I was reflecting the other day about the way my creative dedication to showing up at Mutiny Radio every Friday since the end of 2010 (to engineer & co-host for The Common Thread Collective with Diamond Dave, Fridays 3-6pm), has blossomed into a vast body of work that continues to evolve...change shades, shapes, and colors. It's been a shifting of awareness, as subtle yet as striking as the changing light of a day. Those long drawn out days, have turned into seasons, and so I've found myself at another coordinate of the turning:
I'm celebrating an anniversary - It was two years ago that I was recruited to become a contributing Producer to Women's Magazine on KPFA 94.1 Pacifica Network. Since then, I've independently produced, hosted & edited a dozen shows for KPFA 94.1 (11 have aired so far, but #12 will air at a date TBA), by interviewing guests on my weekly Women's Magazine show at Mutiny Radio (Fridays 2-3pm) and teaching myself how to edit audio.
My goal from the outset has been to interview women who are changing the world and highlighting issues that affect us all. Although many of the topics are deeply serious, I always try to unveil some light in the darkness..."Because remember, just when your aspirations seem outrageous, that inspiration is contagious."
With every project, I learn and I get better at editing and crafting the story. Looking back on what I've produced makes me proud and makes me realize how far I've come, but also inspires & motivates me to do and learn more.
All of these shows can be found on kpfa.org. Search the Archives by date and Women's Magazine:
SEPTEMBER 22, 2014
Magnificent Matriarchy - March for Elephants
Guests: Rosemary Alles & Tamara Birdsall
www.MarchforElephants.org
JULY 14, 2014
Voice of Witness
Guests: Mimi Lok, Executive Director of Voice of Witness, Winner of the Smithsonian Ingenuity Award for Social Progress 2013, and Audrey Petty, editor/compiler of High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing
www.voiceofwitness.org
NOVEMBER 18, 2013
Women's Poetry Showcase #2 - Poetry as an Agent of Change
Guests/Poets: Alicia Zakon & Alexandria Rain Smith
Featuring music by The Nectarian Collective from the Big Island of Hawaii
AUGUST 5, 2013
Human Egg Harvesting & California AB 926*
Guests: Jennifer Lahl (Executive Producer/Director of the Award Winning documentary Eggsploitation: The Fertility Industry has a Dirty Little Secret), Dr. Diane Tober, PhD, (Assoc. Executive Director of the Center for Genetics and Society), Mona Lisa Wallace, Esq.
www.eggsploitation.com
*Note: AB 926 was later vetoed by Gov. Brown
JUNE 3, 2013
Women's Poetry Showcase #1
Guests/Poets: Jennifer Barrone (The Word Party), EK Keith (Poems Under the Dome & Mission High School), Mama Coatl, Ava Bird, Kimberly Escamilla (International Poetry Library)
Featuring music from: Clara Bellino & Nova Jazz
MARCH 18, 2013
Aging Women, Housing Rights & Domestic Violence
Guests: Rose Aguilar (Host of Your Call on KAWL 91.7fm) & Lindsay Sweetnam (La Casa de Las Madres)
Based on an article by Rose Aguilar "Old, Female and Homeless", which appeared in The Nation on February 13, 2013
FEBRUARY 1, 2013
Break the Chain - 40 Years After Roe v. Wade
Guests: Rose Aguilar (Host of Your Call on KALW 91.7) & Mona Lisa Wallace, Esq. (Green Feminist)
Featuring the song/international One Billion Rising flash mob: "Break the Chain" by Tena Clark, choreographed by Debbie Allen
www.onebillionrising.org
JANUARY 7, 2013
Code Pink Delegates Report back from Pakistan: CIA's Drone War
Guests: Medea Benjamin, founder of Code Pink & Global Exchange; Toby Blome and Dr. Diane Budd, Delegates
www.codepink.org
DECEMBER 3, 2012
Shedding Light on an Invisible War - Survivors of Military Sexual Trauma (MST)
Guests: Katie Weber (Protect Our Defenders) and Latonia Dixon(Veterans for Peace)
NOVEMEBER 5, 2012
Election (of) Eve
Guests: Patty Bellasalma and Stacy Malkin, (CA NOW); Christina Lopez (Vice Presidential Candidate for the Freedom-Socialist Party), Janet Wiel (Code Pink)
Co-Producer: Molly Hankowicz
OCTOBER 29, 2012
Creating a U.S. Department of Peace
Guests: Nancy Merritt and Nancy Kivette (The Peace Alliance) and Monique Graves, Founder of Lauren's House for Positive Change in East Palo Alto
www.peacealliance.org
www.lh4pc.org
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Peace and Thank you,
Global Val
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
March for Elephants & Rhinos - before it's too late! - KPFA 94.1 Women's Magazine - September 22, 2014, 1-2pm
Join me on Monday, September 22, 2014, 1-2pm on Women's Magazine, KPFA 94.1 & kpfa.org
The African elephant is scheduled to be extinct within the next ten years.
