CONCEPTUAL/MOSAIC/IZMS

Currently Listening To :: Soundbombing :: Dilated Peoples & Tash

This is a little something I wrote for Blitz...unedited, and I hope it stays that way...

Cross marketing is a powerful force. Think Nike. That little swoosh that appears on everything from shoes to clothes to shop windows to every sport you can think of is one of the most recognisable symbols in the world. So much so, even illiterate people know what it is, and the swoosh is now more than a label, it’s a concept representing ultimate sports apparel (or ultimate evil, take your choice). But like most things, all concepts, just like weapons, can be used for both good and evil; and with Mosaic, we’re wielding a conceptual weapon of mass construction.

Some of you may be asking why I’m merging my column with the cultural diversity arm of the Union. Well, as President of Mosaic, it’s my duty to get our message across to as many people by any means necessary. Now Mosaic isn’t Arthur Andersen, and my name’s not David Duncan, so I have no qualms about any conflicts of interest. So if you think I’m just doing this to promote the projects I’m involved in, trying to push Mosaic to everyone out there shamelessly through as many outlets as I can…you’re exactly right.

But the real question is not IF I’m going to doing it, (by the time you read this, it’s already been done), but WHY I’m doing it. Talking with a friend recently, the topic of minority youth and pop culture came up. She told me that something she’d noticed was that a lot of people view young people strictly as consumers of culture, whether it be that hot new music single, the latest copy of a magazine, or a new pair of jeans. Youth (especially ethnic and indigenous youth) today just aren’t seen as a group that produces or adds back to culture.

For years in the mainstream media, ethnic and indigenous youth culture has been marginalised to a huge extent. While mainstream shows have at times attempted to bring ethnic youth into the picture, a lot of the time they ended up being slapped with stereotypical roles and names that singled them out as ethnic, and not in a positive way either. The use of token ethnic characters results in a token view on ethnic issues. Other shows don’t even bother to try.

Now while it may be all well and good to bitch and moan about the lack of ethnic youth representation in the mainstream media, sitting back and doing nothing about it is just as bad. If you feel about something strongly enough, then you don’t just talk about it. You be about it.

But that’s not the whole side of the story. Even if you have the drive to start to make yourself heard, which voice is the one you want heard? For many ethnic youth, this is a huge grey area. Many ethnic youth like myself often find ourselves caught in between cultures, not quite in our original cultures, and yet not in the mainstream either.

That’s what Mosaic is here for (but don’t cue the Superman theme…yet). Because it’s just like my friend said, “if you don’t have a space of your own, then you create one”. Today’s technology means that youth today are having increasingly greater access to opportunities to express themselves, to make themselves heard. Personal web sites, online blogging, zines, and amateur music and dance groups. This has made it easier for ethnic youths to go about expressing their views and thus constructing that so-called “3rd space”, a concept describing that place in society not quite in the mainstream, nor totally in an ethnic culture either.

The launch of Mosaic2002, our latest publication, is another contribution to this ever-growing work in progress. We’ve gathered a collection of various stories, poetry and interviews that all show how opinionated and creative ethnic youth can be; giving ethnic youth a chance to contribute to that “3rd space”. From Latin hip-hop to ethnicised fairy tales, social commentary to abstract poetry, I think this publication has something for everyone. Taking place this Thursday in conjunction with Harmony Day, Mosaic, the Union and ISS (the International Students Society) will be bringing the celebrations to you, complete with drummers, dancers, and fairy floss! Copies of our publication will be given out to all, and we encourage everyone to wear orange, the official colour of Cultural Diversity and Harmony Day. So come along, have fun, and help us to celebrate this great event!

Let the mass construction begin!