World History Episode 15: The Crusades

Jump to this episode’s Thought Bubble on The Crusades.

We’re the graphics team for an ongoing YouTube-funded series, part of YouTube’s Original Content Channels for the year of 2012. We create a 1-2 minute Thought Bubble each week for John Green’s World History episodes, delving into everything from the Agricultural Revolution, to China, to The Dark Ages, Rome, The Crusades, and beyond. We also create the illustrated/typographic elements on-screen throughout each 10-13 minute episode, and we branded the show; including the logo design, overall look and feel, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.

Read more about our involvement with Crash Course here.

To learn more about the Crash Course World History series, or soak up some history for yourself, check out the playlist on YouTube and subscribe!

As a university student, most of my friends and acquaintances identify themselves according to their program of study. Psychology students, engineering students, business students and political science students (just to name a few) are all very different people, with very different outlooks on life. As young adults, our minds are being shaped according to the lenses through which we are taught to see: schools of thought in social sciences (Freudian psychology, Liberalism, Positivism etc.), free market ideologies in business, and mathematical analyses in sciences. We rarely stop to questions these “lenses” and trade them in for a more realistic and current take on issues. These types of vocational studies have done much to form us, but are simultaneously discouraging us from looking outward for information, and are creating separations between young people based on their field of study.

Our tendencies to devote almost every part of our being to what we study (or what job we have) is increasingly making us feel more comfortable in our complacency. A journalism student, for example, is the only type of person likely to make a habit of watching the news daily, and to care about the state of our democracy is only a trait shared by politics students.

Vocational schooling methods have removed us from the idea that on top of formal education there is self-education; the opportunity to learn by our own initiative, to read the news (and several sources at that) and to take a critical look at the institutions and people who govern our surroundings.

Ethics and consideration for social issues and current events have a place in all disciplines. Adbusters has made one of their most important campaigns, Kick It Over, a call to action for economics students to question their professors (and entire discipline) about their teachings of neoclassical economics. Smart Bubble Society’s core values center around the idea that there are career options for graphic designers beyond working for big corporations and advertising agencies (Jon even wrote a blog post about it here!)

Young people have inherited institutions and systems full of flaws and inequalities, a fact that should only help fuel our desire to look beyond what we are told and dig furiously to come to our own conclusions. Now is the time to break down the barriers separating social science students from art students and science students, and acknowledge not our differences, but our similarities; to look beyond our schooling for a more critical take on the state of things.

Education is at the heart of all of the issues facing us. One of the most important skills that one should acquire through education is critical thinking. Without a doubt, if everyone were to look at what is thrown at us every day with a critical outlook (notably pop culture, advertising and junk thought), we might witness a considerable drop in our level of distraction and apathy, and a rise in our awareness of the world. As Neil Postman warned in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death in 1985, it’s not the Orwellian future we should fear as depicted in the book 1984, but rather the one described in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, where, for one thing, it’s not access to information that’s a problem in society, but the fact that we “drown in a sea of irrelevance.”

I had an outstanding education. Critical thinking was fundamental in classroom discussions, projects and papers, and an integral part of getting a good grade and proving our understanding of a topic. Nowadays, I don’t know how much of that goes on in a classroom. You hear about high schools installing wireless networks, allowing mobile phone access, internet and computer access, all throughout school hours. We tailor education to fit the model of our technological consumption. Computer games or online courses are constructed to provide lessons in the place of real-live teachers. Traditional lessons are shortened to mimic our kids’ shortening attention spans. Texting breaks are implemented to facilitate our addiction to our cell phones.

At a time when our education is undergoing alarming changes as it stands, it’s even more disheartening to see just how little respect and reverence it receives from politicians and administrators.

Take the recent reforms to public schools proposed by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna in Idaho (one of three actually, and two of which just passed in Senate). An incredible witty, talented and (clearly) well-educated high school student, Jonny Saunders, takes on this bill with a vengeance in front of his classmates and teachers. In the video below, he brings to light one of the programs within the education overhaul plan, where all ninth graders will be given a laptop and required to take four online classes during their high school education. And in true political fashion, the most nefarious part of it all is the firing of 770 teachers in order to serve a corporate agenda so that Tom Luna can thank his corporate campaign donors.

Jonny Saunders shows us how powerful civic action can be, and how crucial it is to maintain and constantly improve our education system, not tear it apart to serve the needs of our society’s ailments and politicians’ needs. There’s a lot of work to do in the field of education, and it doesn’t start with the firing of teachers and favouring corporate interest. Enjoy the video below, where the superintendent in question gets schooled by a seventeen year old.

And as a side note, yes, she can sing (you know who I’m talking about, and if you don’t, good). Sure, she’s cute. But why isn’t Jonny Saunders receiving a staggering 14 million views of his video and appearances on daytime talk shows?

Illustration source.

I attribute a substantial part of who I am to documentaries. I often recount my experience of watching Joel Bakan’s The Corporation when I was in grade 11, and coming out of class an entirely new person. Or of watching the HBO special I am an Animal two years ago, and becoming vegetarian (now vegan). I am a documentary junkie.

A few weeks ago, I was excited to see an interview with the director of the The Cove on DemocracyNow. When asked how he had come to make the film, Louie Psyihoyos said,

“You know, documentaries are like brussels sprouts of cinema. You know it’s going to be good for you, but you’re not really looking forward to it. It’s not the main meal; it doesn’t seem like dessert.”