...a matriarchal society, carrying ancient knowledge
...a keystone species, supporting entire ecosystems, and help mitigate climate change!
...being ILLEGALLY poached for ivory trinkets, that are still LEGALLY manufactured in China and SOLD IN CALIFORNIA
...funding terrorist groups throughout Africa
Join me on Monday, September 22, 2014, 1-2pm on Women's Magazine, KPFA 94.1 & kpfa.org
March for Elephants & Rhinos - before it's too late!
October 4th is World Animal Day, and in 85 cities around the world - including San Francisco - groups will be participating in the March for Elephants and Rhinos. Why? Because poaching illegal ivory and legal ivory manufacturing have put African elephants in danger of extinction within a decade! Join Global Val Ibarra of MutinyRadio.fm as she talks to some of the prime organizers of the March for Elephants, Rosemary Alles and Tamara Birdsall, who tell us the story of the Elephant, and why we need to & how we can save this keystone species and magnificent matriarchy. www.MarchforElephants.org and www.march4elephantsandrhinos.org
Sign the petition to Governor Brown and other representatives.
Join the March on October 4th: 10:30am St. Mary's Square/ China Town > ending in UN Plaza / Civic Center
Monday, September 22, 2014, 1-2pm on Women's Magazine, KPFA 94.1 & kpfa.org
There are several ways to listen LIVE:
KPFA 94.1 & kpfa.org
KPFB 89.3 FM
Comcast Digital Cable 967
iPhone: Public Radio App
Android: TuneIn Radio App
WebOS: Public Radio App
Archive/Podcast will be available on kpfa.org (search by the date and show) and at kpfawomensmag.blogspot.com
Peace and Thank you!
Global Val
The African elephant is scheduled to be extinct within the next ten years.
...a matriarchal society, carrying ancient knowledge
...a keystone species, supporting entire ecosystems, and help mitigate climate change!
...being ILLEGALLY poached for ivory trinkets, that are still LEGALLY manufactured in China and SOLD IN CALIFORNIA
...funding terrorist groups throughout Africa
Join me on Monday, September 22, 2014, 1-2pm on Women's Magazine, KPFA 94.1 & kpfa.org
March for Elephants & Rhinos - before it's too late!
October 4th is World Animal Day, and in 85 cities around the world - including San Francisco - groups will be participating in the March for Elephants and Rhinos. Why? Because poaching illegal ivory and legal ivory manufacturing have put African elephants in danger of extinction within a decade! Join Global Val Ibarra of MutinyRadio.fm as she talks to some of the prime organizers of the March for Elephants, Rosemary Alles and Tamara Birdsall, who tell us the story of the Elephant, and why we need to & how we can save this keystone species and magnificent matriarchy. www.MarchforElephants.org and www.march4elephantsandrhinos.org
Sign the petition to Governor Brown and other representatives.
Join the March on October 4th: 10:30am St. Mary's Square/ China Town > ending in UN Plaza / Civic Center
Monday, September 22, 2014, 1-2pm on Women's Magazine, KPFA 94.1 & kpfa.org
There are several ways to listen LIVE:
KPFA 94.1 & kpfa.org
KPFB 89.3 FM
Comcast Digital Cable 967
iPhone: Public Radio App
Android: TuneIn Radio App
WebOS: Public Radio App
Archive/Podcast will be available on kpfa.org (search by the date and show) and at kpfawomensmag.blogspot.com
Peace and Thank you!
