Don't Rain on My Parade!

I am a total sucker for a good Broadway musical or almost any musical for that matter (unless Zac Efron is in it). I just always seem to find inspiration in them. It’s as though my inner being is awakened by the music and the dancing. “Don't tell me not to live, Just sit and putter, Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter. Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade” (lyrics from Don’t Rain on My Parade). I know, I know, this doesn’t really fit into Truth in Society and my learning. Or does it? This song in particular is all about seizing the moment and making the most of ‘your’ life. Personally, it has served as inspiration and motivation for me in the past few weeks. When we began this semester I was so gung-ho and ready for a new start with new direction. From our class chats before the break I was under the impression that most of my classmates were feeling this way as well. However, it seems that since we have started in January there are fewer and fewer people who come to class or are participating. I was a little discouraged by this, but I am learning that my learning process has to be a personal decision. It can’t be based on what others are or aren’t doing, it’s me making a choice and taking the steps to learn.

Anyways, journalism class has proved to be a little depressing. During the class and for homework much of our attention has been focused on wars, journalists who are on the front lines, people being forced to make life/death choices and so on. Yes, it is a little dreary, but it’s all a part of life. I am realizing the good and the bad are what make life, life. So once I embraced that mindset I was able to see beyond the surface of what we were talking about. All of these people, in each situation, have a life and a story unique from everyone else. These journalists, whose work we have been reading, have realized this. They have done more than just see the significance of a life though. They have also seen the many choices that people are faced with and the issues of ‘right and wrong.’ They have dared to write about the controversies and explore questions such as ‘was Eichman an evil man or can a rational man commit such acts?’ The answers to such questions are never easy, but a good journalist goes beyond the ‘surface stories’ and will ask/explore such questions. There was also a lot of debate within in the class about the picture of the ‘Falling Man’ was necessary. I believe that it was. Many people were taking the sides of the families who lost someone in 9/11, saying that the families would not want to look at that picture or relive the death of a loved one. However, as easy as it is for us to take such sides, we have not been that family member (of that specific situation). After watching that documentary it was more obvious that the people who had lost a loved one did not mind looking at this photo. I mean, 9/11 happened and it was beyond horrible. This picture allows so many of us to put into perspective what so many people had to choose to do. The Falling Man is representative of all of the people who lost their lives that day. It is horrible, but at the same time it opens up a door of reality and truth for everyone to see (if they want).

Russ has really been trying to get us to read and react differently to what we are reading. It’s more than comprehension. We are being asked to read in between the lines of writing and get closer to the root of what an author is really saying. I am still having a hard time getting my head wrapped around this. This is the first time a teacher has asked me to do something like this and it is harder than it sounds. However, the more exercises that we do with this the more the fuzziness is starting to clear and I am making more sense of what I am reading.

So Mary Magdalene- a saintly sinner, a whore, a lover of Jesus, a revolutionary? There are so many terms out there being used that I was not really aware of. There is a tonne of controversy surrounding the life and the choice of Mary of Magdalene. It was interesting to read the article “The Saintly Sinner” and hear so many thoughts on the manner. There are many conversations that are surrounding this issue and it was interesting to hear some of them. As I combine what I am learning in Religious Studies and in English it was easy to see that the author, Joan Acocella, was swaying us to side with her views on the matter. She quite subtly added at the end that she believed that the gospel of John was the accurate portrayal of Mary.

A Bit of Everything

Man, it has only been two weeks back at school and I am slacking off already! I totally forgot to post a learning journal last week. Oops! So this will be a two-in-one deal.

It seemed like first semester in TiS we focused a lot on English and Religious Studies and Journalism did not get as much attention. When Michael, Thom and Russ explained the new schedule for the beginning of this semester I was really excited about the new direction that the class is taking. It just feels like there is more unity and a better sense of direction within the class. It seems like the profs are on the same page and because of this my motivation for learning and also my love for learning have both increased.

English hasn’t been our main focus yet. However, what Russ has been helping us with has been carried over into all of our other subjects. He has really helped us read sentences differently and gain more insight into what the author is actually saying. I am so guilty for just reading (and not re-reading) and assuming that what I am reading on the surface is what the author is trying to communicate. I am realizing that this is generally not the case. When Russ first asked us to work with sentences that he had slightly changed I was not sure what exactly he wanted us to do. This happened again when we read paragraphs from two pieces of writing. When he explained what he was looking for and what he wanted us to begin to see it clicked and I saw it. I am finally seeing how most writers lace their writing with sarcasm or nonchalantly toss in a few clues that lead me to see what they are really saying. As I am learning this and being taught to see what is not made obvious, my love for reading has grown. Sometimes a simple reading can turn into a treasure hunt for the meaning in the words.

Religion and sexuality, the end of the world, ‘The Passion of the Christ’ according to Mel Gibson have all helped create a very interesting time in religious studies. I have never heard the many opinions about Mary Magdalene’s importance in the Bible and the conspiracies that surround her relationship with Jesus. There are so many conversations that are involved in this topic and before this reading I was not aware of that. Conspiracies have always interested me to an extent, but I do not think about them a lot or analyse their authenticity. Maybe I should. I loved listening to Russ discuss the role that conspiracy theories play in our world. Many of them are very well explained and therefore are believable. However, in the same breathe most of them, once you consider what they are telling us, are absolutely ludicrous. This was interesting to hear, especially in the context of Religious Studies. It helped too, that Russ seemed so sarcastic and hilarious, for me at least, as he explained this.

I have never thought too much about the role that journalists play when stories of war are being told. It is a little strange that I haven’t been more curious about this because I am interested in both telling people’s stories and also war and the many effects it has on individuals and places. I have gained a new and deeper appreciation for people such as Ernie Pyle, Hannah Arendt and John Hersey. While reading ‘Hiroshima’ I realized how much of the story we miss sometimes when we rely solely on ‘our’ news broadcasters. I am not in any way disqualifying the importance they have. However, sometimes I forget that underneath the bomb that was just dropped there are civilians-people with stories and lives. I think this was the biggest wake up call for me in journalism this week. I am glad that Hersey was able to write in a way that gave an outsider like me such a personal glimpse of underneath the mushroom cloud. It was also a little unnerving as I read Hannah Arendt’s story. The many people who orchestrated the holocaust were ‘normal’ and sane people. Their idea of normality seems so skewed to us, but at the time they believed they were just following orders. I mean did they not seem the injustices they were committing? What a human being is capable of (both good and bad) really astonishes me. The amount of power that some people hold or have held (Hitler) makes me realize how careful I have to be when choosing to follow someone and even something. I could write quite a lot about all that I have learned in Journalism. However, it all comes down to the risks we are willing to take to tell the stories of people. There are so many stories that NEED to be told from many different viewpoints. It is not just about relaying the facts it is about sharing PEOPLE’s stories.