Medium Post #2
Prompt: What each of the groups of people that we have discussed thus far share, is being treated with suspicion due to their societal treatment as somehow not fully belonging (here, I am talking about the Chinese in Honolulu, Koreans in Befu, and Okinawans on the battlefront). We have also seen how these people fought back at times, and at others, simply tried to carve out other socialities to survive and to live out their own ideas of abundance. We have not yet discussed place-making in terms of the creation of art, of music, of literature, etc. What place do you think that these things, which we might put together as “cultural productions,” has in analyses of the eruption of political struggle? Your observations do not have to be based on research, per se. Think about how art, music, literature, and other cultural productions have shifted your own understanding of belonging, of community, and of the kind of world you want to bring into being, in meaningful ways.
A: Cultural productions are everywhere in these eruptions of political struggle. I think the most prominent one is music, as through many political movements of struggle throughout history we can think of many songs associated to them that members of the movement might have used in order to keep hopes high about the goals of their movement, or even to just create a sense of unity as they sing these songs with their peers. I see literature being used in these movements on a more formal basis, maybe on a declaration of independence for some group of people part of a larger cultural group, like the Okinawa in Japan. They can also be used in an informal way maybe in creating some slogans for the movement, plastering some posters in the general area of the movement, etc. which is where art can also come in with the design of these posters, or maybe in a more abstract setting when creating inspiring symbols for the movement.
In my own life, I think all of these elements together help to create a sense of cultural belonging for me. I am from Turkey, and whenever I listen to Turkish pop songs, I am reminded of singing these songs together with my friends in Istanbul, tightening our relationships across our common love for this particular song that came from our country, or maybe even singing patriotic songs together during a street parade. It has helped me to understand community in such a way that reinforces the idea that community is less about your socioeconomic position, where you are originally from, etc. but how you might use these cultural productions as a vehicle to strengthen your alignment with any given community.