Global Val
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Mutiny Radio STATS are off the charts!
It's been a ripe year at Mutiny Radio!
Things are always evolving at Mutiny Radio, but what remains is a tight collective of DJs and supporters who continuously put out eclectic content & promote free speech in the form of 48 weekly shows, streaming around the planet on the internet at MutinyRadio.fm.
As the nature of radio expands, live listenership is not the mode of the day. It's all about the downloads. So, whether you and your family sit around the fireside and listen to your favorite podcasts, I know not. What I do know, is that PEOPLE ARE LISTENING, thanks to our fantastic volunteer statistician.
The monthly numbers are in for both the shows I run on Fridays atMutinyRadio.fm:
1. The Common Thread Collective, with Diamond Dave. Our weekly open mic, community building extravaganza. Friday 3-6pm
2. Women's Magazine with Global Val, in conjunction with KPFA 94.1, this is my weekly radio workshop highlighting women who are changing the world & issues that affect everyone. Fridays 2-3pm.
MARCH 2014
Common Thread Collective was #20 with 4,120 downloads
Women's Magazine was #32 with 3,261 downloads
TOTAL = 7,381
APRIL 2014
CTC #3 - 9,614 dwnls
WM #18 - 4,004 dwnls
TOTAL = 13,618
MAY 2014
CTC #14 - 4,865 dwnls
WM #20 - 4,233 dwnls
TOTAL = 9,098
JUNE 2014
CTC #8 - 5,925 dwnls
WM #17 - 5,370 dwnls
TOTAL = 11,295
JULY 2014:
CTC 6370 downloads
WM 6144 downloads
TOTAL= 12,514
AUGUST 2014 = 11,728
CTC is #6 show with 7003 downloads
WM is #16 with 4725
TOTAL = 11,728
SEPTEMBER 2014 = 11,071
CTC is #9 with 5861
WM is # 15 with 5210
TOTAL = 11,071
OCTOBER 2014
*Our shows not only grew in terms of downloads, but also, live listenership!
Common Thread Collective is the #2 show!
8424 downloads
Women's Magazine is #15
5725 downloads
TOTAL = 14,149
NOVEMBER 2014
CTC #3 with 6,227
WM #23 with 3,229
TOTAL = 9,456
December 2014
CTC #3 = 7,482
WM #13 = 6,006
TOTAL = 13,488
JANUARY 2015 - Our biggest month of downloads yet!!!
CTC #3 = 12,261
WM #8 = 6,013
TOTAL = 18,274
FEBRUARY 2015 - A short month with some technical interruptions to our archives, but still great numbers :)
CTC #4 = 6,188
WM #11 = 5,319
TOTAL = 11,507
So, in a year's time, we've been able to reach a lot of people!
The Common Thread Collective was downloaded 84,340 times!
Women's Magazine was downloaded 59,239 times!
That's a grand total of 143,579 downloads of shows run by Global Val in the past 12 months...Woohoo!
So, THANK YOU to the folks who have downloaded our shows!
Also, thanks to everyone who has contributed to Mutiny Radio.
YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS!
Like us on Facebook:
- Common Thread Collective
- Women's Magazine with Global Val
- Mutiny Radio
In the words of Diamond Dave, "We be doin' it!"
Peace & Thank you,
Global Val
Things are always evolving at Mutiny Radio, but what remains is a tight collective of DJs and supporters who continuously put out eclectic content & promote free speech in the form of 48 weekly shows, streaming around the planet on the internet at MutinyRadio.fm.
As the nature of radio expands, live listenership is not the mode of the day. It's all about the downloads. So, whether you and your family sit around the fireside and listen to your favorite podcasts, I know not. What I do know, is that PEOPLE ARE LISTENING, thanks to our fantastic volunteer statistician.
The monthly numbers are in for both the shows I run on Fridays at
1. The Common Thread Collective, with Diamond Dave. Our weekly open mic, community building extravaganza. Friday 3-6pm
2. Women's Magazine with Global Val, in conjunction with KPFA 94.1, this is my weekly radio workshop highlighting women who are changing the world & issues that affect everyone. Fridays 2-3pm.
