Protestor hooked on her protest against shark cruelty
(http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Shark_protestor_hangs_own_skin_on_hooks&in_article_id=292341&in_page_id=34&expand=true)
Alice Newstead suspends herself to the ceiling using shark hooks
-The scars of her protest
" LONDON (AFP) - A woman was suspended from the ceiling of a London shop by hooks put through her skin, in protest Wednesday against the practice of slicing fins from sharks and throwing them back into the ocean alive. " (Wednesday, September 3 2008) http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080903/wl_uk_afp/britainanimaldemooffbeat
This article caught my eye because it looks so insanely painful and I salute her (Alice Newstead) for her high pain threshold just to stand up(in this case hooked up haa) for what she believes in.
Her unorthodox method of attracting attention to portray her beliefs is indeed encoded in a clear, obvious manner , just short of screaming "LOOK AT ME!"(keeping in mind the fact that her method is a form of non-verbal communication). Some may find her form of protest too extreme and even offensive but I find that it is successful to a certain extent, as it did cause some furor and might have caused some people to think twice before buying/consuming shark meat related products.
Her use of her body as a vehicle/canvas to tell the world what she believes in, is very personal and proves that this issue is something close to her heart and that she is extremely serious about. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words and sometimes, more often then not, people need wake up calls pertaining to matters which they are usually indifferent about.
By literally portraying how sharks are caught- (they are usually pulled from the water, their fins are sliced off, and they are kicked back into the ocean, so they sink to the bottom and suffer a slow death) I feel that she has managed to convey the severity of the issue, create an impact and educate the public to an extent that shark killing is extremely cruel and a stop should be put to this.
However, as people have different mental sets like beliefs, values attitudes and feelings for instance, messages are decoded/interpreted uniquely by each individual and sometimes what we want to portray is perceived differently and communication in this sense fails. For example, Asians may not perceive consuming shark's fin is wrong/cruel as shark's fin is considered a delicacy and shark cartilage has medicinal properties that they believe strongly in. Therefore, some Asians might be offended as it is in their culture to value such beliefs. Similarly, parents of children who happened to walk pass her display may be outraged as such an extreme, very visual display can cause trauma to young children.
Hence, from a social constructive perspective, she should have considered these factors beforehand to improve communication and to bring her point across better as she might have to take responsibility and face the repercussions of her actions(a lawsuit maybe?)Furthermore, I do not doubt that people will become more aware due to her radical display, but will this really stop people from consuming shark's fin soup per se? I know for certain in Asia and Singapore especially, shark's fin soup will stay on our menus for a long time as its the norm to have for wedding dinners and most people really like it!
That being said, I have to admit that Alice's radical display is interesting as it's not often that you can find someone who goes to such great lengths just to defend his/her beliefs!:)
What do you think?How do you feel about her protest?Is it an effective way of communication?
15 comments:
your first line of the entry made me cringe *shudders. i think alice's act of protest is a tad too extreme. although it definitely caught pple's attention successfully but does she seriously have t go t such length t get her msg across? personally i am against any form of self inflicted pain. she should protect the sharks and herself!
i think shes really brave and noble!
But ive to admit the protest method is indeed too extreme.
It may have caught the attention of many, but this doesnt mean that they will stop killing sharks.
In my opinion, only a minority of people will actually stop slicing fins from sharks, even though majority of them will be impressed by what shes done.
she really should stop hurting herself!
im sure she made a point,it looks extremely painful.
i agree that different people would interpret it differently but i think that ultimately, communication directly with the fisherman would serve better as they can work together to find a better way to provide shark fin's soup!
Protestors should seek to inform people about the issue and offer alternatives to the people who are affected by the trade of shark fin. The lady has done her job in raising awareness. There should now be a follow up to educate people about her cause. No doubt the image will be at the back of the minds when they consume shark's fin. However, a change in mindsets will require more than that.
I personally think that although what she's doing comes across as unorthordox in the sense extreme due to the self inflicted pain involved, that it is acceptable and is indeed effective in raising awareness (I must emphasize only in that respect, because for a real change in this saga it will take a whole lot more on way more fronts) about the cruelty of shark fin farming to consumers.
However I think you raised a good point about how it is possible that children may get the wrong impression regarding issues such as self injury etc. and may misconceive it to be socially acceptable (as they may not be able to understand the message she's trying to convey).
Having said that on the whole I think it is good that she is standing up for what she feels strongly.
To clarify though I think it is unacceptable to coerce other persons\animals and 'use' them in order to strengthen your message, against their will. For e.g. in the case of Guillermo Vargas Jiménez (Habacuc) in his Exposición N° 1 exhibition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_Vargas).
