Matthew Higby

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Peer review by Matthew Higby

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Seeing an article that included a reference about Christianity and consumer culture immediately caught my eye. Jude wrote a reflection on the Culture lecture and explained being overall inspired. I found Jude to be periodically asking questions which gave the essay a more philosophical approach. It was interesting to see the use of research from law professors containing fashion being characterized by “differentiation” and “flocking” which is quite the paradox. I was hoping that eventually these questions would lead to a conversation, but I found that was not the case and the essay did not try and answer the questions asked. I was also unable to locate where the actual reference from “Why Christianity Could Be Killing Your Faith” was. It would have been great to hear more of her opinion on the subject of how she personally projects sustainability into her life since she spoke of how she has previously based projects off the issue. I appreciated the direct evidence from the Culture lecture and Jude’s bravery to speak of how she was ignorant to some of the holes in the fashion industry. Hearing Jude’s voice protrude through the screen was another reason why I chose to review the piece. I enjoyed seeing the self-analyzation that Jude gave herself whilst writing the piece which contributed to her voice being present. I decided that I would read her reference and see the correlation for myself. I found the author of the article also used questions in his work similar to Jude’s. I found the message of us having the right to choose everything quite humbling. The self-analyzation in Jude’s work was so strong that now I began to do the same with this review as I realized how grateful I was to be able to choose everything. Although Jude’s piece had its flaws as every essay does, it was a great piece to read and included a captivating figure which was incorporated very well. Seeing how religion and the fashion industry are included in a majority of people in the world, it restored my faith that Jude would write a piece including this information and I would love to know Jude’s personal take on faith and consumerism because it is a very interesting topic that I have found only brought up less than a handful of times. 

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Project Outcome reflection by Matthew Higby

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Choosing the pathway of Critical Design was very exciting. Looking at a brief that caused us to look at what the near future would look like caused me to reflect on the disaster that I personally went through in 2017. Being at my parents’ home in Ventura, California for the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused me to realise what I have taken for granted, shelter. Ventura has not been immune to disasters, in 2017 we faced the largest fire in California’s history leading to the 2018 Southern California mudflows. Not only did my neighbors, friends and acquaintances lose their home but lost a sense of security. Personally, my family and I were only affected by the evacuation orders which possibly saved our lives. My family and I were fortunate enough to have family friends who lived at a safe distance where we could evacuate to. We were in the comfort of each other and at a home filled with love. This was not the case for many. The local fairground was turned into a shelter by the American Red Cross which cared for evacuated people and animals. If it was not for these places, people would be faced with sleeping in their car if they have one, sleeping on the street or remain in unsafe conditions. To convey my emotion through my short video I incorporated imagery of neighbor’s and familiar homes that were brought to the ground by the Thomas Fire. Supplies of first aid kits, hot meals, blankets, sleeping cots, purified drinking water, toiletries, etc. must be available as well as having access to electricity via generators, etc. and use different technologies to address transport, power, insulation, and water needs. Effective disaster relief is once again at the forefront of the world’s consciousness and temporary shelters are a key part of the recovery process (Inhabitat, 2013). I found that I wanted my video to be focused on bringing wider attention to the necessity of deployable shelters in times of emergency relief. There are many of these prototypes coming into effect currently which I wanted to showcase. Many people live in areas common for natural disasters. When a disaster wipes out entire towns, a structure that was not affected by the disaster needs to be readily available. Being in an emergency relief shelter should feel as comfortable and close to home as it can be. Very well known in the age of COVID-19 is the term “new normal.” Deployable shelters will help ease you into your new normal. 

References:

Inhabitat (2013). 8 Innovative Emergency Shelters for When Disaster Strikes. [online] Inhabitat. Available at: https://inhabitat.com/8-innovative-emergency-shelter-designs-for-when-disaster-hits/ [Accessed 15 Mar. 2020].