MARCH 2014
Common Thread Collective was #20 with 4,120 downloads
Women's Magazine was #32 with 3,261 downloads
TOTAL = 7,381
APRIL 2014
CTC #3 - 9,614 dwnls
WM #18 - 4,004 dwnls
TOTAL = 13,618
MAY 2014
CTC #14 - 4,865 dwnls
WM #20 - 4,233 dwnls
TOTAL = 9,098
JUNE 2014
CTC #8 - 5,925 dwnls
WM #17 - 5,370 dwnls
TOTAL = 11,295
JULY 2014:
CTC 6370 downloads
WM 6144 downloads
TOTAL= 12,514
AUGUST 2014 = 11,728
CTC is #6 show with 7003 downloads
WM is #16 with 4725
TOTAL = 11,728
SEPTEMBER 2014 = 11,071
CTC is #9 with 5861
WM is # 15 with 5210
TOTAL = 11,071
OCTOBER 2014
*Our shows not only grew in terms of downloads, but also, live listenership!
Common Thread Collective is the #2 show!
8424 downloads
Women's Magazine is #15
5725 downloads
TOTAL = 14,149
NOVEMBER 2014
CTC #3 with 6,227
WM #23 with 3,229
TOTAL = 9,456
December 2014
CTC #3 = 7,482
WM #13 = 6,006
TOTAL = 13,488
JANUARY 2015 - Our biggest month of downloads yet!!!
CTC #3 = 12,261
WM #8 = 6,013
TOTAL = 18,274
FEBRUARY 2015 - A short month with some technical interruptions to our archives, but still great numbers :)
CTC #4 = 6,188
WM #11 = 5,319
TOTAL = 11,507
So, in a year's time, we've been able to reach a lot of people!
The Common Thread Collective was downloaded 84,340 times!
Women's Magazine was downloaded 59,239 times!
That's a grand total of 143,579 downloads of shows run by Global Val in the past 12 months...Woohoo!
So, THANK YOU to the folks who have downloaded our shows!
Also, thanks to everyone who has contributed to Mutiny Radio.
YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS!
Like us on Facebook:
- Common Thread Collective
- Women's Magazine with Global Val
- Mutiny Radio
In the words of Diamond Dave, "We be doin' it!"
Peace & Thank you,
Global Val
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Voice of Witness on Women's Magazine KPFA 94.1 - July 14th, 2014, 1-2pm
Pleased to be back on KPFA 94.1 "Women's Magazine" on Monday, July 14th 2014, 1-2pm.
Presenting:
Voice of Witness, a non-profit book series and education program that shares the oral histories of those involved in ongoing human rights and social justice issues. Join me as Diamond Dave and I talk to the Executive Director, Mimi Lok, who, along with VoW co-founder Dave Eggers, won the 2013 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award for Social Progress, for their work with Voice of Witness. We'll also speak with Audrey Petty, the Editor and Compiler of High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing, which shares the stories of people who used to live in the high rise projects that were torn down in the early 2000s as part of Chicago's Plan for Transformation. Sharing inspiration and the power of the personal story to tell otherwise untold perspectives that are so often hidden in conventional history and media.
There are several ways to listen LIVE:
KPFA 94.1 & kpfa.org
KPFB 89.3 FM
Comcast Digital Cable 967
iPhone: Public Radio App
Android: TuneIn Radio App
WebOS: Public Radio App
Peace & Thank You!
Global Val
Presenting:
Voice of Witness, a non-profit book series and education program that shares the oral histories of those involved in ongoing human rights and social justice issues. Join me as Diamond Dave and I talk to the Executive Director, Mimi Lok, who, along with VoW co-founder Dave Eggers, won the 2013 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award for Social Progress, for their work with Voice of Witness. We'll also speak with Audrey Petty, the Editor and Compiler of High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing, which shares the stories of people who used to live in the high rise projects that were torn down in the early 2000s as part of Chicago's Plan for Transformation. Sharing inspiration and the power of the personal story to tell otherwise untold perspectives that are so often hidden in conventional history and media.
There are several ways to listen LIVE:
KPFA 94.1 & kpfa.org
KPFB 89.3 FM
Comcast Digital Cable 967
iPhone: Public Radio App
Android: TuneIn Radio App
WebOS: Public Radio App
Peace & Thank You!
