Expect Resistance & Library Autonomous Zone

I’ve been searching for blogs that are run by people of color particularly by women. And I came across an article titled, “The Segregated Blogosphere in ColorLines.” The article mentioned that when bloggers of color reveal their race and deal with issues of race and cultural politics they get hate email and hostile comments. This was a surprise for me but at the same time why should expect something different in cyberspace? I often hear the hollow statement that everyone can participate in cyberculture — you’ve all probably seen the New Yorker cartoon where one dog says to the other “on the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” However, I am wondering how much cyberspace is different than reality? How far can new technologies such as blog help people who have been voiceless without fundamental social changes? Or how much these tools can help to change our society? How much or how can bloggers of color make noise in vast cyberspace? I have more questions than answers.

International Communication Association conference is under way in San Francisco. I attended several sessions; like any other conference, some are interesting and some are dull like hell. One session that was worth noting was the presentation by “Digital Underground Story Telling For Youth (DUSTY). DUSTY is a collaborative program between the UC Berkeley’s UC Links Program, UCB Graduate School of Education, and the Joseph-Prescott Center for Community Enhancement. The program teaches multimedia production to allow youth to be empowered by self-expression.

In the presentation, members of DUSTY showed their works - films, music, video etc. The topics of their works ranged from neighborhood violence, Iraq war, etc. One audience member asked them how they picked their topics and their common answer was their everyday life.

It’s wonderful to see the youth, who are often demonized by mainstream media, express their understanding of world and educate us. At the same time, I was a little afraid that they would become the object of researchers. The room was full of scholars. I hope this is just my paranoia. At any rate, here’s my flickr set of photos of their presentation.

I am tired of hearing people use the term “participatory media” without questioning who participates or who’s able to participate. Every tech group/meeting that I attend is largely white and male dominant. Maybe I have been in the wrong places, but I don’t think my experience is far from reality. One day I asked people in a meeting where are the people of color, some just laughed (uncomfortably) and some pretended they didn’t hear me.

No doubt new media have been changing the way we communicate, create culture, and knowledge but I am afraid that people who have been historically marginalized will be left behind again rather than participating in these changes and have to deal with those consequences generation after generation.

I am not just talking about learning how to use blog or wiki as technology consumer –which is no doubt important. But we need to participate in the process of technology creation. I am not sure where we can start this, but rather than keep asking to include people of color and women it is wise just to start one and create our own community. If it takes a blog to create the community then I can blog, if it takes wiki then I will use wiki. No time to wait!

I shamelessly admit that I got addicted to Korean soap opera after 15 years of absence from Korean TV. Maybe this is age or something else but I have been missing home lately. Unfortunately (or fortunately) my homesickness led me to watch Korean soap operas in a perverted attempt to reconnect with my own culture. I know I am getting a warped view on Korean society but at the same time I’ve glimpsed some cultural changes in Korea that I wasn’t aware of.

I noticed that in soap operas, issues like homosexuality, AIDS, single mothers, divorce etc. that used to be taboo to discuss in Korean culture are now often part of storylines. For example, I’m currently watching a drama called “thank you” which is a typically-formulated Korean drama; however, it deals with AIDS and addresses people’s prejudices and the social stigma surrounding AIDS patients. Actually I found an AP article on this drama mentioning about how this drama is used to educate people with HIV.

Despite the limitation of construction of stories in soap opera, I think this demonstrates how cultural, social and political resistance take place in popular culture. It will be interesting to explore how resistance in popular culture connects to real social and political movements.