A lesson from this evening on nuclear things and why creativity paired with activism is powerful:
Today I was listening to a song by Example, and was curious about the rapper himself, so as one does, I Googled him. I was fascinated to learn that while filming the video for his song “What We Made” in Chernobyl, he made a short documentary on what Chernobyl is like today.
After watching both of the videos (posted below), I was glad to see an artist take something real, like Chernobyl, learn about it, and then educate others. He wasn’t making up a fake feud or talking about making tons of money, he just wrote a song about the damage we can do to our planet and documented his visit to one of the most toxic places on earth. Taking something you care about and using your creativity to get your feelings across is where craftivism lies. Voicing your opinions and frustrations and anger, in a non-traditional way is what gets people thinking and processing and then, hopefully, understanding and learning.
How does talking about something that happened 23 years ago help us now? What is the relationship between nuclear power and nuclear weapons? What does this have to do with craftivism?
From the BeyondNuclear.org website: “The continued insistence on supplying the technology, materials and know-how for civilian nuclear programs perpetuates the danger that nuclear weapons may also be developed – with speculation over Iran a case in point.” … “It makes no sense to demand, on the one hand, that nuclear weapons states eliminate their arsenals while, on the other hand, offering nuclear energy as a reward to countries that promise not to develop nuclear weapons.”
Craftivism exists and evolves in the space between what happened and what is happening. It’s about keeping on eye on the media and conversations and your thoughts and then weaving them into your creative output. It’s about how our past has shaped our present and how our present can shape our future. Keep questioning, keep learning, keep making.
Random things I learned today about nuclear-related things:
*The countries that have nuclear weapons are “sometimes called the nuclear club.”
*Nuclear winter is not as cool as it sounds.
*A nuclear winter is different from a volcanic winter, also not a lot of fun.
*The battle of the correct pronunciation of nuclear still wages on.
*The list of states that have nuclear weapons is here.
*There is an amazing documentary from 2003 called Chernobyl Heart, by Maryann De Leo. In 4 parts online, the documentary shows what’s happening to children born now and recently in the areas surrounding Chernobyl. You can watch the documentary here. Interestingly enough, after filming the documentary, De Leo herself tested positive for radiation poisoning.
