Profiles

Talk About a Revolution. Hey Hey You Know?

By Dylan Gruver

It is impossible to read or watch the news without hearing about how the world of activism is changing. One trend is poised to revolutionize the way people can get involved in the world around them. The exponential growth of social utility sites such as Facebook is not a flash in the pan. In the last three years, Facebook has achieved over 64 million active users and achieved market penetration upwards of 85% for young adults.

Facebook has been a pivotal organization which has propelled online social activism. By opening its application feature to young, ambitious entrepreneurs, Facebook has been able to build and accommodate a full set of features designed specifically for civic advocacy groups, lobbying entities and non-profits.

The need to provide practical information to a wide network of people can be achieved instantly. Custom features allow organizations to better coordinate volunteers, assign tasks, and organize projects and events. Most exciting of all, Facebook allows activists to connect with other individuals, groups, and organizations who share interests.

Public awareness increases rapidly as the viral potency of Facebook is powerful and far-reaching. Organizations utilize networks and individuals friends to disperse information and instruction instantly.

 

Arctic Films Preserve and Promote Culture

By Joshua Holland

In the age of globalization, finding a local voice for your own cultural identity can be a challenge. The Inuit people who inhabit the arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, Russia, and the United States have found their voice by setting up a film production company named Igloolik Isuma. This company allows the Inuit people to tell authentic Inuit stories and display their traditions to the world. Isuma has been instrumental in providing an Inuit perspective on issues, allowing them to combat the incoming media from around the world that challenge their traditional cultural ideas and practices.

Isuma productions started in the 1990's and provide films, TV, and Internet that serve to preserve and display Inuit culture and language. In recent years the small company has grown and provided jobs for many Inuit people. Recently Isuma was able to reach mass audiences with the release of its 2001 film Atanarjuat – The Fast Runner. The film was successful worldwide, achieving box-office success in France, Canada and the United States. Isuma culturally unites the Inuit people and helps prevent the loss of cultural identity that would occur if they did not exist.

 

Internet in the Amazon

By Aydin Kirkewoog

Tribes residing in the greater Amazon basin are turning to satellites, computers, GPS, and even Google Earth to protect native lands from outside economic interests. As the Amazon rainforest continues to shrink, land is becoming increasingly valuable. Those looking to capitalize on the natural abundance of the rainforest are encroaching on native lands; now the natives are fighting back.

In an attempt to preserve native land, the nonprofit group Aurora Lights is equipping Amazonian tribes with the tools needed to map out the boundaries of designated native lands. GPS coordinates corresponding to tribal boundaries are uploaded to the Internet, where the hard data can be used in daily proceedings with the local government, and to make sure the government isn't misleading local populations.

Natives use computers with Internet connection via satellite to access digital imagery from sites such as Google Earth. Natives examine high-definition satellite imagery for signs of illegal operations on their lands such as drug production, clandestine mining and oil operations, illegal logging, and deforestation for agricultural and pastoral land.

Internet-based media is now being used as a tool for disenfranchised groups to protect themselves, fostering independence and decreasing reliance on others.

 

Manu Chao: A Global Media Product

By Bryan Silver

Punk, rock, salsa, reggae, and ska are just a few genres of music that Manu Chao fuses into his Mediterranean style. Not only does Manu draw from different genres of music for his songs but he also sings in seven different languages, which include French, English, and Spanish. Most people call him a French-Spanish singer because he was born in Spain but grew up in France. Having a diverse background himself allows him to adapt these different music styles and create his own. One music critic writes, "Chao's music draws upon the sounds of the Mediterranean rim, black Africa and the Caribbean, taking in Algerian rai, French and Spanish gypsy folk, the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti and the conscious reggae of Bob Marley." As local musicians, like Manu, draw from the world of music to create new, original music forms, they develop what is called a "global media product."

A global media product is one that expresses many cultures; it is syncretic - or a mix of different cultural influences. Created through a process of de-centering - literally travelling the globe - these products are continually being changed and adapted. Manu Chao and his music is a perfect example of this process. His music has no single cultural origin. Some of the words that describe Manu's most recent album, "La Radiolina," are "Latino Alternative, Cubano-Iberian feel, Rock fluttering with Flamenco Guitar." When asked how he discovers his music influences Manu said, "It's what people bring to me. Some guys might give you ambient music, or didgeridoo music from the mountains. Another might be hardcore punk. Another may be something totally traditional."