Devon Whittle » Media

Disappointed with 24's "Genocide Episode"

devonwhittle — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:49:08 +0000

I got to watch the 2-hour introduction to season 7 of 24 last week, and I must say I was quite disappointed. The episode starts with Jack Bauer hiding out in the imaginary African nation of Sangala, where a civil war, involving child soldiers, funded by a mysterious American with connections in high place is about to erupt.

Sure I knew it would be all about Jack and how he saves the day but I was quite surprised how contrived some parts were. Spoilers ahead.

I was especially surprised at the way the United Nations was portrayed, as were others. They had a wimpy French guy who continually reminded us that the UN “remains neutral” in this matter, before then selling out Bauer and some orphans to the bad rebels. I mean, really? This is the best they could do? No attempt to portray the real horror of good people running up against a stilted bureaucracy run by diplomats who can’t agree.

Of course I’m also biased because an absence of a TV in my house has probably raised my standards in regard to acting and the actors in 24 weren’t of the highest standard.

Disappointed with 24's "Genocide Episode" is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Total Concentration

devonwhittle — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:48:04 +0000

Robbie Cooper has a great video over at NYTimes, of kids playing video games. It focuses on their expressions and I found it quite interesting. I can remember a friend’s younger brother getting way to into a Mario Bros – and can imagine what my face looks like 8 hours a day while scrutinising my computer screen.

Total Concentration is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

I can't wait for A-Span

devonwhittle — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:49:54 +0000

I can’t wait for A-Span. Please stream it live to the internet. I can't wait for A-Span is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com. Related posts:Wait, so the taxi driver paid you? Somethings are just unexplainable Now tweeting live from Arusha, Tanzania

I can't wait for A-Span is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Writing a book about 'Africa'

devonwhittle — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:35:04 +0000

Here’s a great article by Michela Wrong on the wrong way to write a book about (set in) Africa. I’m not sure about her gender stereotypes at the end, but there’s some words of wisdom for anyone who is thinking about turning their next African holiday into a book. (Via Uganda Scarlett Lion)

In the wake of Congo’s first democratic elections, he said, he was planning to travel across the country and thought it would make a good book. Any advice? Did he have much journalistic experience, I asked? Not really: a couple of years wandering East Africa, the odd bit of freelance. Had he spent much time in Congo? Nope. Had he thought of learning the trade as a journalist first? He waved the idea away: too banal. When I put the phone down, I was seething. Since then, I’ve been trying to identify the source of my fury.
…
No, it was the sheer bumptiousness that did it. A book must be the biggest act of presumption it is possible to commit. If you’re a white westerner writing about Africa, that arrogance reaches dizzying levels. What gives a spoilt bourgeois, who didn’t even grow up there, the right to interpret the continent for the world?

The only answer can be: I have devoted years on the continent to listening and learning; I have done my homework as conscientiously as I know how; and it’s just possible, because I have spent so much time learning to write accessibly about foreign cultures, that I may be able to serve as a bridge between two cultural viewpoints.

My caller saw no need for any of this. With the chutzpah of the privileged young male, he believed he could bypass it all and still produce something for which the public would be duly grateful. In fact, there’s only one way of writing a book in these circumstances: you deliver a manuscript that is all about you, with Africa as a picturesque backdrop to your macho derring-do.

Writing a book about 'Africa' is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Recommended BBC World Service Podcasts

devonwhittle — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:21:27 +0000

I’ve recently rediscovered the world of podcasts, and now wonder why I need a television or radio. The BBC has a a great one called BBC World Service Documentaries. It is a collection of fascinating reports from around the world. Two highly recommended ones: How Crime Took on the World Part Three – a look at the private security industry in South Africa and Policing the Union – an investigation into corruption among UN peacekeepers in the Congo.

Recommended BBC World Service Podcasts is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Clay Shirky on information overload, filter failure and personal privacy

devonwhittle — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:38:02 +0000

Here’s a good video of Clay Shirky discussing information overload, rethinking it as filter failure. He makes the point that ‘information overload’ has been around since Gutenberg, and it is really a problem of not using/having proper filters to deal with information. More interesting is his discussion of privacy using the story of his friend breaking off an engagement on Facebook and trying to control how that information spread through her social network. Whereas prior to Facebook imperfect information distribution was a feature, not a bug, of our natural social networks, now information spreads instantaneously when you update your profile forcing us to rethink how we ‘curate’ our online lives.

Even more interesting, for me, is what he was kind of incidentally discussing – what makes these new online spaces different. For me the major new issue online social networks, blogs, etc, have created is the conversion of what was once transient conversations, information and publications into permanent ones. The minute I publish this blog it will available for all on this site, and soon cached on Google, Web Archive and a huge number of other scrapers that copy my content (with and without my permission). Similarly, twitter updates and facebook status updates and uploaded photos hang around a long time, even embarrassing ones. I’m not sure we’ve quite adapted to what that means for us in the long term.

Clay Shirky on information overload, filter failure and personal privacy is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Vogue's crazy stunt in India

devonwhittle — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 05:41:00 +0000

Vogue India’s recent issue used “average Indians” as models of high priced fashion. People living on less than $1.50 a day ‘modelling’ a $10,000 Hermes bag. What were they thinking? “The magazine does not even bother to identify the subjects” of the photos, said Ms. Gahlaut, the columnist. Instead, Vogue names the brands of the accessories in the captions, and says they are worn by a lady or a man.

Vogue's crazy stunt in India is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

BBC's The Box – tracking a shipping container

devonwhittle — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 05:40:56 +0000

This new project by the BBC, called The Box, sounds really interesting. They are tracking an average shipping container using a GPS device. The container will be actually used for really shipping and criss-cross the globe while being tracked on the BBC website. If it comes to Melbourne hopefully I’ll get a photo.

BBC's The Box – tracking a shipping container is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Mike India's radio to Rwanda and the Congo

devonwhittle — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:04:06 +0000

This is quite an interesting article on the work of Mike India in Rwanda and the Congo. He runs a radio program that regularly gets calls/sms from rebel groups trying to win them over and help reconstruct his country.

Mike India's radio to Rwanda and the Congo is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Power of media and food riots

devonwhittle — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:18:00 +0000

Liberia has recently seen a rapid rice in food crises, as has a lot of the world. Unlike last time, however, the result of the price rise may not be the riots that are often seen. Chris Blattman writes that radio news have helped calm the situation by showing that prices are rising around the world and that therefore the government is largely not to blame. As opposed to last time when government corruption was a large part of the problem.

Power of media and food riots is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.