For this week, I read the article, “Sonic Colonizations, Sound Coalitions: Analyzing the Aural Landscape of Standing Rock’s No-DAPL Movement” by Rachel Presley and Jason Crane. I found this article really interesting and the reason I chose to read it was because it had to do with the Dakota Pipeline, which was a huge thing a few years back. A big part of why this was such a big ordeal was because the government wanted to build this pipeline on sacred Native American lands and could contaminate their water resource. Many people came to protest this that were not Native American. Many of the non-Native American protesters thought that they were doing a good thing for our country, but some of the things they did while protesting were not perceived that way. The majority of this article and what I will be focusing on through this post is the way sound is perceived by different groups of people.
The American protesters decided one day to throw a festival at Standing Rock because they thought that it would bring awareness to what was going on, and lift other protesters up. What I mean by lifting them up was sort of hyping them up, trying to remain positive about the whole situation. During this festival, there was rock music being played. While the Americans really enjoyed this festival, the Native Americans that lived there did not appreciate this at all. This was because the loud rock music was disruptive to their silent prayers they were did regularly. This was a big problem because while the American people thought they were doing a great thing, it was not inerpreted that way at all.
This is something everyone needs to be aware of. Do not be ignorant to your surroundings, and be aware that things may not be interpreted the way you want them to be. This is so important especially when it comes to writing because everyone is raised a certain way, and may not be aware of the cultural differences between people such as the Americans in this scenario not being aware that the Native Americans did not like this rock concert that was going on. This is a big takeaway for me because it really shows how differently things can be perceived.
Another takeaway from this article is to not only be aware of the cultural differences and how something may be perceived in that aspect but to also be aware of the environment you’re in. This is very important because as a writer especially, you need to think about who your audience is and really think about how something will be interpreted. Is it going to be perceived how you want it to be? Or should you tweak it? This goes hand in hand with being ignorant to cultural differences because you need to think critically about the message you’re trying to get across and to who. Although one might not be aware at all times of the sounds going on around them, it is important to think about. The article I read mentions says that music can communicate deeply embedded personal and cultural meanings especially depending on the location you’re in. In this example, it was not appropriate for the Americans to be putting on this rock festival without talking to the Native Americans first to make sure they were okay with it. Due to them not doing this, deep cultural roots were hurt because they did not think about their location and how it may be perceived by the Native Americans that lived there.
Changes is the audio or soundscape have great meanings. For example, if there is little to no music in a movie, it may be very suspenseful. Fast and upbeat music convey a happy mood or song. A slow and soft song may be a sad song. The way sound is created is important because different sounds can portray different meanings. When recording something, it is important to think about and reflect on the tone of the sound you are creating. What is the mood of the sound you are trying to get across to your audience? When creating my sound piece, I know this is something I will think about because different tones of sound and speeds really do go a long way.
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