I'm starting to near the end of my second year in college, half way done! I've noticed that my appreciation for many things has changed in this time. To scratch the surface, my appreciation for international politics and current events has skyrocketed. There was a time that I would seldom read a newspaper, let alone pick it up. Hostel life has helped me achieve this, by removing the concept of a newspaper, I am able to pickup on the main new headlines from sources like BBC. Websites filled with journalists that have some sort of standard for writing (as compared to some of the newspapers in India)
Take for instance, the current situation between India and Italy. The case of the two Italian Marines, firing and killing two Indian Fishermen in, apparently, International Waters. Earlier, I'd have listened and taken note of the event, not giving it much attention. However, after becoming more aware of the international system, and how countries react to each other, I am honestly much, much more attentive about this. I read the article 20 minutes ago, and my mind is racing.
How will this affect the EU and India? What's going to happen if the Italian Government says "screw you" and takes the Italian Ambassador back to Italy? India's response will set a standard as to how India reacts towards many future international events. Similarly, Manmohan Singh will be looking to have a stronger stance so as to ensure that the people of India are able to, once again, think that he - and by extension, the Congress, is able to handle such events. Would this result in the Indian Judicial System developing a much stronger stance towards international criminals and international crimes?
My opinion on the Italian dialogue is that the government has acted very stupidly, they have destroyed their reputation in the Italian political system. There was the cancelled helicopter deal which was in the news recently, on top of that there is this. The Italian Ambassador staked his entire countries reputation on the request for bail. For them to, less than a week before the deadline, to backtrack shows that they never had any intention to follow the court order at all. India should be offended that it's courts are seen as a simple piece of paper. The Italian Governments claim, that the charge was not applicable, since it happened in International Waters, is a stance that they maintained from the start of the situation. However, to make a legal promise and then go back on that shows extreme insult to India and the relation between the two countries.
Another current event, the new Pope; I am not a catholic, but I was paying rapt attention to it, not for anything else but because countries are built around a political ideology, and the one thing that clearly cuts through it is religion. The entire story, from the resignation of Benedict to the appointment of Francis is intriguing to me. It opens up so much, because the concept of a Pope and the Vatican is so unusual in today's world. The Vatican is considered a country, and as a result, whenever you have a pope elected, you are having a head of state come in from another part of the world!
What also has begun to dawn on me is that plenty of people still don't see the world as the interconnected jigsaw puzzle it is. Not literally, cause it is physically interconnected, (duh!) but in terms of distance and how what happens to one affects another. Even if that person is thousands of miles away in a different country, following a different faith. I remember when Pope John Paul II died, there were Indians who felt said, not because of faith or anything like that, but just because he was a good man, who did good things.
There is so much that can come out of such events, but it's only stuff that is coming out after my mind has been opened up due to studying International Relations.
My Major in college is Media Studies, and while I've started to appreciate film much more, attempting to understand characters, how the story is going to progress and why certain camera angles are used. I still find myself enjoying simple rock-'em sock-'em movies where 1% of my brain is required. Sue me, I like movies for the fun they give me when I'm just relaxing. However, if I go out to watch a movie and a cinema hall, you can be sure that I will analyze every damn thing that comes on screen. I've paid money and I want to get the most out of the experience.
But the class has been so infectious, simply from how it's changed how I look at media forms. I haven't necessarily studied about comic books, or music or photographs. And yet, when I listen to my music, I find myself getting sucked into the music, going down, past the basic tune and falling into the meaning of the music How the artist has blended different genres. I might not appreciate it like how a singer or a musician might, but I like to think that I have developed a different appreciation for it.
Comic books are something that I have and I think, always will, (much to my mother's dismay I'm sure) but while as a kid I loved superheroes for their outfits and the 'biff'-'bam'-'boom', now I've started to appreciate the story that the writers have created. Theirs is an amazing, unappreciated art, they have to write an entire story with such detail that the artist know what he has to draw perfectly. The stories are so beautifully designed, and the characters developed so well that it's a wonder that most comic book writers don't become authors. They certainly have better plots than some books.
I've been able to make the transition from looking at comic books as drawings to individual pieces of art. I've learned how to see what the artist is doing with their shading and perspective. More amazingly, I've actually become able to know which artist has done which comic, just by seeing the cover of the comic!
My appreciation for superheroes has also changed drastically. With a greater understanding of what each hero represents and how they go about it, my appreciation for heroes like Batman, the Punisher and Captain America has magnified tremendously. Not for anything else, but because they are heroes that know the world and still fight for what is right. As a child I loved Superman, however now, I love alternate versions of the character, who takes charge of the situation and uses his overwhelming force to impose order. The appreciation for the character of superheroes and their individual personal demons is something I value a lot.
This kind of an understanding, this kind of appreciation for the arts would not have happened had I not been studying the subject. The exposure has allowed me to stop glancing and start observing, to stop hearing and start listening.
At this milestone in my college education I am proud of my development, for how could I dream of valuing or enjoying a job with my degree if I didn't enjoy my passions with the same teachings of such a degree?
