Better lives Blog 1
The Better lives lecture that I felt influenced my thinking was the one on Sustainability & Power. During this lecture, I was able to further understand the benefits of power in relation to the fashion industry, the media industry and even industries promoting the concept of sustainability.
As a student studying Fashion Public Relations and Communication, I am aware that being a social media influencer in today’s day and age allows one to sway the thoughts of thousands of people worldwide, just with one post. This is the most accurate example of power in the 21st century, as consumers have a herd mentality and spend a significant amount of time, money and energy trying to create a ‘perfect life’ on basis of what they saw on someone else’s profile. The one dilemma that was discussed during the lecture was that ‘who actually holds the power to make a significant change?’ and I personally feel that consumers and people in general look for a leader with strength, credibility and experience who can solve their respective problems or help them understand topics and concepts that they were not able to earlier. However, the only problem within the fashion industry is that the fashion model itself is extremely warped, and there is never an equal distribution of earnings throughout the supply chain. Understanding this complex scenario from a publicity point of view, raises a question in my mind: How do certain brands maintain their brand value and image while supporting unethical production methods, and even while producing unethical items? Do consumers conveniently ignore these facts, or have brands hired publicists to filter out and frame the facts to make them sound more ‘appealing’ to the consumer? Is the power really in the hands of the consumer or is it in the hands of the producer and the media? One can choose what to buy, but the media continues to play a huge part in influencing an individual.
If one suggests to alter the current method of hierarchy, and focus on equal distribution of wealth, it is possible that the entire system will suffer. However, the process of deciding who the power should be handed to, is a tricky one because no individual is free of existing bias, which may impact important decisions and cause disruption within the respective system. In conclusion, The lecture provided me with the basic understanding of power in different contexts, and how important it is for people to know who they are giving power to, instead of blindly following trends and influencers.