http://gabrielmcortez.com/2014/02/08/13-short-film-perfect-soldiers/
I was sent this video by my roommate in a Facebook message urging me not to, ehrm, get too excited by the new piece done by one of my favorite Cal poets. The spoken word video by Gabriel Cortez allows for the use of art in the call to action. This could be thought of as an example of the community taking a step from within to inform of the problems affecting the poor. In this video the poet is able to take on the issue of food justice and contextualize it; providing the audience with a picture of how it is historically situated for the community it affects. Similar to the work we are doing now in GPP 105 to prepare us to go out into our practice as knowledgeable volunteers (yikes, not really sure how knowledgeable we can really be) Gabriel is not only making a statement about diabetes but is additionally making a statement about the communities it affects and the reason why those communities are affected. This art work is a reminder that things don't happen in a bubble and interconnections are key when looking at an issue when attempting to combat it.
I watched this video before even seeing this post today. Cortez does an amazing spoken word that made me think of the US's actions in other countries and how our markets and economic powers are negatively affecting their people. Honestly, I really did not consider art to be such a motivator, because some of the art that I have seen that is made for change requires education. Without this education, the meaning of these art pieces may be lost. I also have the notion that art is paintings, visuals, etc, but this spoken word too is its own art form.
ReplyDeleteAs I watched this video all that come to my mind was Fernando Botero's paintings called Abu Ghraib. I first learned about these paintings last semester when I took The Southern Border class though by professor Harley Shakin. Like Cortez and his poetry, Botero's art does a great job at depicting Abu Ghraib abuse in Iraq. In his paintings Iraqi detainees are shown being beaten by American prison guards, made to wear women's lingerie and suffering other abuse. Botero told The Associated Press that he "became so upset by prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison that he felt compelled to produce works that would graphically depict it." Although his paintings were very controversial because it revealed the abuse the U.S tolerated, he went on with his project. As of now, there have been several U.S soldiers who have been convicted for the abused they caused, and have received a maximum sentence of 10 years. In order to have knowledge of what is happening and keep everyone aware is by showing it. If it had not been for Botero, most likely no one, or very few people would have known of this abuse. His paintings have not been authorized to be in C.A, but we are lucky enough to have them on display at the Boalt Law School here at Berkeley. You can read a little more on that here: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/2407.htm
ReplyDeleteThe same thing is happening with Cortez, by showing us this video, he is trying to make people more aware of obesity and what is happening or what can happen if we don’t educate ourselves about the issue. Art is one of the best ways to express what someone is feeling, as well as informing people what is happening around us.
I love Gabe! He's amazing and I'm so happy I found out about his website and all of his videos through this post. So thank you for that :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know how he did it, but he linked the army to diabetes so well that I'm still sitting here shocked at the connections he made.
I've known this for a while, but I still find it so hard to believe that soda is cheaper and more accessible than water in most low-income places of the world. It disgusts me that chips and candy are proudly sold by vendors in rural areas in Panama, India, and anywhere, to children who have but a few pennies to fill their stomachs and no better alternative. And it isn’t that this abomination occurs only in developing nations; travel to any low-income area in the US and you will find a McDonald’s at every corner and a grocery store 10 minutes from a given neighborhood by bus. What is a single mom working two jobs with four children going to do besides buy some of those delishhh chicken nuggets for a dollar or what have you, when their budget for the family dinner is maybe $6? That wouldn’t even buy a bag of broccoli for the family.
I guess this is where the community developers that improve the infrastructure of a city and the food systems public health workers come in to the picture. I imagine it is difficult work, but being disgusted and sitting back watching the problem deepen its roots is even worse.