers, they had reported this story. Another interesting experience was watching Reel Bad Arabs. Contrastingly with the newspapers, I found it baffling that the movie industry and Hollywood were very disclosing with how they portray the Muslim community. Especially in the past, I saw numerous clips which overexaggerated Muslim stereotypes and villanized them. I was broken that Alladin also featured some of these connotations in their lyrics. From the above and other classes, I was able to gain a deeper insight into the historical, social, media, and political aspects of the Israel-Palestine conflict. In addition, through probing through Twitter and other media sources, I became more conscious with contemplating and choosing a wide set of media to understand international issues. Currently, I am implementing what I learned about this conflict to understand the Ukraine-Russia conflict, by watching both Japanese and Indian media sources. 

Another large issue that we covered was an analysis of the documentary, "The Corporation". I was scared that I could not persist in watching a 2-hour video, but the abundant showcasing of examples and techniques used by corporations to fulfill their demands for profit was very intriguing. A memorable example was Monsanto, which not only created the hormone-induced artificial rBGH milk but also Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. This was especially striking because they truly embodied the realities of corporations. Despite creating one of the deadliest weapons during the war, they were able to escape from paying an immense amount of compensation. Of course, the western bias of the final judge affected the decision, we can't ignore the fact that Monsanto is a corporation, and having strong business ties politically were seen as good opportunities. This led to their second scheme being the founders of rBGH milk and starting a ripple of unhealthy milk consumption by the US citizens, and also the scandal between Fox News. I could not believe that even after two dead-hit blows, Monsanto was still powerful and resilient enough to evade any dire consequences. Learning about their history blew my mind about how much authority and autonomy corporations have. 

Finally, I found that there was a powerful impact on how the media portrays politics. Throughout the year, I discovered numerous examples in which the media tweaks or manipulates facts to exaggerate or misrepresent minority groups. For example, I was astonished at how Murdoch could easily spread his conservative ideologies into the way Fox News saturates their opinions and presents them in the most obnoxious ways. "French-looking John Kerry", being my favorite. Moreover, I was surprised at how the BBC could portray Scotland in such a diminutive way, all with the objective to maintain Scotland's unification with England. However, through testing my political bias on the political compass, I also noticed that my views towards the media are lenient and that whenever I believe that they are too "obnoxious" I would need to reconsider why I think that way. As such, I was able to dissect how the media bonds with the political world and spreads worry, controversy, and dilemma towards the viewers. It's up to us to figure out how to interpret this information and make better choices.