Hypermedia in Islam

            During our research of Muslim interaction on the internet, it is obvious that Muslim culture is well capable of utilizing new forms of communication (i.e. social media) rather than sticking to old forms of media such as “word-of-mouth.” This suggests that the Muslim religion has grown to interact across the internet in a state of hypermediacy. Using sound and video, among other forms of information, to share experiences with each other is what constitutes hypermedia and that is exactly what a large part of the Muslim community is engaging in right now.

       

        There are plenty of vines, tweets, snapchats, or instagram pictures, sharing a little experience of the Muslim faith. This could range from a picture of a woman wearing a hijab to a short Instagram video of a religious ceremony. Both of those forms of communication give you a little dose of what the cultural fashion is like or the feelings from a religious moment. For a more specific example, take the Facebook page Islamic Thinking. The page has lots of photos, posts, and discussions about various topics relating to Islam. An outsider such as me may not be familiar with all of the topics discussed, but it is very apparent that this page is popular among the Muslim community. With over 2 million likes, it would be hard to argue against that. With that, we are certain that Muslims interact on the internet in various ways and utilize those opportunities to the best of their abilities in order to communicate experiences with one another.

Social Technologies Used to Communicate Within the Muslim Culture

This week we will be discussing what types of technologies are present in the Muslim culture. This can range from a participatory culture to a convergence culture. From participating in social media to producing content for that media, we find that hypermediation is not something the Muslim culture has not been exposed to.

For instance, this website describes the effect that social media has had on the culture as positive in that it increased exposure and awareness of the religion. However, the general content in the coverage of the Muslim religion is in bad taste and only highlights radical incidents, so this leads to a necessity for self-representation on websites such as Facebook. We found a page titled "Muslims for Social Justice" With this page the Admins use different hashtags to attract their users such as: #BlackLivesMatter. Travelling through the timeline of the page we’ve also noticed that this page would repost and share certain articles and videos to keep their demographic updated on what is going on world-wide. Miguel and I also were able to find out that the same group is active on Blogger. With such adversity “Muslims for Social Justice” has multiple outlets to connect with their users and share their purpose and utilize it very well. YouTube and other video media have been significant sources for different Muslims to attempt to reverse the pre-conceived notions such as abuse/domestic violence, which continue to affect a lot of people who identify within their group. These are some of the media that are used to communicate messages that are important to the Muslim culture.

More specifics about our Muslim justice project

In the previous week, we discussed our topic of interest, social justice for Muslims. Now, we will attempt to provide a little more definition to our group. First, we plan to focus on how Muslims are represented and what they do to represent themselves on the internet and other technological platforms. This can range from Muslim parents to children or just any other Muslim demographic that might be misrepresented in today’s media. This will happen as we monitor different movements and events on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. Muslims in our current American media are portrayed 97% as terrorists or even just as threatening citizens. Throughout the web there has been a wide variety of movements to stop such perceptions. Miguel and I want to analyze such movements by contrasting perception versus reality. We chose this because of the frequency of which these misrepresentations happen.

 A recent incident that comes to mind is that of Ahmed Mohammed, a 14 year-old Texas student, who has circled the internet due to an unjust arrest. Mohammed was arrested when he arrived to school with a clock that he had built on his own. His attempt to impress his teacher led to him being arrested under the circumstances that the school believed he had brought a bomb to the school. These are the types of incidents we hope to acknowledge and clarify throughout our project.

Not All Muslims

There is plenty of discussion about discrimination on campus but many of us forget others that should be talked about. One demographic Khalil and myself (Miguel) found worthy of uncovering was that of the muslim community. We realized that there is a stigma surrounding the Muslim faith suggesting they are violent or are terrorists. This was something that did not sit well us, since we are aware of the diversity among Muslim followers. A majority of muslims in our American media(99%) are portrayed in a negative light. Miguel and I are curious to find out and understand core values of the Muslim religion, for which it holds sacred truths. Throughout this process we are choosing to seek understanding of religion, and plan on to project such understanding through video, pictures, text, and interaction with community members.

 We hope to facilitate a wider acceptance of the Muslim religion by highlighting the fact that they can be everyday people like you and I. Through research and experience we will post periodically on this blog in order to keep track of what we have learned and expand on ideas we have learned in class. Hopefully, by the end of this project we will have affected enough people to see a change in the way people on campus think about Muslims.

Why a Playstation is Cooler than your Family Heirloom

Note: Not a VCR.

            As a kid, I believe my most precious childhood possession was a classic Playstation. Like many other kids at the time, I treated this system with the same reverence as you would give an old family relic. I’ve always felt a little ashamed of myself for worshipping the game system, but as I think more about it, why wouldn’t I praise such an amazing piece of craftsmanship? Let me tell you why a Playstation is better than your old beat-up heirloom and why you should appreciate it more.

            Let’s begin with aesthetics: the Playstation is a sleek, soft-gray masterpiece, while your heirloom is probably a dingy quilt or other craft your great-grandmother did in her off time from smacking your grandmother around (violence happens, get over it). You could place a Playstation in your home entertainment system and it would not look out of place. Hell, it might even be an upgrade to your living room, which is probably covered in weed crumbs and Dorito dust. If you throw an old smelly quilt over the back of your couch, you can’t be surprised with the company that type of feng shui will attract.

This is the type of company...

