Moeka AKUTSU

PLS387 AY2020
Midterm Prospects
June 23, 2020

Midterm Prospects

My topic is water shortage in the world. These days people, especially in developed

countries, tend to waste clean water quickly. Although in such countries, people can easily

use clean water by paying monthly; however, people in developing countries cannot access

water regardless of the quality of water due to climate change and fewer skills. Over 2 billion

people live in countries experiencing high water stress ("SDG 6 synthesis report 2018 on

water and sanitation," 2019). Furthermore, it is estimated that one in four of the world's

children under 18 will be living in extremely high water stress areas by 2040 ("Thirsting for a

future: Water and children in a changing climate," 2017). The video described the comparison

of daily routine between developed countries and developing countries such as drinking water

and taking a bath. Through the description of difference, it is stressed that being able to spend

clean water everywhere is not usually all over the world. There are two points related to the

keywords provided in the lecture. One is realism. The second is denotative and connotative

meaning.

To begin with, realism is securely related to this video. In terms of realism, an event

known through photographs certainly becomes more real than it would have been if one had

never seen the photographs. The water crisis in developing countries is broadly known and
generally acknowledged. This means water crisis is common sense in the world. Similarly,

people take clean water for granted. To summarize, people have common sense toward the

usage of clean water in the world. For those who are in developed countries, they do not have

any opportunities to feel water shortage. Thus, even if people know the water shortage

situation vaguely, they do not regard it as problematic because water shortage is a general

idea, far from daily life. This video, however, communicates water scarcity by describing a

miserable situation occurring in the developing countries. A comparison of developed and

developed countries enables the audience to feel problematic. By making linkage both of

daily routine, it can be compared more effectively and helps the audience understand. This

video works effectively to make people raise the consciousness of this problem. Therefore,

this document allows people to perceive the general problem as realistic and familiar. The

audience can realize the problem through this video.

In addition to this, realism is found in many parts of daily life. Especially, social

media, including news, is one of the closest and most significant examples. When people use

social media, they can find many images, both political and entertainment. Social media

makes it easy to feel realism by accessing pictures. The recent example on social media

would be #blacklivesmatter. Although the demo started in the US at first, it expanded by and

by all over the world. It would be because people felt realism thorough watching the news of

the demo and were motivated to change the discrimination. Realism would be fostered as
social media gets developed. However, the fake image also may make people feel realism.

Thus, even if people feel realism often through social media, they have to pay attention to the

accuracy of image and information.

What is more, this video contains denotative and connotative meanings. Denotation

refers to a direct specific meaning as distinct from an implied or associated idea ("Definition

of denotation," n.d.). Connotation refers to something suggested by a word or thing

("Definition of connotation," n.d.). Barthes (1980) stated “The viewer of the image receives

at one and the same time the perceptual message and the cultural message (p. 273).” At the

end of the video, the scene of the green plant and the dead plant is inserted. Behind the green

plant, water was running enough. On the other hand, behind the dead plant, a small amount of

water was running. In this scene, signifiers are plants and running water. The green plant

signifies humans and developed countries. As the same as plants, humans cannot survive

without water. People who have enough water can survive healthy, as the green plant lives

healthy with enough water. Moreover, it is also signified that developed countries flourished

with much water. The green plant represents countries that flourished with enough resources

for water. Conversely, the dead plant represents the situation in developing countries. It may

be easy to imagine drought from the dead plant. The running water behind the plant shows

how much amount of water people in developed or developing countries can access. Thus,

such a description provides the audience with a notion indirectly on water shortage.
 I would like to answer this question through the video analysis: "Does the digital

world change what we see?" In my view, the digital world can change how people perceive

information. The reason for this opinion is to edit. The invention of the digital world enabled

people to edit data and information such as videos and pictures. In the case of video, it can be

cut. What we see in daily life is just a mere part of the information. Depending on how it is

edited, the perception can be controlled. Furthermore, Kelly (2008) stated “as moving images

become easier to create, easier to store, easier to annotate and easier to combine into

complex narratives, they also become easier to be remanipulated by the audience. This gives

images a　liquidity similar to words.” Thus, although the digital world can change what we

see, people have to be suspicious to judge the truth.

In conclusion, there are two ideas argued above. One is realism. In the video, the

effective use of realism enabled the audience to feel realism. Also, realism is connected to

daily life through social media. Second is denotation and connotation. Signified meaning

works indirectly. As for the digital world, in my opinion, it can change how people perceive

information. Through video editing, I learned how important it is to edit in order to

communicate with the audience. Therefore, I would like to focus on how the information is

edited in daily life.

[1003 words]
 References

Barthes, R. (1980). Classic essays on photography. Leetes Island Books.

https://monoskop.org/images/8/8a/Barthes_Roland_rhetoric_of_the_image.pdf

Definition of connotation. (n.d.). Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-trusted

online dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/connotation

Definition of denotation. (n.d.). Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-trusted

online dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/denotation

Kelly, K. (2008, November 23). Becoming screen literate. The New York Times - Breaking
News, World News & Multimedia. Retrieved June 23, 2020, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/magazine/23wwln-future-t.html

SDG 6 synthesis report 2018 on water and sanitation. (2019, January 31). UN-
Water. https://www.unwater.org/publication_categories/sdg-6-synthesis-report-2018-
on-water-and-sanitation/

Thirsting for a future: Water and children in a changing climate. (2017, March 10).
UNICEF | Children’s Rights & Emergency Relief
Organization. https://www.unicef.org/publications/index_95074.html