Global Val
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Global Val MCs for EarthDaySF
I'm pleased to announce that I've been asked to MC for Earth Day SF on Saturday, April 19th, 2014, at Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco. 10am-6pm. FREE/all ages!
I'll be in the Speakers Tent 12-2:30pm
-Starting at NOON with a panel discussion about "Positive & Healthy Consumer Solutions" with me, environmental attorney Mona Lisa Wallace, Stacy Malkan of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and Pamm Larry of the Label GMO campaign.
*Tune in to Women's Magazine on MutinyRadio.fm on Friday 4/18, 2-3pm for a preview of the panel.
- Other speakers on 4/19 include:
Katie Cantrell of the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition
Kevin Connelly of the Earth Island Institute
Rosemary Alles of March for Elephants
David Braun of Americans Against Fracking
Representatives from Friends of the Urban Forest
Kevin Danaher of Global Exchange
Leila Salazar Lopez, Program Director of Amazon Watch
Osprey Orielle Lake of We Can International & President/Founder of the Women's Earth & Climate Caucus
Dr. Meg Lowman, the "real life Lorax" or "Einstein of the treetops", pioneer of canopy ecology, joining us from the California Academy of Sciences
Bob Linden of the nationally syndicated, non-profit, weekly show Go Vegan with Bob Linden
And then I'll be on the Earth Mother main stage 3-6pm with MUSIC & even more speakers, including:
Pamm Larry of the Label GMO campaign
Bill McKibbin of 350.org, who will also be part of the march from the Embarcadero (starting at 11am) to Civic Center, against the Keystone XL Pipeline
There'll be music & dancing, education, workshops & lots of inspiration for all ages. Join us at this FREE event, 10am - 6pm on Saturday, April 19th, 2014. Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco.
EarthDaySF.org
I'll be in the Speakers Tent 12-2:30pm
-Starting at NOON with a panel discussion about "Positive & Healthy Consumer Solutions" with me, environmental attorney Mona Lisa Wallace, Stacy Malkan of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and Pamm Larry of the Label GMO campaign.
*Tune in to Women's Magazine on MutinyRadio.fm on Friday 4/18, 2-3pm for a preview of the panel.
- Other speakers on 4/19 include:
Katie Cantrell of the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition
Kevin Connelly of the Earth Island Institute
Rosemary Alles of March for Elephants
David Braun of Americans Against Fracking
Representatives from Friends of the Urban Forest
Kevin Danaher of Global Exchange
Leila Salazar Lopez, Program Director of Amazon Watch
Osprey Orielle Lake of We Can International & President/Founder of the Women's Earth & Climate Caucus
Dr. Meg Lowman, the "real life Lorax" or "Einstein of the treetops", pioneer of canopy ecology, joining us from the California Academy of Sciences
Bob Linden of the nationally syndicated, non-profit, weekly show Go Vegan with Bob Linden
And then I'll be on the Earth Mother main stage 3-6pm with MUSIC & even more speakers, including:
Pamm Larry of the Label GMO campaign
Bill McKibbin of 350.org, who will also be part of the march from the Embarcadero (starting at 11am) to Civic Center, against the Keystone XL Pipeline
There'll be music & dancing, education, workshops & lots of inspiration for all ages. Join us at this FREE event, 10am - 6pm on Saturday, April 19th, 2014. Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco.
EarthDaySF.org
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
9th Annual Poems Under the Dome at San Francisco City Hall
- Poster by Chad Xavier -
Poems Under the Dome - 9th Annual Celebration of National Poetry Month at San Francisco City Hall
JOIN US!
An open mic celebration of National Poetry Month. The 9th Annual Poems Under the Dome welcomes you to read a poem inside beautiful San Francisco City Hall in the North Light Court. Enter the free lottery at the event to read ONE poem in THREE minutes or less. FREE & open to all ages! Thursday, April 24th, 5:30-8pm. www.poemdome.net
Notes & Thanks:
"April is the cruelest month. " -T.S Eliot
Nine years ago, Diamond Dave Whitaker was sitting at Alamo Square, looking down at the freshly gilded dome of City Hall glistening in the sun, and declared, "What a great place for poetry!" After his epiphany, he called in the help of a few local poets, namely EK Keith & Charlie Getter, to help him realize this dream. They got on the task, and with the support of various Supervisors and the Mayor, were able to put together the 1st Poems Under the Dome in 2006.
