Learning Update 5

Yesterday we learned about the Millerite Movement which occurred in the US in the 1840s. I like to believe that William Miller did in fact fall off a wagon and onto his head to start such a thing. He abused people's religious zeal by convincing them to believe in something that was never going to happen. I wonder if he truly believed that the second coming was going to happen or if he just relished in being able to gather large crowds and convince them of it. However, in a case like this, it is easier for me to imagine how everyone joined in the mass movement since there is a religious aspect to it. People have a fear of death and worry about wether they will end up in heaven or hell. 

During the presentation I kept thinking about one thing: how did people react when they realized everything he preached about was not going to happen? Since many people sold their "earthly possessions" I imagine that there was outrage against Miller. I suppose that many people walked away from religion entirely after experiencing the Great Disappointment. But even after the prediction failed, not everyone abandoned the ideas behind the movement, and instead reinterpreted what had happen to use as a foundation for new religious beliefs. It is interesting that this movement spurred other religions such as the Seventh-Day Adventist Church despite it being a sham. Ultimately, the presentation made me wonder how something that ended in a huge disappointment could still have a lasting impact on religion today. 

Learning Update 4

Last week we learned about mass hysteria, specifically focusing on the Salem Witch Trials. I realized that growing up and hearing about the trials in conversation and pop culture media gave me a skewed perspective on what really happened 300 years ago. The most famous example of a misconception being that it was all women who died through being burned at the stake. One of the things that surprised me the most was that a lot of the accusations came form young girls. Considering an accusation of being a witch led to either execution, jail time, or (at best) ruined reputation, it is almost hard to believe that everyone in the Salem Village would listen to them. To me it seems like they were looking for scapegoats to blame issues they were facing which Sandra and Ashley touched on in their presentation. Throughout time we have seen marginalized groups being used as scapegoats to justify brutal actions such as murder, but this case is interesting because the people being blamed were, for the most part, not an necessarily apart of an "outgroup" -- people were blaming their neighbors and acquaintances as things being to spiral out of control.  

Before last week, I had never heard of ergot. On History's website they mentioned "it contains a chemical cousin to hallucinogenic LSD" which may have been why people were seemingly delusional. This is fascinating to me since it gives a scientific reason for what may have happened instead of having to think every accusation was completely unbased. 

As we turn towards the Millerite movement this week I am interested to dive more into mass hysteria, specifically how people use religion to drive people's actions. 

Learning Update 3

Today I watched the movie Die Welle for my popular media presentation on Thursday. It is a German psychological thriller on the dangers of autocratic ideology. A teacher begins an experiment with his class after they mistakingly believe that an autocracy could never form in Germany again after learning extensively about the history of the Third Reich. It was interesting to see how the teacher, Rainer, slowly starts to implement things in his classroom to get the students engaged. At first he told students to only call him Mr. Rainer and to always stand when they speak to him. Over the course of the week as the students got more excited about "The Wave," they adopted a uniform, a logo, a hand sign, and even a website. 

What I really enjoyed about this movie was how real it felt. The student characters were normal high schoolers -- each struggling with different things at home and with their changing identity as young adults. These factors played into why some of the students leaned so hard into The Wave since it provided them with community and friendship they hadn't had before. This mirrors why a lot Germans were easily persuaded to join the Nazi party; the country was struggling and Hitler brought them together with a common goal and shared symbols/hand signs. 

The ending of this movie is explicit but I believe was necessary to get the main point across. Although the teacher started this project to teach his students a lesson, he himself got wrapped up in power and authority. The final meeting on Saturday showed just how easy it could have been for Rainer to continue The Wave and truly turn it into a fascist regime, but he said exactly what he needed to to teach his students a lesson. Unfortunately, since Tim was an isolated student before the Wave it was much easier for him to become indoctrinated by its messages and become an extremist. 

This is an important movie, especially today. Rainer was a charasmatic, likeable teacher who within a week was able to manipulate an easily impressionable group. It is a clear example of how easy it is to fall into fascism since they don't always begin as oppressive and often attract individuals who are lonely. Under the right social conditions I think it could happen anywhere. 

Learning Update 2

    Last class we learned about deepfakes – how to create them and how to spot them. I especially enjoyed the New York Times video which spoke about fearmongering. I agree that the real issue about these deepfakes is the people who believe it instantly without critical evaluation and spread them like wildfire. The more likes, shares, and comments that posts get on social media can create hysteria and even make a video feel more credible if millions of other people have already seemed to believe it. Even the TikTok video examples during the in-class presentation were from pages with hundreds of thousands of followers. I have fallen victim to posts that seem real and when I check the comments I then see people are talking about how it is AI. It concerns me that someone like me, who grew up with technology, can’t tell the difference anymore. This is concerning for older generations who may be unfamiliar with how realistic deepfakes have gotten, which opens the door for some type of scam. 
    One thing that does give me optimism is that social media platforms have begun to implement cautions on videos containing AI. More and more videos contain a message: “may contain AI content.” This could help users realize that more uploaded media contains AI than they previously thought, and lead to greater awareness of not believing everything you see. Ultimately, I know we are in an entire new era of technology and I am just trying to sort out what this new reality may hold.

Learning Update 1

Before yesterday's class I watched the Youtube videos covering propaganda and the idea of junk information. In the past I have always thought of propaganda in the context of WWII -- the posters and banners that were used for getting people to join the war. However, stepping back to think of propaganda in the broader sense opened my eyes to see that it is much more than that. Everyday we are constantly exposed to propaganda that is used by the government or even just companies that are trying to elicit an emotional response from consumers. In the future I want to evaluate messages more critically instead of believing propaganda is a thing of the past. 

Moreover, I found the video by Yuval Noah Harari enlightening. Harari made a strong case for taking junk information cleanses, however, the video itself was anxiety-inducing (I don't like to think that the world is doomed to end due to an Alien Intelligence takeover). I stopped watching the news around COVID-19 time, because, like you mentioned in class, it became too upsetting to watch. What worries me about future generations though is many younger citizens primarily get their news through social media such as TikTok or Instagram. It has become very normalized for small news outlets or even political candidates to get on social media and post stories that don't examine the whole truth. I take most things I see on social media with a grain of salt, but the people who take these messages and run with them are creating chaos that spreads quickly online. I am excited for this semester to dive deeper into these ideas and hopefully gain more media literacy for my future as a responsible citizen.