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Creative Practice reflection by Matthew Higby

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Being in London at the entrance of my project, I looked at themes of social inequality, racial inequality and gender inequality. I found that these issues were due to characteristics of geographic, political and socioeconomics and for years, the government has paid little attention to under classes due to the recession and varying political parties coming in and out of power. I was fascinated with the Rothschilds family and wanted to include their global role in the way they control almost everything. I started to drift away from this topic due to the near mass I would want to cover and the ample time in order to do it, I found that instead I wanted to do something completely different. I planned on reclaiming a specific word as a point of pride and looked at styles of photography that were used by members of the Boston School. This would let me challenge the existing status quo through the themes of saying how words are continuing down a healthier path being similar to the Better Lives themes of Diversity, Social Responsibility and Sustainability. Eventually the COVID-19 pandemic caught up and I was fortunate enough to travel to my childhood home and stay with my parents. I started to think about my original themes around social responsibility and the under classes and began to look at socially responsible architecture as a new development in my research journey. As I had conversations with my parents and friends about this topic, I reflected on a disaster that I had gone through a few years back. I remember from the experience that we needed immediate shelter. This topic brought me to think of deployable shelters and how I could bring attention to them by making them my project. Many frequently hit natural disaster areas are home to more lower-class members of society who need these deployable shelters as soon as or before disaster strikes. The Better Lives themes have caused me to pay more attention to issues dealing with geographic, political, socio-economic and think in a socially responsible manner. I plan on working in the future with a focus on fields that overall serve the community. 

As we have seen throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, careers that remain strong are agriculture, medical and beyond. Having the knowledge that the common factor between these fields is that they serve others. Wanting to financially stay afloat during periods of economic turmoil I may go through in my lifetime, I am aware that my career will require me to serve others and I will always consider the greater impact my job should have. 

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Lecture reflection by Matthew Higby

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Throughout the course of the lecture series, the speakers instilled the message of being socially responsible. I felt that the society and culture lectures acted the best together.

“Strategies of sustainability can only succeed if they acknowledge social dynamics” (Toth-Fejel, 2020). 

This quote from the society lecture stands well with the following quote from the culture lecture. 

“With every purchase we make, we are voting for or against humanity, for or against equality, and for or against our planet, and the only way to promote positive change is to vote with your dollar” (Fitzpatrick, 2020). 

My parents have instilled ethical responsibility as an important part of my character, yet I have noticed that they will occasionally purchase fast fashion garments. I understand that their purchases help feed the cycle for those who are dependent on this industry as a source of income. There are plenty of demographics that lack awareness of the detriments of fast fashion and due to this lack of awareness there’s a large population that continues to contribute. My parents may fall into this category given the fact that until I have brought up points pertaining to ethical responsibility. A high street tee-shirt may cost someone $15.00 whereas the person who personally helped create that tee-shirt may only be paid $15.00 for an entire day’s work of hard labour. Besides the fact that my stepbrother works for Gap Corporation and has told me that the distribution centres are almost one hundred percent automated. I find this statistic sad that there is the amount of clothes is in such excess that there are massive distribution centres containing almost nobody except machines and inexpensive clothing. This tradition is rooted into the global economy and unjust socio-economic system showing how some are only able to purchase fast fashion because that is geographically solely what some may buy for new clothes. Due to my privilege, I was unaware that my narrow-minded train of thought against the industry left me truly unable to judge because I have the ability to choose what clothes I wear and buy. 

Fashion has the ability to create better lives through the simple acts of kindness. I think that in this day and age especially in my age group, many are highly influenced by what they see online. The most followed people who endlessly flaunt their wealth is not realistic and should not be promoting the cycle of trends that go in and out causing some to buy the high street versions as they are unable to afford what they see online. It is nobody’s fault except for the ones at play. Sadly, this will not change over a short time or possibly even the lifespan of a factory worker. Katelyn’s society lecture left me wanting to pursue a lifestyle of a good morality.

References:

Fitzpatrick, A. (2020). Culture.

Toth-Fejel, K. (2020). Society.

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