Since then, with the dedication of EK, the primary organizer, and a group of volunteers, this special event hasn't skipped a beat (so to speak) and we're thrilled to invited ALL AGES to attend this FREE event on Thursday, April 24th, 5:30-8pm in the North Light Court inside San Francisco City Hall. It's the only event of its kind at City Hall - in that it is a free event for the public, welcoming participation.
Readers are selected by lottery at the event and at a handful of poetry open mics around town during the month of April. So come and put your name in the hat for one of the coveted 3-minute spots to read ONE poem of your choosing (an original or a favorite). The shorter your poem is, the more opportunity there is for others to get to read. Either way, it's a great chance to experience live poetry and the thriving poetic community of San Francisco!
This year, our current Poet Laureate of San Francisco, Alejandro Murguia, will read the first poem. We also have a small group of local youth who will help start off the evening. Names for the open mic will be drawn at various points throughout the evening, so we encourage you stick around, be patient and enjoy the show!
For more information go to www.poemdome.net
We want to thank John Avalos & the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor and the Sheriff's Office, and the SF Public Library for their continued support of this one-of-a-kind event, the mother of all open mics, inside City Hall, in celebration of National Poetry Month.
JOIN US!
Friday, December 13, 2013
"Why Photographs and Images of Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela are So Important" by Sylvia Frain
Global Val welcomes her first guest blogger & international correspondent, Sylvia C. Frain, PhD Student at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago, New Zealand.
Why Photographs and Images of Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela are So Important
by Sylvia C. Frain
While President Barack Obama’s ‘selfie’ picture with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt at the memorial of Rolihlahla ‘Nelson’ Mandela now dominates the international media’s attention, I would like to offer a more in-depth analysis regarding photographs and images within the coverage of Mandela’s passing.
A reflection and exploration of this past week’s vast amounts of photographs and images has demonstrated a parallel struggle for freedom. Photographs of Mandela that we are sharing and reposting were once banned from the media and outlawed from the public under apartheid. However, this past week they have flowed freely across online media galleries and slideshows unlike ever before.
A review of online news outlets and blogs from the day of his death and until his memorial service has produced numerous titles for Mandela. Depending on the source, he has been branded as a revolutionary, a protestor, a president, a trouble maker, a terrorist, a freedom fighter, a political activist, a rebel, a leader, a prisoner, world’s best negotiator, a peacemaker, and a legend. While these titles are descriptive and expressive, a photograph or image of him communicates much more.
“On the day Nelson Mandela died, like millions of other people around the world, my 14-year-old updated his Facebook page with a picture of Mandela… I have been mesmerized by pictures of him, soaking in gallery after gallery of photographs of his remarkable life.”
Nearly all online media and blogs relating to the coverage included at least one photograph or image, producing an inclusive visual language. Each feature included a range of visual components: a slideshow, visual timeline, or an interactive photo essay with photographs by professionals as well amateurs. “Photography is the starting point of mass media and communication, and is the most common language of our civilization.” Since its invention, photography has been examined and critiqued, regarding its powerful role to revisit history, examine politics, and to understand international affairs visually.
History has demonstrated that photography’s power can be used for ‘good and evil’, as a propaganda tool, for political manipulation, and as a method to control the representation of conflict and war. It has the power to “deaden [the audience] to political horrors and condition them to accept racism, sexism and deepening class divisions as natural, necessary conditions of existence.”
We can come to understand history through the images of the era, or even the absence of images. “Prohibitions against photographs always indicate a healthy respect for their power.” According to the BBC, during the 1970s and 1980s, “carrying the image of Mandela or being overheard saying his name could result in torture and a prison sentence.” Not only was his photograph illegal, the apartheid state banned Mandela posters and “imposed stiff sentences on anyone caught smuggling posters across the border.” See The New York Times for apartheid posters from the 1980s and 1990s. This censorship and control further helped to elevate visual representation of him as a symbol against oppression and defiance of unjust leadership. The more the regime tried to hide, suppress and control his image, the greater the drive was to expose it.
