Medium Post#2

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.

Throughout this quarter, we have analyzed how different cultural groups such as the Chinese in Honolulu, Koreans in Befu, and Okinawans have been discriminated against. Although there are a plethora of intersectional differences between these groups, they all have fought against and persevered through this oppression through cultural productions.

Cultural production is the creation of art, music, and literature that can bring a community of people together through the expression of shared experiences and struggles.

Cultural production has shifted my own understanding of belonging and of community mainly through music, since I do not consider myself particularly adept at art or dancing. I listen a fair amount of rap and hip hop, where artists such as Lil Baby create music that depicts his story and struggle.

Listening to this unique way of presenting experiences has shown me that the most effective way of eliciting change does not have to be through political debate or violence; it could be through the expression of art.