Calderon1

Jennifer Calderon

Professor Kane

English 115 TTH

11 December 2018

E1.2: Interpretation Is Key

The process of how reality is conveyed is not exactly identical between anyone. We each

interpret what we see, hear, feel, smell, even taste completely differently; for all we know, the

person next to you can have the exact opposite opinion on our presidential candidate than you.

People can unite despite the various viewpoints that exist between one another due to a specific

cause being the motivation. For instance, a beach cleaning organization brings a countless

number of people of diverse races, religions, sexual preferences to come together to help heal a

polluted bay, meaning that no matter what one’s beliefs are, a society can form in spite of them.

In order for a group to work, it’s members must crave for a change to resolve a problem or for an

agreement to overcome conflict; all it takes is for a particular conviction to make an impact.

Social media is often used as an outlet where individuals express themselves, which can

lead to the formation of groups who share similar thinking or often where a group can form and

target that individual. Living in an era that is heavily influenced by social media can have such a

negative impact of how someone might be portrayed. The Millennials and Generation Z

massively relies on social media, meaning anything can go viral even if it is controversial.

Countless amounts of topics get discussed everyday on these platforms due to how easily

accessible they are to the multitude and how numerous stories can be manipulated. During the

past presidential election, the presidential candidates had many run ins with rumors being spread.
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The article “ In Washington Pizzeria Attack, Fake News Brought Real Guns” recalls the

following from a report that “ a pizza restaurant in northwest Washington, was harboring young

children as sex slaves as part of a child-abuse ring led by Hillary Clinton”( Kang and Goldman).

This false story was being spread about Clinton,a presidential candidate at the time all over the

news and websites,which led to groups of people actually believing that she was a part of such a

horrible crime. This had a negative effect on her campaign due to many people interpreting the

pizzagate theory as real. Many believers even joined group discussions online and portrayed fake

politicians who “tweeted links to fake news stories and repeatedly said the mainstream media

needs to investigate Pizzagate” (Kang and Goldman). Social media users tend to get global news

off platforms, such as twitter, which is a site where anything can start trending even the most

idiotic stories. Social media has such a heavy impact on how the public portrays what is

happening in the world, and it can badly influence many of the user’s choices.

Many individuals tend to merge into groups to work together due to the situations they

tend to find themselves in. Interpretation can easily be influenced, one might view certain objects

as total opposite of what they are due to what others have to say. This often can cause groups to

form around an authority figure who appears to have the most experience and seems to know

what is occurring amongst them. Someone who has been kept in the dark on topics and suddenly

encounters them usually tends to believe whatever she or he hears. Once people gain limited

knowledge, they only rely on what they have been told even if its not fully reliable. As Plato

mentions in the “Allegory of the Cave” about prisoners who were blind to the outside world and

had little to no knowledge of what occurred outside their immediate surroundings, “here they

have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move
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and can only see before them”. These prisoners only have their imagination and the surrounding

shadows and noises to build off of what had been occuring around them. In real life, for many,

keep their knowledge of the outside world is limited due to either the media not fully

broadcasting what is going on, or people are simply being ignorant for not doing their own

research or protesting the information they hear. For the most, the truth or what they consider to

be the truth is what usually brings people to form groups. For example, in Plato’s allegory, the

prisoners bonded over finding meaning from the shadows of the images that were being

displayed on the cavern walls. Despite not being able to clearly see what was going on because

they “would only see the shadows” they all found a way to come up with a solution to overcome

the obstacle they confronted(Plato).

In order for groups to be able to come together despite their differences a compromise

has to be made. Groups tend to exist in many places such as the workplace. The workplace of

any business consists of diverse cultures, unlike individuals who usually find a way to cooperate

and work profoundly. These cultures that coexist within groups are not seen as the same and

usually are not exactly alike due to different beliefs, languages, and practices. The workplaces in

the United States, according to Kenneth Jost, were mainly known as white male dominated areas

until now. More recently, however, “Women comprise almost half of the labor force, while the

number of African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American workers is increasing more rapidly

than the number of whites”(Jost). Men seem to ignore the fact that they are the dominant gender

especially in the film industry, where women do not usually get hired other than as an actress.

The article, “Diversity in Hollywood,” states that behind the scenes job openings for women,

such as cinematographers, editors, directors and other off- camera jobs, seem a bit sluggish as in
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extremely difficult to get (Hoag). The reality of women in the film industry, however, is

gradually increasing with time,but it’s difficult to work in an industry where males dominate and

are expected to be represented more due to the reality of women’s worked being overlooked

because of their gender. In order for women to try to change this huge difference in the off

camera work field in film industries, they have to compromise and try to overcome the thought

of them” not being capable” of handling such a job. The film industry is not the only

workplace,where women or minorities struggle with interacting with people of different

perspectives than theirs. To overcome the underrepresentation in the workplace a diversity

program has been put into place in most workplaces, which has aided companies in

understanding how diversity can benefit them: “the opportunity for improving sales by having a

workplace that resembles the increasingly diverse customer base in the United States and around

the world”(Jost).

Many contributions can be made towards what exactly forms a group, not only do shared

interests but also shared weaknesses can bring folks together. Tons of people suffer from mental

illnesses or just bad health in the United States due to traumatic life changing events. According

to “ Loneliness and Social Isolation,” many Americans suffer from such disturbing occurrences:

“Americans of all ages, and some experts think the problem is getting worse, driven by an aging

population, changes in family structure, reliance on technology in place of face-to-face discourse

and other forces”(Lyons). People tend to do less face-to-face social interaction due to the

reliance of their phone no matter what age they are. Individuals who suffer from loneliness and

social isolation “need social interaction and can suffer health consequences without it”(Lyons). It

is crucial for people who suffer from these unhealthy habits to try to make a change. Humans are
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designed to interact with one another and not be solitary. It is unhealthy for one to try to maintain

either loneliness or social isolation in one’s life due to the huge life risks they bring. Groups are

made for people to interact productively and try to overcome what barriers they have. Despite the

differences that exist for introverts and extroverts, groups are made for people who don’t have

the same perception so they can help others receive the change they desperately need. Although a

support group can help ease the loneliness of an introvert, the force of attention upon someone

who struggles with it to an extreme cannot be a wise decision. People have to agree whether or

not to receive the help right then and there because it might harm their situation. In reality,

everyone does not see everything the same and not every single being reacts and does things in a

specific manner.

In order for groups to function properly and accommodate everyone’s need, one has to be

open and think of how someone else’s issues can fit with yours to find a solution. People can

unite due to motivation by a specific cause and overcome an obstacle that is commonly shared.

Despite others having different and possibly complex viewpoints, people always tend to have an

agreement to resolve, an interest to cultivate, or a motivation to conquer what is needed.

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Work Cited

Hoag, Christina. "Diversity in Hollywood." ​CQ Researcher​, 5 Aug. 2016, pp. 649-72,

library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2016080513.

Jost, Kenneth. "Diversity in the Workplace." ​CQ Researcher,​ 10 Oct. 1997, pp. 889-912,

library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1997101007.

Lyons, Christina L. "Loneliness and Social Isolation." ​CQ Researcher,​ 3 Aug. 2018, pp. 657-80,

library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2018080314.

Plato. “The Allegory of the Cave,” ​The Republic.​ Faculty Knox, n.trans. n.d., faculty.knox.edu/

fmcandre/allegory_cave.pdf.