The thing that moved me most in Marvel’s Black Panther movie wasn’t the effects or the cast. I was captivated by a picture of a futuristic Africa but that wasn’t it either. More than the amazing packaging of the movie was the question that rang from the start, and in different ways, throughout the movie. It might seem I’ve come to the party late, but the question transcends the movie and trends. It was the simple refrain: “Ungubani?”
Though I appreciate paintings, I’m no painter. Asking me to draw stresses me out. I can go on a ten-kilometre run. With some effort, I can string words together. These are basic examples of some of the things I can do myself. There are many things I can and cannot do. Easter reminds me of what I couldn’t, and can never, do for myself. What Easter means to me is tied to this.
I used to be one of those, “Brace yourselves! New Years’ resolutions are coming…” kind of guys. Rolling my eyes with a tinge of judgment as I scrolled my social media feed. December and January always come with a tide of people’s promises to themselves. More like #NotesToSelf on the loudest volume possible, so the world knows. Chances are you’ve already seen a few. In fact, you might have even made and shared yours already. Regardless, there’s more to new year’s resolutions than we appreciate.
Our planet’s course seems set on self-destruct. The world seems plagued with one catastrophe after another. Recent mudslides in Sierra Leone, hurricanes and other storms in the United States and the Caribbean, as well as earthquakes in Mexico. These tragedies have our attention. The barrage of news won’t allow us to escape this sad reality. With each news cycle, some people I follow on social media pose jarring questions.
From his book, Unashamed, Lecrae pulls back the curtain on some of the things that shaped him, and subsequently his music. He chronicles his journey as a boy and development as an artist. Who he is has everything to do with his art. His latest release, “All Things Work Together — #ATWT” is a continuation of his journey self-discovery. It is him making sense of his world within and the world without.
Humanity has always found ways of expression. From writing to music, painting, sculpting, storytelling and more. Somehow, we all have an inherent desire to ‘say’ something. The way we express ourselves varies, but we express ourselves all the same. In an era where technological advancements are being made, it is easy to lose sight of that. The arts are not the only way we humans express ourselves. The arts are underrated. By this I mean the arts in general: music, dance, drama, writing, painting and such.
“Social media brings us together and tears us apart at the same time.” Not in the way people often suggest. I know you’ve heard people rush to the obvious. You know, like how others would rather give their attention to their screens instead of people. They talk about how social media makes people anti-social; but does it? In reality, social media is not making us antisocial or isolating us.
“If you don’t listen to or read the news you’ll be uninformed. If you read or listen to the news you’ll be misinformed.”
I heard these words from journalists. They were expressing their frustration at how their profession was under siege. Fake news has become so rampant, they say. Now, some of the time they should be spending on investigations and publishing real news is wasted in disproving fake news. We’re living in the era of fake news. Fake news is real. Ha!
We love the Internet; yes we do. Up front: I’m not a fan of posts that talk about how bad social media or the Internet are, or can be, for you. That’s because I think it’s awesome. There are a few rare moments, like now, though, when I feel otherwise. While the Internet is great, it can help make our lives miserable. I thought about this as I looked at how the Internet is getting in the way of your being awesome.
The next big uproar on the Internet is a post away. A brand-new hashtag will soon provide a label to talk about or attack someone. That ‘someone’ ranges from individuals to organisations and even groups of people. Someone is going to say something nasty. There’s an organisation somewhere about to trigger a new controversy with a new ad campaign. Outrage will follow. In the midst of it, some people will talk about the ills of the Internet and social media. The problem is not Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or Facebook.
