Lecture: Power by Julia Crew reflection
Throughout the Julia Crew’s ‘Power’ lecture from better lives session, I could think of many problems and get information that I have never thought about and considered before.
From the lecture, they informed us that there is extreme inequality in wealth between a few rich people and others. The money that 62 really rich people have is equivalent to the money that 3.5 billion people has which is half of the population. This result of research made me ask myself that is there anything that I can do to change the problem just as one normal man, and will it be powerful enough to make the change. The thing I could only think was despite how hard I try, nothing would be going to change and everything would be in the shape of what those 62 powerful people want it to be. What I think is this is the biggest reason why I think people do not use their power as a consumer which can lead to a positive change in the fashion industry.
However, the lecture also suggested that there are still few ways to use the power properly as a consumer. Spending money as a consumer is one of the powerful ways to use the power every person has which can make the change. Use the money to vote for the product which can help to solve the problems in the fashion industry such as economy equivalent, sustainability, and diversity. Sustainability as an example, as a consumer, we can spend our money buying vintage or second-hand products to reduce the mass consumption and unnecessary clothing production which is 100 billion every year and 75% goes to landfills. This does not have to be limited only in shopping vintage product, we can also just buy fast fashion brands like ZARA, Topshop, and others. All we have to do is buy things and use them for a long time rather than just wearing it for one single season and discard it.
I thought about what I can do to make a positive change as a media student. Media is a very strong medium to make people think. Even though you are not paying attention to the media things you see, it works into your brain subconsciously and controls your mind. Everyone uses social media every day, it is really hard to live a day without watching the screen. Social media influencer has great power, they have more follower than a big company’s business account. People get more influenced by what the star says that they like and follow rather than what the brand says. Therefore, I think making campaign film or photography with the influencer about these problems and deliver messages can lead people to use their power properly and make a positive movement.