For those of you who haven’t seen the video yet, shame on you! But this is what I’m here for! Firstly, I appreciate the evolution of Erykah Badu as an artist and an advocate for the empowerment of black women all over the globe. This video was a visual approach to the assassination of individuality by the concept of “Group Think,” which brings me to the topic of conversation today. On twitter, Erkyah asked what people thought of when they hear the word “Group Think;” this is my opinion.
Group think is present-day propaganda in most instances. Many of us fall victim to what we hear on the news, radio and read in the newspaper. I know we’ve all learned in our History classes about how countries used these mediums to instill a sense of “unification” and “patriotism” during times of desperation and war but it is considered “brainwashing” when the information is bias, and most of the time just complete untruths. Group think represents the mind-control that the “Powerful “(the group) has over the “powerless” (the individual). In this day in age, Majority rules, but little do we know that the majority of our country is minorities! We’re doing this to ourselves. Think about it. They (as in We) keep us (ourselves) separated and under-educated so that we believe whatever is show to us on television and lose our ability to analyze situations for ourselves. In the movie District 9, a reporter was contaminated by an alien fluid which caused a transformation from human to alien. He was captured and probed for testing. He escaped from the testing facility. In order to catch him, the government broadcasted via TV News that he was contaminated after having sex with an alien and he was very contagious. The people of the city, being so brainwashed by Group Think, believed what was being told to them. He was forced to retreat to District 9, like a bull pen, he was contained and would be easy to identify and capture much like a political prisoner.
Erkyah states at the end of the video that people want to assassinate what they do not know or understand. There is such a thirst for being different that it, too, has become trendy. We all fall victim every once in a while, but the most important thing to take away from this video is that we must be knowledgeable. We must read and converse with one another. We must question things that don’t add up, we must express ourselves accordingly and let our individuality guide us in the right direction. Don’t be afraid to be criticized; they travel in packs. Though there are strength in numbers, there’s even more strength in truth. Be true to yourself! It only takes one person to initiate change. If you continue to learn and evolve, change is inevitable. Even if it’s just within yourself, you’ve already the defeated “Group Think” by just being… YOU!
nkefce
PS ---“A single person within a circumstance can move one to change…” - Erykah Badu
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