Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Day 2 Question: Katrina.

Sometimes what's not in a text (film, novel, photograph, song, etc.) can hold as much meaning as what is actually in the text. At times we may need to ask what is missing in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of a text and how it reflects its cultural background. For example, in an ad for the Marines I noticed that the ad was filled with men; women were missing from the ad. This told me a great deal about the cultural and social background of the Marines and who is considered an insider and who is considered an outsider within this culture. After seeing this ad I felt I was clearly an outsider within this culture. This same idea could be extended to Our America. On the cover of book LeAlan writes: "Many times, many ways in America, young African-Americans do not get to speak their piece." This suggests that LeAlan feels that the voice of young African-Americans is missing within American culture. If we agree with LeAlan, what does this omission, this lack of voice and representation, reveal about the insider/outsider relationship in America? Can you think of an example where the exclusion of something revealed a great deal about the insider/outsider relationship within the culture? Can you think of an example of a film, novel, t.v. show, song, photograph or any other text where the absence of something revealed some deeper meaning to you?

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