            Now let’s talk entertainment capabilities, if we really must. The Playstation is capable of playing two of the most iconic video games to date: Grand Theft Auto and Final Fantasy VII, where the argument for Playstation stops. This category is already a victory for the system but I’ll entertain the idea of an heirloom being remotely close to reaching Playstation levels of fun. You can sleep in your old quilt, and eventually die from hypothermia because it wasn’t thick enough to keep you warm. You could also stare at your good ol’ pocketwatch and end up missing the interview you’ve been waiting for, all because the stupid thing doesn’t tell time. If that’s not fun enough you could wear that old ring that was passed down to you and get robbed in the streets after a long day of work. Getting a Playstation would be so much less drama.

The guy on the left could be you.

            I’m surprised you’re still reading this massacre. Lastly, I would like to address cool-points. “Cool-points” is such a mind bending point system that I cannot go into detail about the results. What I can tell you is that Playstation obviously won by a large margin in the cool-points category. Basically, if a caveman found your grandfather’s old hat he would put it on his head and continue about his day. But if a caveman found a Playstation, he would plug it in and crap his loincloth from steep over exposure to coolness. So if you don’t want a caveman overflowing all over your living room, show him that old shoe you got from your great grandfather.

That's a face of relief. Ready for more Playstation

            We knew this would happen, but I’m contractually obligated to state the results explicitly. The Playstation is the clear winner in the battle for your attention and love. Does your family heirloom look cooler than a Playstation? Probably not. Can your family’s heirloom play Crash Bandicoot? Definitely not. Is your family’s heirloom as cool as a Playstation? It wouldn’t make a caveman crap his pants, so the answer is no. What I will give the heirloom points in is that it could be worth more than a Playstation, depending on the object. In any case, if your family heirloom is worth any money, pawn it and buy yourself a Playstation.

Satire Park

 Most of us have all seen an episode or excerpt of the show South Park. In effect, we have all seen an episode that puts a look of shock on our face from the level of controversy it seems that the creators seem to reach for. But within this constant offensiveness is usually a lesson hidden somewhere.

 This is seen in the special two-part episode that the creators used to celebrate reaching their 200th episode. In this episode special pretty much every celebrity that the town of South Park has disgraced has decided to sue them. The celebrities would not sue the town if they were given Muhammad's goo, which they thought would give them invulnerability against being mocked,

 The explanation behind this episode is basically how ridiculous it is that the prophet Muhammad cannot be depicted to avoid the follow through of death threats that the creators received in the anticipation of the release of this episode. After these threats, Comedy Central censored the episode a ridiculous amount and bleeped out the entire ending speech about not succumbing to fear and standing up against terror.

 Of course, the show explains all of this in a humorous manner since it is a satirical show. I think this is the reason why satire is so important. A serious message can be told in an exaggerated and funny way which can make it easier for viewers to digest or accept. Putting the medicine in the candy is a great way for shows like South Park to discuss very serious topics and not receive too much backlash,

 Juvenalian satire is the type of joke that South Park usually uses to deliver its message and can be pretty jarring at times. But juvenalian satire is effective in criticizing aspects of society by using over the top exaggerations to show how crazy some ideas can be,

 What do you think about South Park's humor? Do you think it is a good way to speak on issues or is it too overly offensive for a message to be received? Leave a comment below to discuss how you feel about their use of juvenalian satire to speak about societal issues.

You Have to Eat the Peas Too

 When was the last time an aspect of your culture became cool? A dance, a hairstyle, traditional clothing, or any other aspect is not safe from possibly being appropriated for the dominant culture's enjoyment.

 That one thing you were raised doing and enjoying could possibly be taken and commercialized to the point where you don't recognize it anymore. From "Hip-Hop Abs" to Kylie Jenner's "Bold Braids," we are watching cultures become commodities before our eyes.

 Before Hip-Hop was "cool" its community was shunned. It was not respected as an art form until it first became accepted by the white masses. Then we saw cartoony, watered-down versions of this art form. Vanilla Ice and Macklemore are just two names who embody this idea.

 When the white masses find something they enjoy in another culture, they don't appreciate it, they appropriate it. This means that instead of giving the culture the respect it deserves they extract one piece from it, make it their own and throw the rest of the culture away.

 Give a picky kid a plate full of different foods and watch them eat what they enjoy and treat what they don't like with disgust. Maybe you try to explain that green peas are nutritious and essential to the rest of the meal, but no matter how much explanation you give, the kid will treat the peas with the same disgust. This is the same basic idea behind cultural appropriation.

 Twerking is taken because it is entertaining and edgy to watch Miley Cyrus "twerk" around on stage. Dreads are taken because it is a new look for Kylie Jenner to try on the red carpet. Bindis are taken to enhance Selena Gomez and Iggy Azalea's music videos. The problem is not that they are using these parts of different cultures but it is the only part of the culture they enjoy. The use of these cultural pieces does not mean the white masses like those particular cultures.

 Think about it, when Bindis fall "out of style" they are still a part of a culture. Dreads are not just a fad for a group of people but instead an important aspect of their culture. The problem with cultural appropriation is that parts of many cultures are being used as the "hot new thing" to sell in commercials and on the cover of magazines.

 Why is it that when a white woman twerk it is acceptable but African-American women are looked down upon to say the least when doing the same thing, if not doing it better? Why do dreads apparently look better on white people when they have been apart of black culture for an insurmountable time?

 What do you think about cultural appropriation? Has something from your culture been taken and sold to the masses while the rest of your culture is "thrown away?" Leave a comment below and discuss your thoughts about the idea.