Update: Seems like Francis I will actually also be making some connections to my Media class, it's rumored that he's going to be stressing much more on public relations, something which the Vatican has been happy ignoring. His statements are growing more and more and more interesting, from the quip that the Vatican had to look to the end of the world to find a new Pope, to saying that the Church should be like a 'Compassionate NGO'. I am extremely interested in how this will all develop!
Take for instance, the current situation between India and Italy. The case of the two Italian Marines, firing and killing two Indian Fishermen in, apparently, International Waters. Earlier, I'd have listened and taken note of the event, not giving it much attention. However, after becoming more aware of the international system, and how countries react to each other, I am honestly much, much more attentive about this. I read the article 20 minutes ago, and my mind is racing.
How will this affect the EU and India? What's going to happen if the Italian Government says "screw you" and takes the Italian Ambassador back to Italy? India's response will set a standard as to how India reacts towards many future international events. Similarly, Manmohan Singh will be looking to have a stronger stance so as to ensure that the people of India are able to, once again, think that he - and by extension, the Congress, is able to handle such events. Would this result in the Indian Judicial System developing a much stronger stance towards international criminals and international crimes?
My opinion on the Italian dialogue is that the government has acted very stupidly, they have destroyed their reputation in the Italian political system. There was the cancelled helicopter deal which was in the news recently, on top of that there is this. The Italian Ambassador staked his entire countries reputation on the request for bail. For them to, less than a week before the deadline, to backtrack shows that they never had any intention to follow the court order at all. India should be offended that it's courts are seen as a simple piece of paper. The Italian Governments claim, that the charge was not applicable, since it happened in International Waters, is a stance that they maintained from the start of the situation. However, to make a legal promise and then go back on that shows extreme insult to India and the relation between the two countries.
Another current event, the new Pope; I am not a catholic, but I was paying rapt attention to it, not for anything else but because countries are built around a political ideology, and the one thing that clearly cuts through it is religion. The entire story, from the resignation of Benedict to the appointment of Francis is intriguing to me. It opens up so much, because the concept of a Pope and the Vatican is so unusual in today's world. The Vatican is considered a country, and as a result, whenever you have a pope elected, you are having a head of state come in from another part of the world!
What also has begun to dawn on me is that plenty of people still don't see the world as the interconnected jigsaw puzzle it is. Not literally, cause it is physically interconnected, (duh!) but in terms of distance and how what happens to one affects another. Even if that person is thousands of miles away in a different country, following a different faith. I remember when Pope John Paul II died, there were Indians who felt said, not because of faith or anything like that, but just because he was a good man, who did good things.
There is so much that can come out of such events, but it's only stuff that is coming out after my mind has been opened up due to studying International Relations.
My Major in college is Media Studies, and while I've started to appreciate film much more, attempting to understand characters, how the story is going to progress and why certain camera angles are used. I still find myself enjoying simple rock-'em sock-'em movies where 1% of my brain is required. Sue me, I like movies for the fun they give me when I'm just relaxing. However, if I go out to watch a movie and a cinema hall, you can be sure that I will analyze every damn thing that comes on screen. I've paid money and I want to get the most out of the experience.
But the class has been so infectious, simply from how it's changed how I look at media forms. I haven't necessarily studied about comic books, or music or photographs. And yet, when I listen to my music, I find myself getting sucked into the music, going down, past the basic tune and falling into the meaning of the music How the artist has blended different genres. I might not appreciate it like how a singer or a musician might, but I like to think that I have developed a different appreciation for it.
Comic books are something that I have and I think, always will, (much to my mother's dismay I'm sure) but while as a kid I loved superheroes for their outfits and the 'biff'-'bam'-'boom', now I've started to appreciate the story that the writers have created. Theirs is an amazing, unappreciated art, they have to write an entire story with such detail that the artist know what he has to draw perfectly. The stories are so beautifully designed, and the characters developed so well that it's a wonder that most comic book writers don't become authors. They certainly have better plots than some books.
I've been able to make the transition from looking at comic books as drawings to individual pieces of art. I've learned how to see what the artist is doing with their shading and perspective. More amazingly, I've actually become able to know which artist has done which comic, just by seeing the cover of the comic!
My appreciation for superheroes has also changed drastically. With a greater understanding of what each hero represents and how they go about it, my appreciation for heroes like Batman, the Punisher and Captain America has magnified tremendously. Not for anything else, but because they are heroes that know the world and still fight for what is right. As a child I loved Superman, however now, I love alternate versions of the character, who takes charge of the situation and uses his overwhelming force to impose order. The appreciation for the character of superheroes and their individual personal demons is something I value a lot.
This kind of an understanding, this kind of appreciation for the arts would not have happened had I not been studying the subject. The exposure has allowed me to stop glancing and start observing, to stop hearing and start listening.
At this milestone in my college education I am proud of my development, for how could I dream of valuing or enjoying a job with my degree if I didn't enjoy my passions with the same teachings of such a degree?
Update: Seems like Francis I will actually also be making some connections to my Media class, it's rumored that he's going to be stressing much more on public relations, something which the Vatican has been happy ignoring. His statements are growing more and more and more interesting, from the quip that the Vatican had to look to the end of the world to find a new Pope, to saying that the Church should be like a 'Compassionate NGO'. I am extremely interested in how this will all develop!
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