{"id":24273,"date":"2019-10-13T22:34:03","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T05:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=24273"},"modified":"2019-10-13T22:34:03","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T05:34:03","slug":"a-thousand-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-thousand-words\/","title":{"rendered":"A Thousand Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong>They say that a picture tells a thousand words.\u00a0 Captured images are snapshots of history, moments of memory that we can draw from for different purposes.\u00a0 It may be to quell a building nostalgia, it may be to examine evidence from a crime scene, it may be to gather information about people within a culture, or for any number of reasons.\u00a0 On reflection, I can\u2019t say that I have consciously thought of using photography or media as a means of ethnography (granted, I\u2019m not much a photographer).<\/p>\n

Visual ethnography can be a powerful tool, something that I\u2019ve realized more and more as I read through Pink\u2019s book.\u00a0 With the recent conflicts in Hong Kong, I have had multiple conversations with different people about the use of media in the recent months.\u00a0 There have been several images that have circulated on both sides that are ultimately used as a type of propaganda by the opposing sides against one another.\u00a0 We have talked about the use of context and how a picture or video taken at just the right time can convey a completely different message from what was going on.\u00a0 Discerning meaning requires a crucial mind and a realization that when we look at photos or videos in regards to ethnography, we need to be aware of our own subjectivity when analyzing it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The morning I got back from the London Advance, I landed to a city that was torn by conflicts that had happened during the night while I was in the air.\u00a0 When I was through customs, I immediately checked the MTR app (the train system app) and found that the entire train system was down \u2013 the first time in its 40-year history.<\/em>\u00a0 I hopped on the bus that would take me home and when I got off at the stop near my flat, it suddenly made sense.<\/p>\n

The station closest to me had been completely vandalized.\u00a0 Scorch marks on the ground near the gated entrances showed where fires had been set the night before.\u00a0 I dropped off my bags, changed clothes, and decided to walk to the gym to see what else had happened.\u00a0 If Prince Edward (my district) was bad, Mong Kok (the next district over) was worse.\u00a0 My jaw dropped as I walked through the district that, two weeks prior, had been one of the busiest places in Hong Kong.\u00a0 It looked like the aftermath of a warzone.\u00a0 Windows were smashed, walls vandalized with anti-Chinese slogans, the MTR stations not just gated, but sign posts ripped from the ground and shoved through the grating to hold it shut.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I was flabbergasted.<\/p>\n

The next day, I walked by the same station (the MTR was still closed) and took this photo:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As you look at it, there are few questions I want you to reflect on:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What do you see?<\/li>\n
  2. What emotions come to mind as you see it?<\/li>\n
  3. What is the story being told?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    As I reflected on what I saw, there were several narratives that came to my mind:<\/p>\n