Convocation: Alexandra Bell

I thought Alexandra Bell's convocation was fantastic. Her knowledge and perspective on the news media are really insightful. I am fascinated when she mentioned how the news media language links with the legislation metaphorically. Bell's latest obsession is with water metaphor and immigration. She showed a lot of articles using those metaphors. Bell's interest in the water metaphor is that there is a direct link between this type of language and news media in the past, which was about the anti-immigration legislation. The example that I remember the most is how the metaphor "water seeping through an earthen dam" implies a secure border is needed in the immigration legislation. Bell quoted "Immigrants are trying to get around the law like "water seeping through an earthen dam" and the immigration judges' responsibility is to not let them and instead deliver a "secure" border."

To me, Bell's speech was terrific. Her sharing about using space is great knowledge. I did not know how space can present power until Bell's convocation. One of the best examples, in my opinion, is the meme showing one black arm and one white arm holding hands. The black arm represents local news. The white arm represents the police. There is more space on the white arm side, which is really noticeable. That space implies how the police are given priority over the local news. Listening to her talking about space, I immediately thought about applying this "space theory" to my final project with Jamie and Sally.