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Video 1: The Danger of a Single Story, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definition: The single story is when a people is shown as one thing and one thing only. So from an outsiders point of view that is the only thing that group of people can be.
Examples: Mexicans as only immigrants. Africa is a beautiful land with beautiful animals, but all its people are poor and dying of AIDS.
- The single story creates stereotypes, especially negative ones.
- It is not the complete story, just overshadows other more positive stories.
- Remember to reject the single story.
Video Two: Imaginary Friends and Real World Consequences: Parasocial Relationships, by Jennifer Barnes
- Why do we spend so much time, money, and emotion engaging with fictional characters?
- We know that they are not real, we know them but they do not know us
- What effect does this engagement have on us?
- Benefit from imaginary relationships same way we do with actual relationships
- Why do we care about fictional characters?
- On a deep level we believe that they are real, even though they are not
- What effects do these relationships we form with these characters have on us?
- Make up for loss of confidence, or rejection
- Parasocial relationship is formed by learning about someone without actually meeting them.
- Be mindful of how you can take your feelings toward fictional characters, and apply it to the real world.
Hi Mona! My comments randomizer sent me your way, and I’m so glad to have picked this post to read. I love the way you summarized the videos in a clear, concise way- I felt like I learned from them despite not watching them myself. The Single Story setup is so prevalent, and I don’t even realize how often I get stuck thinking that way. I’ll definitely be more cognizant in the future about looking for the whole picture. Thanks for sharing!
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