Global Discourse — a contextual study
4 min readJan 6, 2021
Global Discourse is an interdisciplinary, problem-oriented journal of applied contemporary thought operating at the intersection of politics, international relations, sociology and social policy [scimagojr.com, 2020] or as I like to call it real-world issues. Now there is no denying that the world will never become perfect. No matter how many idyllic situations we dream about in our lifetime, thoughts of a great world, influenced by art, literature and film culture, there will always be social and political issues we will have to face. Yes there is a possibility that we will be able to reduce the amount of pressure put on society by standing against whatever social or political issues we will face in future times, but that is only if we work as a collective for the greater good.
A big political problem that has existed throughout the whole of mankind’s existence has been warfare related issues, including wars and disagreements that lead to threat and violence. These issues are a main source of bad that also creates many social issues. The biggest issue of this is the life of the inhabitants of the war-struck country. It has been estimated by the United Nations that 79.5 million people are currently living as refugees in 2019. This is an increase of 9 million people 6 months prior to the study. There have been many depictions of the impact that war has on people. An animation shown to me named Al Hurriya Freedom — Liberte by Loup Blaster, depicts 7 minutes of combined real-world and animated footage dedicated to the viewpoint of many refugees/civilians affected by war-related crime in Palestine. But one example I can show you now is photographic work labelled as ‘Photographing the Refugee Crisis in 2016’ by Daniel Etter. The image you can see below depicts an overcrowded boat, a very small lifeboat-like boat with I’d say more than 20 people. Now the fact that this boat is tilting heavily to one side, with some people even getting out to try to maintain the balance of it just suggests the sheer desperation these people are going through in order to survive and land on shore safely. More images like this can be found from photographers Daniel Etter and the un-mentioned Yannis Behrakis.
Other social issues that our community face are mainly to do with race, culture, community and identity. One project that I feel includes a variety of these issues is a play named ‘The Jungle’ at the Playhouse Theatre in London. This play created by it’s Lebanese director Ammar Haj Ahmad (whatsonstage.com), is a production centred around nationality, community and identity, important values that must be shared in order to achieve complete diversity within communities around the world. Set designer Miriam Buether worked closely with production director Ammar to create the set which saw the Playhouse theatre transformed to accomodate Miriam’s immersive set design. What makes this play so immersive is that the stage is set around the audience, rather than having the audience set around the stage. What I mean by this is that the stage is sort of infused within the vicinty of the audience, giving onlookers the chance to experience the play up close and personal. According to the official website of the Playhouse Theatre, the Jungle is ‘a pertinent play that shares the stories of loss, hope and fear from the resilient residents of Europe’s largest refugee camp’. This again links back to politcal issues surrounding war-related crimes: a major issue many generations have faced and will continue to do so in future times.
In a Graphic Design sense, diversity and inclusivity is key. Understanding the variety of wants and needs of different communities and to truly understand your client or audience is the most important thing possible when designing. But faults also lie within the system, especially considering the institutionalised racism embedded within politics. I believe following the murder of George Floyd, the active Black Lives Matter [BLM] community are really starting to crack down and make themselves heard within the community. The Premier League within football has started taking action with it’s No Room for Racism campaign, as well as the kneel which many other sports have implemented and continued to carry out within their sport. One example of a sporting brand that I feel has made itself diverse and inclusive is Nike, with their Nike Pro Hijab. This Hijab provides for the needs of women of Muslim faith, in order to provide them with equipment suitable for sports. I think this encourages muslim women, especially those who are younger to get interacted within sport, giving everyone equal opportunity which I personally love to see myself.
