JB_AU

Sticks and stones…

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

It’s the phrase I heard many times as a child. If kids called me names in the playground the response would always be the same - words can’t hurt. They’re powerless.

The truth is – words are more powerful than ever before. Through the internet and social media we all have significantly more opportunity to use our words. In some cases this is a vital means of empowerment for people who wouldn’t otherwise have a voice and for others it’s an opportunity to extend their grasp of the soapbox even further, but in this digital world the concept that words really aren’t that powerful is a dangerous notion that looks set to breed ignorance and complacency in the way we communicate.

Journalists, writers, and newsmakers have known the great power of their words for centuries. The journalistic profession has held itself to a certain level of ethics and codes of practice (to varying levels of success) with the knowledge that they have great power. The power of words has had a great influence on our society, but now that the power has shifted to a wider pool of people - are we losing a sense of the responsibility of our words? Are we taking that responsibility seriously?

In the last week we’ve seen the Kony 2012 phenomenon have a major impact on our perceptions of African conflict and the place of western nations to intervene. The filmmakers used simplistic, but powerful language to influence millions of people using social media and the persuasive art of film, but were they responsible in their use of language? Did they create too shallow an understanding of the issues involved? Could their influential, but simplistic message do more damage than good?

In Australia’s political landscape we’re also seeing the use of language used in powerful and damaging ways. The homophobic portrayal of same sex marriage issues and the connotations directed at LNP leader Campbell Newman by Bob Katter’s Australia Party show a distinct lack of responsibility shown over their words. The ads have a distinct underlying message – it’s wrong to be gay and it’s hardly a subtle message. These words could have a profound impact on the lives of young same sex attracted Australians.

And all this at a time when our mainstream media are scoffing at the idea of a news media watchdog designed to monitor the ethics of Australian media. How can our mainstream media seriously pretend that a loose hold on ethics is appropriate when something like the Kony 2012 campaign shows us just how powerfully information spreads and influences in this age.

It’s not just the mainstream media that needs to remember the power of their words again – we all need to have a greater respect for the power of our language, because we all now have greater access than ever before to be heard. We all need to take responsibility for how our words can affect others.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words are pretty powerful.

jakec asked: I suspect the reason art fuelled by negativity is so resonant is that when you're miserable, it's comforting to have something that feels empathetic/cathartic whereas when you're happy, you need less empathy. That said I think it's a mad fallacious and reductive perspective to think that negativity inspires the greatest art and it's annoying that it's such a pervasive attitude. Nick Cave made some of his most accomplished music when he was happy. I can't think outside myself when I'm sad.

I think it’s not necessary for negativity to breed great art, but I think it’s quite a common theme for many artists and creators - I think a lot of it is linked to letting go control to the creativity and letting it run wild so you can experience the full realm of it - Both positive and negative and unfortunately that can leave you open to the dark side of it!

The creative dilemma

Kanye West is in Australia and just a few nights ago I was one of the lucky few who managed to see his eclectic stage show showcasing a diverse range of art, music, ego, emotion and in many ways torment. Mr.West is clearly a complicated guy - as evidenced in his songs and lyrical choices and as I watched him the other night lie on the floor of a giant stadium stage pondering the question ‘why do I need to cry to fly?’ as part of a ten minute public therapy session - I couldn’t help but ponder the creative dilemma - Is the negative/the shadow a necessary part of great creativity? A number of creative friends retell the same story to me time and time again - ‘I made my best art/music/writing when I was my most messed up’ and it’s too big a trend for me to ignore. I consider myself a creative person - while it doesn’t manifest itself in a traditional ‘art’ form my brain can’t seem to help itself from looking for new ways of doing things. It’s often in a constant state of buzz and renewal. I’m unhappy unless I’m creating somehow. The problem I find is that it follows its own timeline. It can be a monster of its own. Sometimes creativity is this amazing thing that rears its head at just the right time providing the most wonderful solution or inspiration and at other times it burrows into the brain at the most inconvenient time possible. (Case in point - it’s 4am and once my brain started buzzing on this topic it just couldn’t stop - so here I am writing) This ‘inconvenience’ however seems to often be at the centre of the creative dilemma. Within the ‘inconvenience’ (or in a case like Mr.West or my ‘creative type’ friends - torment) their most beautiful and authentic work seems to come from some of their darkest places. This is not to say that creativity doesn’t come from happy places, but whether it is happy/sad or dark/light it seems to come at a time of its own choosing. It’s like a muscle that just starts twitching - often when you least suspect it. So what do you do with this conundrum? Do you try and contain it? Try and put it in a box and only let it out in controlled and sparse bursts thereby limiting its potential…or do you let it run free and risk the inconvenience/torment in order to reach an insight you would have otherwise never had? Mr.West is certainly polarising and I certainly don’t relate to all of his personal insights, but he is authentic and his creative mind gives us an almost anthropological perspective on his life - his happiness and his torment in an intense and strangely beautiful package. How do you balance all that? I’d ask a scientist to figure it out and come up with a cold, hard answer but somehow I think it’d lose all its beauty.

Leadership…whatever that means…

I’ve just gotten back from a leadership camp with my work (I work with a group of young media makers who volunteer their time to contribute to radio, screen and online productions) and the discussion of “leadership” always send my head into a spin.

It’s such a strange word - “leadership” - To be honest I used to hate it. I’ve been on about a trillion leadership camps, workshops, conferences, etc and initially I hated being considered a “leader”. It felt like the domain of self important wankers and people whose egos seemed to be their primary motivation.

Like many things in regards to language the key to getting past that for me was changing the way I defined leadership and realising that the term was much broader than what I thought. People exercise leadership in lots of different ways and those who teach leadership skills have to find language and methods to convey the key themes of leadership.

So yes - they will come up with any number of labels (You may have been called an Oprah, an INFJ, a warrior, etc) but really leadership comes down to being able self reflect and understand how your relationships work with others. The trick is to not get caught up in the labels and the history behind the words, but to take whatever chance you can to reflect on your strengths, your weaknesses and how these traits enable or disable you from getting shit done.

Leadership is often defined by corporate speak and self affirmation - Push past the lingo and the wank and you might just find some useful ways to reflect, learn and grow and that’s really what leadership is for me - relishing the opportunity to learn and grow.

-JB