“As you can imagine, there was intense competition to get the first picture of Mandela. A day before his release, the South African government reversed its policy and published a picture of Mandela.” Once released in 1990, and thanks to contemporary technology, live images of a ‘free Mandela’ were transmitted via satellite to audiences around the world. This photograph of a free man, a man who had spent so many years in prison, and endured institutionalised racism, now could be seen in full light, and his image became an international icon.
Photographs and images of Mandela are a symbol for common experiences of the struggle against oppression, as well as a figure of forgiveness, strength, and democracy. His image represents more than a resilient and tolerant man, but also a resistance ideology, one that works towards freedom and against repression worldwide. Through this past weeks' ‘Life in Pictures’ online slideshows and galleries, photographs have communicated and visually expressed the universal struggle against domination as well as creating the image of common humanity.
Mandela’s passing is unlike any other magnitude of global grievance, mourning or loss. Photography shapes public memory, assists with making sense of a shared experience and can relay emotions better than any written text. His actions, words and practices have reached people all over the world, and people want to celebrate his vision. The photography of the global reaction, as well as pictorial tributes, which are featured on nearly every media site, show people from all walks of life, speaking different languages, across borders and spanning generations around the world gathered to pay respect, and join together in remembrance and collectively mourn Mandela.
The Wall Street Journal developed a live interactive obituary platform, with global user content, Twitter posts and quotes embedded within the article. The Australian ABC featured a video timeline of his life and major events also a tribute page with mix-media including user content and Instagram photographs. These sites provide a shared pace to instantly and visually collaborate and memorialize Mandela globally.
Mandela’s image now “adorns everything from expensive cotton pillowslips, to fridge magnets, to dusty township tavern walls.” The pictures of Mandela were once outlawed, and now have become one of the most shared images online. I believe it will continue to influence people struggling and resisting oppression world-wide for generations to come, much longer than any number of world leader ‘selfies’.
December 2013
Sylvia C. Frain
PhD Student
National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
University of Otago
520 Castle Street
Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
_______________________________________________________________________________________
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sue-pleming/remembering-nelson-mandela_b_4406395.html
2. Freund, G. l. (1980). Photography & society. Boston: Boston : D. R. Godine.
3. Mitchell, W. J. T. (1995). Picture theory: essays on verbal and visual representation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
4. Goldberg, V. (1993). The power of photography: how photographs changed our lives. New York: Abbeville.
5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25256818
6. http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/bring-me-the-head-of-nelson-mandela
7. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/Mandelas-Struggle-in-Posters.html?smid=tw-share
8. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sue-pleming/remembering-nelson-mandela_b_4406395.html
9. http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/ImageGrid/?slug=Mandela
10. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-06/tributes-to-nelson-mandela/5139520?section=australianetworknews
11. http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/bring-me-the-head-of-nelson-mandela
Why Photographs and Images of Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela are So Important
by Sylvia C. Frain
While President Barack Obama’s ‘selfie’ picture with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt at the memorial of Rolihlahla ‘Nelson’ Mandela now dominates the international media’s attention, I would like to offer a more in-depth analysis regarding photographs and images within the coverage of Mandela’s passing.
A reflection and exploration of this past week’s vast amounts of photographs and images has demonstrated a parallel struggle for freedom. Photographs of Mandela that we are sharing and reposting were once banned from the media and outlawed from the public under apartheid. However, this past week they have flowed freely across online media galleries and slideshows unlike ever before.
A review of online news outlets and blogs from the day of his death and until his memorial service has produced numerous titles for Mandela. Depending on the source, he has been branded as a revolutionary, a protestor, a president, a trouble maker, a terrorist, a freedom fighter, a political activist, a rebel, a leader, a prisoner, world’s best negotiator, a peacemaker, and a legend. While these titles are descriptive and expressive, a photograph or image of him communicates much more.
“On the day Nelson Mandela died, like millions of other people around the world, my 14-year-old updated his Facebook page with a picture of Mandela… I have been mesmerized by pictures of him, soaking in gallery after gallery of photographs of his remarkable life.”
