https://futureofseattle.weebly.com/
My group chose to use pictures as the central media because they invite several different perspectives. While we provide supplementary material on the website, the viewer immediately forms an opinion or thought on the subject once they view the photos. If the information we provided does not necessarily stir the reader, maybe their interpretation of the photo will. As Macy and Johnstone describe in Active Hope, we each must find the perspective that empowers us and use it as our driving force.
We aimed to remind the people of Seattle that climate change is not only a threat to small island nations and Floridian beaches, but to our own community. By including places such as Pike Place Market and Gas Works, along with normal Seattle residents, we hoped to trigger an emotional response in the viewer that would stir them to act in the face of the Anthropocene.
I was incredibly anxious that we would be the recipients of what I thought to be characteristic of this city, the Seattle freeze. To my surprise, we encountered the complete opposite. There were many occasions when people approached us and asked about our project, and then happily asked if they could take part in it. I discovered that Rifkin’s discussion of the empathic civilization is not just words on a page, but a story of the real world. People are genuinely kind if you take the time to have a real conversation with them. If we had attempted to take these photos and were met with a clear majority of unreceptive people, I would probably be writing a much different post.
Though most of the photos show smiling people, many of those people were wary of being photographed by random students. Yet, they sacrificed their personal comfort for the sake of discourse on a global issue. The power that sacrifice plays, as described by Litfin, in the Anthropocene was fascinating to see happen right in front of me. By sacrificing such a seemingly small sense of security, Seattle residents certainly stilled a new sense of motivation in me.
Though I have lived in the Seattle area my whole life, I felt most connected to the people on this one November day. I learned that this sense of community, created through empathy and sacrifice, is what will ultimately lead us through the Anthropocene.
International District (Community)
Pike Place Market (Economy)
Gas Works Park (Environment)