Catalyst for Change

For the latest blog, the professor requested we provide examples of how digital media could be used as a catalyst for social change. When I found this out the first thing that came to my mind was that bumper sticker everyone has on their car. The bumper sticker that spells out coexist in different religious symbols.

I am a firm believer that visual media can have a powerful impact on the viewer. When we utilize digital media to incorporate sound into the equation we convey stronger emotions than the simple images alone cannot. Here is a really cool video I found for the Coexist organization.





This video was a tear jerker. It makes you think about love and hate and how the ladder is learned. This is evident in the clip where the little girl is signing the bomb. As kids we do not hate or hold prejudices against our peers but rather it is something learned.

The digital media used a powerful song that utilized soft sounds with heavy lyrics. “We’re gona build prisons, gona fill them all, gona build bombs, gona drop them all.” This coupled with the images of prisons and bomb detonations brings out a new character. I remember a teacher once told the class that we didn’t really know what prejudice and racism were because we hadn’t lived them. The use of digital media is a way that people who have lived it to express the way they feel. The last image is my favorite of the Jewish and Muslim boy walking together.

Romans 12:18 - If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (NIV)