Nearly all online media and blogs relating to the coverage included at least one photograph or image, producing an inclusive visual language. Each feature included a range of visual components: a slideshow, visual timeline, or an interactive photo essay with photographs by professionals as well amateurs. “Photography is the starting point of mass media and communication, and is the most common language of our civilization.” Since its invention, photography has been examined and critiqued, regarding its powerful role to revisit history, examine politics, and to understand international affairs visually.
History has demonstrated that photography’s power can be used for ‘good and evil’, as a propaganda tool, for political manipulation, and as a method to control the representation of conflict and war. It has the power to “deaden [the audience] to political horrors and condition them to accept racism, sexism and deepening class divisions as natural, necessary conditions of existence.”
We can come to understand history through the images of the era, or even the absence of images. “Prohibitions against photographs always indicate a healthy respect for their power.” According to the BBC, during the 1970s and 1980s, “carrying the image of Mandela or being overheard saying his name could result in torture and a prison sentence.” Not only was his photograph illegal, the apartheid state banned Mandela posters and “imposed stiff sentences on anyone caught smuggling posters across the border.” See The New York Times for apartheid posters from the 1980s and 1990s. This censorship and control further helped to elevate visual representation of him as a symbol against oppression and defiance of unjust leadership. The more the regime tried to hide, suppress and control his image, the greater the drive was to expose it.
“As you can imagine, there was intense competition to get the first picture of Mandela. A day before his release, the South African government reversed its policy and published a picture of Mandela.” Once released in 1990, and thanks to contemporary technology, live images of a ‘free Mandela’ were transmitted via satellite to audiences around the world. This photograph of a free man, a man who had spent so many years in prison, and endured institutionalised racism, now could be seen in full light, and his image became an international icon.
Photographs and images of Mandela are a symbol for common experiences of the struggle against oppression, as well as a figure of forgiveness, strength, and democracy. His image represents more than a resilient and tolerant man, but also a resistance ideology, one that works towards freedom and against repression worldwide. Through this past weeks' ‘Life in Pictures’ online slideshows and galleries, photographs have communicated and visually expressed the universal struggle against domination as well as creating the image of common humanity.
Mandela’s passing is unlike any other magnitude of global grievance, mourning or loss. Photography shapes public memory, assists with making sense of a shared experience and can relay emotions better than any written text. His actions, words and practices have reached people all over the world, and people want to celebrate his vision. The photography of the global reaction, as well as pictorial tributes, which are featured on nearly every media site, show people from all walks of life, speaking different languages, across borders and spanning generations around the world gathered to pay respect, and join together in remembrance and collectively mourn Mandela.
The Wall Street Journal developed a live interactive obituary platform, with global user content, Twitter posts and quotes embedded within the article. The Australian ABC featured a video timeline of his life and major events also a tribute page with mix-media including user content and Instagram photographs. These sites provide a shared pace to instantly and visually collaborate and memorialize Mandela globally.
Mandela’s image now “adorns everything from expensive cotton pillowslips, to fridge magnets, to dusty township tavern walls.” The pictures of Mandela were once outlawed, and now have become one of the most shared images online. I believe it will continue to influence people struggling and resisting oppression world-wide for generations to come, much longer than any number of world leader ‘selfies’.
December 2013
Sylvia C. Frain
PhD Student
National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
University of Otago
520 Castle Street
Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
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1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sue-pleming/remembering-nelson-mandela_b_4406395.html
2. Freund, G. l. (1980). Photography & society. Boston: Boston : D. R. Godine.
3. Mitchell, W. J. T. (1995). Picture theory: essays on verbal and visual representation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
4. Goldberg, V. (1993). The power of photography: how photographs changed our lives. New York: Abbeville.
5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25256818
6. http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/bring-me-the-head-of-nelson-mandela
7. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/Mandelas-Struggle-in-Posters.html?smid=tw-share
8. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sue-pleming/remembering-nelson-mandela_b_4406395.html
9. http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/ImageGrid/?slug=Mandela
10. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-06/tributes-to-nelson-mandela/5139520?section=australianetworknews
11. http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/bring-me-the-head-of-nelson-mandela
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