This idea was demoralizing to me; apparently I was unaware that people might not be as tempted to look for information that goes deeper than the nightly news, as I thought. And the reality that most of the public is apathetic to the serious issues we face, is more alarming to me than any headline or news story I’d read.

Increasingly, the public is being deceived by the nearly inescapable messages that surround us. Not enough of them are devoted to encouraging us to use our critical thought, and too many of them suggest we should spend all our time being distracted. According to Zenith Optimedia’s 2007 estimates, the global advertising budget for 2010 is about 530 billion dollars, and there’s no doubt that a figure like that is hard to compete with (the amount of relief funding requested by the UN for Pakistan is 2 billion). After spending a morning commuting downtown, I’ll have seen enough candy, phone providers, sugar water and American Express promotions to leave me exhausted by the time I get to work (and let’s not even delve into the matter of newspapers laden with celebrity gossip and rhinoplasty clinic advertisements.)

Thankfully, there is solace in alternative media. While some may find it to be the last thing to help them put their mind to rest, documentaries and news programming aimed at broadcasting the truth can offer great comfort and empowerment.

At Smart Bubble Society, every Monday is “doc day.” We collect a list of documentaries that any of us want to see – and for the purpose of educating and inspiring our work, and minds – we watch one each week.

A lot of us feel like we don’t have time to educate ourselves or to learn about the overwhelming assortment of issues our society faces. But a lot of them are actually connected, and brought on by the same root cause. Secondly, we seem to have lost touch with the notion of continuing our personal education past the structured institution of school. Barbara Strauch, deputy science editor at The New York Times and author of The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain, says that as our brain ages, in many ways we actually become better learners. So why stop educating yourself, ever?

Listed below are some great docs we’ve seen so far. Together, they represent a solid tool fit for this generation, a visual depiction of a growing concern that offers perspective and inspires its audience, all the while demonstrating how pressing an issue is and how to address it.

So join us in setting aside one day a week to focus on educating and inspiring yourself. Watch a good doc, or dip into a non-fiction book. Forget the TV, computer, cell phone, and spend time with your brain instead. We’ll tweet what doc we watch ahead of time (or after the fact), and if you need any suggestions for more, just ask!

The Corporation

Using the diagnostic criteria of a psychopath, this crucial documentary helps the audience understand the way the corporation has infiltrated every aspect of our lives and used its personhood status to take advantage of resources and people all over the world, with no remorse.

Collapse

An interview with Michael Ruppert regarding energy issues, and the importance of being prepared for a post peak-oil America.

Consuming Kids

An insight into the targeting of children by advertisers to create consumers from the ‘cradle to the grave.’

Food Matters

Based on Hippocrates’ famous quote “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food,” this film demonstrates how drastically we’ve shifted into a culture invaded by pharmaceuticals and band-aid solutions, and away from nutrition and food as medicine.

GasLand

The HBO documentary explaining the process of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas throughout the United States, as well as the hazards for homeowners caught in its destructive path.

“Swine flu” has taken the world by storm – or so we think – judging by the nightly media reports and specials we tune into and the barrage of opinions shooting back and forth on the subject across the entire internet plane. It’s exactly the sort of issue that needs a Thought Bubble, and needs one now. Unfortunately, we’re not at a capacity where we can cover every social issue, yet.

With anything that floats under a veil of media blitz, it’s difficult to find facts, get answers, and formulate an informed opinion. People get personal about it, angry, even, bringing irrationality into the mix to make it all the more confusing. What is needed in times like this is a clear, visual, factual explanation of all sides of the argument, all factors involved. Something needs to slice through the fog of misinformation and make sense.

With all of the tools at our fingertips today, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, and it can literally take seconds. I think it’s almost better to take a step back, shut off your news station, and go back to a solid book on the subject (or a related one). You’ll find that even anyone you talk to doesn’t seem to help, as all of us are persuaded by the same sources of information, so we all become walking propaganda machines, repeating the same messages back and forth to one another. Silent contemplation might bring some solace, and internal realizations. But most importantly, self-education will lead the way. Self-controlled, self-directed education. It doesn’t stop after attending whatever formal institution you last attended. We need to empower our minds again, and use that heavy mass of muscle inside of our heads the way it was intended. And Thought Bubble? Well we hope to aid you on that journey, very soon.

With this medium we can combine compelling graphic iconography and awe-inspiring narration and music to reach out to viewers and touch them. It takes an emotional reaction to a subject to inspire one to do something about it. We have to feel some passion, surprise, or anger to get us out of our seats. With a background in graphic design we specialize in igniting targeted emotional and psychological reactions. It probably sounds a little bit conniving at first read, but we’re not trying to sell a product. Instead, we’re trying to sell an issue, a topic, or educational thought.

This is where our fundamental philosophy comes into play. We want to help our clients communicate an important message. Not just one that will shed light on say, a campaign, or a particular service, but on the larger picture. The motivation behind what this client does, the reason why they go to work each day, the very thing they fight for. By the end of the video, audiences will be introduced to the ‘solution’, or ‘plan of action.’ But the idea is to teach them something first, and ignite their desire to know more, help out, or join the cause.