[charis to ize]
Thank you for your point about follow up!I forgot about that!I agree that follow up is indeed important and essential and the second step activists/anyone for that matter to further educate and reiterate their point in order for things to sink in and perception to really change!
The extremism of her actions only depict the amount of sincerity and conviction through which she brings her message across.
However, i think there is a better way to bring the message across. At the end of the day, how many people who have seen her act, actually do make the commitment to discourage the killing of sharks?
maybe someone should just whip up a dish using the rest of the shark. that may change people's mindsets. =D
Her Courage, Her Believe
Personally, I feel that what she has done has proven herself to be someone that really stands for what she really believes in, rather than some people that feel that something shouldn’t be done because someone told them about it or simply just going with the flow.
Extremity as it may seem, this crazy stunt or action has proven its point, ‘Stop killing sharks!’ It may ridicule against those who believe that sharks fin have some medicinal value and may create a disturbing scene against young children and those that feel queasy at the sight of such a display.
I admire her courage at doing something like this even though not the entire world is seeing or even know what she is doing. Nor those fishermen hunting the sharks be bothered with her absurd action.
Contrary to that, she should also think of her own well being. Doing such a stunt may cause herself to be under physical distress and her display may cause her to get into trouble with the law or other organization bodies.
I feel that shark poaching should be stopped in order to preserve the presence of nature God has created. Imagine waters without the existence of sharks, it may lead to an unbalance food chain that will result in something disastrous.
In short, I would say that the act of a brave woman, will one day lead to humans understanding the reason behind what she is doing to save one creature, the sharks.
By: Justin Kon
Hello Charis,
Nice piece, and your first as a comms student to boot! I think the visuals lent some impact to your piece, just like how sumiko is always badgering me for visuals in my articles haha.
However, I think that lady must have been raised by hippie parents and must have been listening to too much Phillip Glass.
Her actions will not deter me from eating sharks' fin soup. In fact, I am going to eat more bowls, just out of spite.
I love animals
With gravy!
Personally, I don't like seafood, you know that right, Charis? Haha.
I feel it is very cruel for a human to do such a thing, even though it is for awareness. It definitely caught people's attention but how much of the message she was trying to portray got into the minds of those people and how many really stop eating Shark's fin? Probably not much.
But, I have to salute her for her bravery!
I thought alice was outright brave to the extent that she was willing to inflict pain on herself just to put across the message she held.
However, i also felt that this protest was too extreme and gruesome.
Maybe the main intention was to give the audience a strong impression so that whenever they eat seafood or shark's fin, they will think of her excruciating sacrifice.
Something more drastic happened long ago when Jesus was crucified on the cross even though he did not commit any hideous crime. Some similarities of sacrificial love - this being for sharks while Jesus' was out of love for all mankind.
Thank God, Jesus died and rose again. Unfortunately for man, we always need some help. In her case, someone please remember to unhook her.
hey there charis, nick here.
nice picture.
as the saying goes, "no pain, no gain".
and trust me, you've got the message through. 100 marks on visual!
based on the picture i do not have to read more to know your point. (but i've read all if you wanted to know)
=)
shark attack, or probably "attack the shark" seems to be an ongoing activity by certain asian countries, not only for sharks' fins, the meat(yes i've tried it, harder than chicken. why always compare it to chicken? hmmmm...), trophies and personal achievements.
well i feel that alice's campaign would have sent little messengers like us to tell of her story.
but the fight to eat, to survive, is probably going to win. twin hooks on the back will be nothing more than fruitless battle scars on alice.
we have to fight our urge to eat.
i mean... er get real... i won't eat sharks, but i can only pass on alice's messsage.
"you've fought the good fight, now it's time we fight it too."
food for thought anyone???
She is CRAZY.
I mean, we all get her point about cruelty towards sharks from that disturbing image. Seriously, it sends the message across.
Well, she is using the right medium and tools to bring about awareness but i somehow feel that she is targeting the wrong group of people. Jeez, people like me only care about the end product, SHARKS FIN! ever seen how a butcher kills a chicken? or how your STEAK is prepared? At the end of the day, so what? To me, to the general public, it is the end product - what goes into your body that really matters.
At the end of the day, what do you think she will achieve? this has been going on for years and what makes you think it will stop. To us, it is normal to kill sharks in order to get shark-related-food. My guess is that shark hunters, or whatever they are called will be faced with new and strict regulations when come to hunting sharks and nothing more.
I'd suggest she channel her energy to target the hearts of shark-product consumers. WE are the people who affect the demand. I do believe that the shark market is demand driven and if you target what matters to consumers (e.g. no health benefit from eating birds nest or something). So if Qty Demanded drops..lol, won't go into economics now if you'll look at the time although my econs super zai.
To end this, im impressed by her effort but feel that however good it is, she is using the wrong strategy to ultimately minimize/reduce sharkhunting.
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