THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS REALITY!!!

A few years ago my family took a western Caribbean cruise.  I am a little embarrassed to admit that we acted like typical tourists.  When we disembarked in Cozumel, Mexico we went swimming with the dolphins, shopped and ate.  We were on foot and didn’t want to get lost or get back to the ship late so we stayed within site of the ship.  I didn’t even think about it at the time but the only contact that we had with the local citizens was at the dolphin enclosure and with the local shop owners.  

Our next stop was Grand Cayman Island.  We hopped into a shuttle went to a beach and chilled all day in a cabana.  On this beach there were again mostly tourists with very few local residents other than the shop and restaurant personnel. 

The third stop was in Montego Bay in Jamaica.  We took a scary but exciting trip up the mountain in a rickety van overloaded with…you guessed it…tourists.  We passed coffee fields, food stands, some beautiful homes and some shacks.  In this location we saw a lot of local folks and ate the best JERKED CHICKEN I have ever had. 

Our next stop was a location that the cruise line referred to as their private island. It is actually a port called Labadie on the island of Haiti.  According to the cruise line, the beach was for our exclusive use.  What I saw when I first disembarked was the water park the beautiful sand and blue water.  

These photos are accurate but dont give the whole picture.

http://www.google.com/search?q=labadee+haiti&hl=en&biw=1187&bih=587&prmd=ivnsm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=G_NtTtyJNKT10gHyzsXtBA&sqi=2&ved=0CCkQsAQ

What I noticed after walking the beach for a while was the fence.  The entire perimeter of the ‘private beach’ was surrounded by an 8 or 10 foot tall chain link fence.  Standing along that fence were island residents watching the tourists on the beach.  I remember being concerned about safety.  Of course, after a few island drinks, my fears disappeared. 

I had not thought much about that moment until we talked in class last week about what people in other countries know about our lifestyle in the US. 

Now a question comes to mind?  Was the fence there to keep the local residents away from the tourists or was it there to stop the tourists from seeing something other than our perfectly orchestrated vacation oasis?

Did they not want us to see people who can’t get fresh water or sufficient food while we were overindulging and lying around on the beach. 

I now know a lot about the poor conditions in Haiti not because of what I have heard on the news but from what I have learned speaking with Haitian friends and from friends who have traveled there on missionary trips before and after the devastating earthquakes.  But what do the residents in Haiti know about us?  What is their source of information?  Is there knowledge of the US as limited as the people of Guadalupe?  Do they only draw their conclusions about the rest of the world based on the people they see overindulging on the beach? 

I began considering the question posed in class -- Is there a media text that accurately or adequately depicts you and/or your community? 

Well my first answer is MTV, BET, VH1 are not accurate depictions of our normal way of life.  We are not what appears to be bedazzled women dancing around half naked or thugs with a lot of money with a high priced hooker on each arm!  Do you personally know of any men who left the federal penitentary and drove off into the sunset to perform a video in a Bentley?  Do you persoanlly know of any women who walk around dressed like Li'l Kim? (Well... I have seen a couple of young women on campus who are trying to emulate her appearance, SAD)anyway...

I began to think about some of the TV shows that supposedly depict American life.  Well, we have the Fresh Prince of Bel Air…Yeah Right!

     Yes, Dear? 

          Everybody Loves Raymond.

               Everybody Hates Chris.

                    Friends.  

                         Girlfriends.

!REALITY SHOWS! Come on now, what is real about those shows.

Give me a break!  Oh yeah, that was a show in the 80’s. 

None of these shows describe the lifestyle of anyone I know.

So here is MY recipe for a media text that will give the outside world glimpse of what our life is like…

Mix some of the Tyler Perry movies and plays, about half of the TV sitcoms, a few soap operas, the local news – (yes, we have to include the local violence), the national news, a couple of TV evangelists, you even have to sprinkle in a few music videos. We gotta add in South Beach Tow and Hoarders also.  Mix it all up and then put it through a funnel.  After it has been thinned out in the funnel, strain it through some cheesecloth.  The tiny drops that come through still might give a small glimpse of what true life is like here.  Truth be told, I can’t tell you how the other half lives.  I have always had modest means.  The only thing I know about the social elite in my own country is what I see in the media.  I don’t know what is true and what is created for me to see.

To answer the question presented in class, I do not believe that there is any one media text that can adequately depict any lifestyle.  It is sad to say but nothing we really think is reality is real.   I think that most media texts are orchestrated to present what the creator wants us to see.  Just like the cruise line did on their private island in Haiti. 

references:

Google Images

Seits, D.  (n.d.)  Cultural Identity in the Age of Ether:  Black Entertainment Television and the Island of Guadalupe.  Pp. 425 - 442.