Existence is Resistance

One of the most clear examples of the changing media landscape that I can think of is the coverage of war and disaster. We first saw this new reality during the Katrina fiasco and later during the protests in Tehran. The images of pain and suffering cannot be easily ignored because of geography, timeshift or cultural disparity. The digital media are a fast, effective, and (relatively) inexpensive way of demonstrating that in times of distress we are all human.

When I was a child, I remember the “buzz” attributed to Bosnia, Somalia, and Haiti. The big difference is that I rarely saw the faces and heard the voices of those people. It was all too easy to turn the other cheek. Fast forward to 2010.If you do not know about the predicament of the people of Haiti, it is because you live in a cave or you are ignoring their cries for help.

I hope that this moment of clarity, these feelings of compassion will be extended to the long suffering people of the African continent, the occupied lands of Philistine, and the impoverished and downtrodden people in favelas, slums, barrios, ethnic ghettos, and rural villages throughout the world.

As more of us (you can decide if you are with me or not) move into the media production business we need to remember to turn the camera off of ourselves and show the world what is really happening. There is an abundance of “reality tv” but nothing is grounded in reality. I have nothing against “The Jersey Shore”, “Top Chef”, or “For the Love of Ray J” (okay maybe I am a little biased on the last one), but the electricity-less chef in Gaza, the real housewives of Port-au- Prince, and crib-less residents of New Orleans, need my attention more. Lets produce content that if nothing else, reassures these people that we have not forgotten them.

Haiti, salute!