I See You
In the James Cameron movie Avatar, the greeting used by the Na’vi was “I See You”. As the movie unfolds it is obvious this greeting means more than seeing one physically, seeing becomes the idea that until a person sees beyond the physical into the soul of an individual, they do not exist. The main character Jake in the form of his avatar is trying to learn the ways of the Na’vi. Part of this process is learning to see the world Pandora as it truly is. After Jake falls off a horse, he was learning to ride one of the Na’vi warriors Tsu’tey states “This alien will learn nothing. A rock see’s more.”[1] Even the chorus of the Avatar movies theme song says:
“I see me through your eyes
Breathing new life, flying high
Your love shines the way into paradise.
So, I offer my life as a sacrifice
I live through your love.”[2]
I openly admit it is easy to see without seeing. It is easy to hear without hearing. I know at times I have selective sight and selective hearing. Many of us do. We often see what we want to see not what we actually see, as well as, hear what we chose to hear, I am most likely not the only individual who has seen but hasn’t seen a homeless person or a pan handler who is begging for money. I have seen friends but failed to see the pain or distress they were in because I failed to hear what they were really telling me. If we took seriously the idea that seeing beyond the physical into the soul acknowledges that one exists would we walk by a homeless person with the same lack of sight? Though I was not a huge Avatar fan, I must admit that the thread of truly learning to see others as they really are is part of what it means to be compassionate toward others.
If you came by my house you could tell we are people that try to keep a nice yard, you would guess we enjoy growing some of our own food because of the garden and blueberry bushes but you would still not know me. But if I invited you into my home, you would notice the family pictures, the pictures of Mt Rainer and Puget Sound. As you walk into each room of my home you would discover things about me that tell you who I really am. Whether it is a stack of unread books in my office, an area filled with carved elephants collected throughout my travels abroad or scrimshawed ivory warthog tusks or a garage full of unfinished projects. Everything describes who I am and how I think. It has been said the you can tell what a person cherishes by looking at their calendar and their bank statement. We spend out time and our money on what we hold dear. Everyone wears a mask at one time or another. We only let others see what we want them to see. It is when we begin to trust that we allow the authentic us to come out. It is then that others know we truly exist. It’s been said the eyes are the window to the soul. What we need to remember is that a window can be viewed in two directions: from the outside looking in or the inside looking out. This may be helpful to remember when we are dealing with others. There is always a duel judgement taking place; what we think of them and what they think of us.
When it comes to Doing Visual Ethnography by Sarah Pink, she states “Therefore as ethnographers we need to be self-conscious about how we represent ourselves to research participants and to consider how our identities are constructed and understood by the people with whom we work.”[3] In other words, how people see us matters! How we see others is vital to knowing them. The way we represent ourselves to others is part of our identity. Visual Ethnography in many ways is a case of the ethnographer seeing others see them as they see others. In reality as Pink would explain the ethnographer becomes part of life and life becomes part of the ethnographer.[4] When people interact, and masks come off interesting things happen.
In a world where we are inundated by digital messages is Visual Ethnography truly appreciated? The average human is exposed to 4000 to 10,000 ads every day fighting for brand loyalty.[5] Many of us don’t even recognize the number of brands we actually see on a daily basis. Whether we realize it or not it starts from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night. Every item we use throughout the day is a branded advertisement. If you add in the digital images, we see it is mind boggling. The human eye and brain have the ability to recognize 1000 frames per second. Interestingly we stop noticing the difference between frames at 150 frames per second. We stop seeing the jerkiness of the frames at 24 frames per second which is why most movies happen to use this frame rate.[6] With all this going on it is a wonder we actually see each other at all. Something seems odd when we can walk by those in need and yet have people sit in front of a television watching reality shows one after another. Are our lives so empty that we need to watch someone else’s life while we fail to live our own? What does it say about a culture that puts more trust in a Hollywood actor or actress that gets paid to play a role then we do in our Politicians that we intentionally place in office?
Matthew 6:22 says “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.”
[1] Avatar Quotes ‘I See you’, Movie Quotes and More, accessed October 16, 2019, http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/avatar-quotes/
[2] Avatar Wiki, I See You, Fandom, accessed October 16, 2019, http://james-camerons-avatar.fandom.com/wiki/I_See_You
[3] Sarah Pink, Doing Visual Ethnography (Los Angele: Sage, 2013)37
[4] Pink ,43
[5] Finding Brand Success In The Digital World, Forbes, accessed October 16, 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/08/25/finding-brand-success-in-the-digital-world/#3939e797626e
[6]What is the highest frame rate (fps) that can be recognized by human perception? At what rate do we essentially stop noticing the difference?, Quora, accessed October 16, 2019, https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-highest-frame-rate-fps-that-can-be-recognized-by-human-perception-At-what-rate-do-we-essentially-stop-noticing-the-difference
About the Author
Greg Reich
Entrepreneur, Visiting Adjunct Professor, Arm Chair Theologian, Leadership/Life Coach, husband, father and grandfather. Jesus follower, part time preacher! Handy man, wood carver, carpenter and master of none. Outdoor enthusiast, fly fisherman, hunter and all around gun nut.7 responses to “I See You”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Thanks for bringing up the topic of how the ethnographer is perceived. This is a different angle that we need to understand as we prepare to dive deep into research. People may tell us certain things just because we ask, but they won’t be real with us or reveal their true selves until they trust that we’re being real with them.
You wrote, “I have seen friends but failed to see the pain or distress they were in because I failed to hear what they were really telling me.”
Why?
Is it we need to slow down? Is that we didn’t learn the lesson to share our toys if we see someone else wants to play with them?
For me, it’s probably that I do not reach out enough.
By the way, the picture you gave of Na’vi reminded me of another one my favorites when Frodo could be seen while wearing the ring!
Steve, I assume we all have our reason we miss or avoid others in need. Getting involved can get messy and many of us don’t do messy well.
Thank you for shedding light on Matthew 6:22. I came across that verse this week in my personal reading and admittedly didn’t have great understanding of it. This helps.
Greg,
As I read through your post I am struck at how woven together our lives are with visual and auditory media. All those adds and images are like the gorilla in the room, or the thing we fail to see because we are intently focused on something else.
Thoughts that surface: When interacting with my stakeholders, how do I allow myself to be seen, while also seeing the participants as more than just participants, as people I’m extracting info from for a particular purpose? Mindfulness, discernment, and presence will be integral in doing this work I’m called to do. If I miss the human component and intimacy of interactions along the way, then I think I’ll miss a huge reason as to why I am here.
Thank you for the thoughtful reflection.
Darcy I am concerned with the same thing. Data and insight without connecting and fellowship seems pointless. I have adopted a few statements that I use to guide my life. Here are two of them. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” the other is “Never ask for a hand until you touch a heart.”
Seeing and hearing from others point of view is a big challenge. However, this calls for proper identity. Your passage is encouraging