Visual education to fight seduction

By Rashid Carre

JAKARTA (JP): Mounting serious concerns are expressed in non- Western countries on the fast growing importance in their societies of the U.S. dominated communication and entertainment culture.

President Soeharto, along with Indonesian intellectuals, expressed recently his concerns about the eroding of Indonesian culture in a country where satellite TV has mushroomed. Jakarta proudly displays its Mc Donalds, Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood and movie-theaters showing American productions predominantly of the most violent kind, and hosts, amongst others, Nike and Barbie-Doll factories.

Singapore's senior statesman Lee Kuan Yew highlighted two different aspects of Western and Southeast Asian Democracies: one obsessed with freedom of expression and information at any cost and the other obsessed with information control to maintain stability, considered as a prerequisite to development in plural societies. Lee Kuan Yew also lashed out recently at the American "unbelievable assumption of cultural supremacy" expressed in their press.

Shimon Peres, in a recent interview said that Israel is now facing a real danger which is the steamrolling impact of what he labels "the Hollywood culture" which jeopardizes the unique achievement of the Israeli society: a Hebrew speaking nation of five million, with all the history and culture attached to it. He was therefore advocating a massive increase in the translation of books into Hebrew in order, at least, to maintain an elite, ferment of any society. Shimon Peres's recommendation echoed that of Neil Postman in his classic Amusing Ourselves to Death: the counterweight to the devastating hypnotic entertainment effect of TV should be a desperate attempt on the part of educators to strengthen literacy.

However an anecdote might indicate that the main solution is not there. I was recently sketching some of the magnificent trees of the Singapore botanical garden; this attracted now and then school children on holidays. I ended up talking at some length with a twelve year old boy, who had traveled to Europe with his parents. He told me that reading was his favorite activity. How many books a week? -- An average of five. What kind of books? -- Books from the movies, like The Firm...

The French publicist and image maker of former President Mitterrand, Se'gue'la, analyzed in an article on Mitterrand's use of TV the shift from the era of public opinion to the present era of public emotion -- which he was instrumental in spreading, along with the Madison Avenue experts and other Carvilles. Emotional impact, the 'cool' factor of the youngsters, is at the center of this U.S. dominated sub-culture, and I believe this is where educators have to concentrate their attention towards the new generations born in an environment of computers and communication.

One might first ask why this sub-culture is so powerful as to be a world-wide phenomenon. Paraphrasing Mc Luhan, one might say: "communication is seduction." The psychological sources and techniques at work in this seduction industry have been profusely identified by semioticians and analysts of 'motivation research', as well as the reasons for their predominance: enormous investments in research and production, adequation of the means to the goals by extremely efficient professionals. Be it advertising, videoclips, TV series, MTV, action movies and Virtual Reality, the instantaneous emotional impact is enormous because their hypnotic power short-circuits reflection and sets a reality of its own that fills the inner space: 'seeing is believing.'

Why does the Marlboro man that greets us at the Jakarta airport shows up everywhere on highways, city walls, magazines and TV screens the world over? Why Rambo, Madonna, Cindy Crawford, the K.C. couple and the GUESS girls? Because they are manufactured by experts in visual seduction playing on universal 'basic instincts': greed and violence, lust and looks, voyeurism and exhibitionism, and on the icon of the Western carefree, liberated and individualistic image of the affluent liberal capitalism. This highly commercial sub-culture of 'basic instincts', largely targeted towards teenagers, comes to us, omnipresent, repetitive; it is absorbed effortlessly, instantly, physically and emotionally.

Observers of Southeast Asian societies within the past fifteen years could not fail to notice the parallel between their fast economic growth and the galloping spreading of the "Hollywood culture", particularly amongst the young generations of the increasingly affluent middle classes.

This poses a real challenge: is it possible for Southeast Asian countries to maintain their fast growth, based on market economy, deregulation and massive foreign investment, without importing the sub-culture of fun, looks, sex, violence and power? It is well proven that strict regulations, control and censorship end up in making more attractive what one wants to prevent.

Signs of reactions against this acculturation are evident in the younger generations of artists, writers, dramatists, particularly in Indonesia. Some of their works might be perceived as premonitions of considerable future social disturbances of a cultural, religious and political nature, when upcoming generations will question their identity.

I believe that educators could play a decisive role in avoiding, or at least limiting, these foreseeable upheavals by developing a pedagogy of "visual criticism" as a fundamental component of education, an indispensable complement to technology oriented programs. Education against seduction.

In the past four years I have led a number of lectures and interactive presentations to school students and teachers, putting this approach into practice: from a systematic decoding of images, identify their components and what they imply, which leads to questioning how they affect values and self-image. It is my experience that youngsters are very responsive to a critical visual approach; it fascinates them because all youngsters question their identity, trying to build up a personality and self-image. Decoding images, still or moving, not only breaks the hypnotic spell of commercial seduction, but in so doing raises issues that concern them deeply.

In another approach I involved students of all ages and nationalities and teachers in establishing connections between the Javanese shadow puppet (Wayang Kulit), Plato's allegory of the cave, the King Arthur cycles and Carl Jung's psychology. Similar approaches can certainly be developed within the specific context of Southeast Asia or more specifically Indonesia. From a Rambo movie to Bima play, an exciting path can be traveled with students, towards the development of a personal identity and cultural values.

A clear trend develops in Southeast Asia education towards developing student's autonomy and critical approaches. A pedagogy of visual awareness is essential to the shaping of a genuine cultural and personal identity, in reaction to the seduction of the 'basic instincts' global sub-culture. Educators might then contribute a 'miracle' of their own: the growth of a genuine modern culture along with the economic miracle.

Rashid Carre teaches Art at the Jakarta International School. He has lived in Indonesia for the past 26 years and was recently awarded the first place in the International School Services Innovative Educational Practices Contest.