Homophobia Through Propaganda
For Leap 2 (link embedded at the bottom of my reflection,) I dedicated my screencast to harmful propaganda geared towards the LGBTQ+ community. This topic had not been covered yet in class, and is one that I found very important to be researching, especially as a member of the queer community. I was also drawn towards this topic due to the heaps of misinformation circulating the media, mainly from conservative organizations, about the “woke” left. Many people have been persuaded that the queer community is a facade, with some individuals even believing them to be the epicenter of child grooming controversies and direct links to evil forces.
My creative process came fairly naturally since I care so deeply about stopping the spread of this propaganda. When researching, I found out about how homophobia has been deeply rooted in our country since its conception. The most eye opening piece of propaganda that I found was from the People’s History Museum, depicting a soldier telling gay people that their country will never support their sexuality. The message is clear and even written out on the poster: “Your country doesn’t need you if you’re gay.” This led me to a revelation: homophobia has not been greatly diminished for decades, rather it is now displayed in a new light in which sometimes, bigotry can be accepted in our country. Take religion, for example, where many people oppose of same-sex couples, backing their beliefs by the word of God. You could say this was a “breakthrough” for me, since I realized that even organized religion is a major contributor to misinformation and dangerous propaganda.
This project quickly became personal for me. Watching videos of innocent people get harassed and reading some of the terrible propaganda referencing people like myself became a bit of a challenge. However, I quickly realized that standing up against homophobia is the only way to truly eliminate it from our society. Someday, I can envision a world where the harmful propaganda against queer people can simply be a lesson of what not to do as a country.
In terms of creating the screencast itself, I faced some troubles with technology, especially when trying to embed my photos and videos into a brief recording period. After practicing my script many times, I was able to put together something that I’m proud of. The overarching lesson taught to me by Leap 2 is that propaganda will never be eradicated without proper advocacy. Aside from the LGBTQ+ community, there are many other marginalized communities facing the effects of harmful media, hate speech, and misinformation. Each of these groups are equally as inclined to the freedoms of America as that of the cisgendered white male demographic.
I believe that my screencast will be both informational and emotive, as the harsh realities of this propaganda and its consequences are highlighted through photos and videos. Including a “solution” portion of this screencast was important to me so that viewers can learn how to apply their knowledge towards the betterment of society, rather than simply looking at the propaganda and still allowing this bigotry to occur. I greatly enjoyed creating this project overall, and I hope that it enlightens my peers as to how prominent this issue still is across the globe.
Sources:
People’s History Museum
The Guardian
Gay Ireland News & Entertainment
Open Society Foundations
CBC News
Miami Herald
