While in Philadelphia today, my mom told me a story that I had forgotten. Four years ago, when I first went to Richmond, Virginia, my parents went to the visitors' center to see what there was to do in the city. My mom asked one of the staff members where the bad parts of the city were. The staff member handed her a map, pointed to a blank spot, and said, "Oh, thats the part that's not on the map."
When my mom told me this, I was shocked, and immediately thought of Hayakawa's "map and territory" idea. After some digging, I came up with this map of Richmond. Some parts look like normal city streets, but others look like they should be in a more rural town. From my experience of Richmond (I've stayed there for several weeks each summer since), I know there are streets in these parts, where the map says there are none. By not putting them on the map, the visitors' center was in a way hiding the fact that they exist.
Can we really make places "disappear" by not putting them on maps? What do all of you think of this?
-Audrey
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Just as Hayakawa stated: "The map IS NOT the territory."
ReplyDeleteAlthough certain locations aren't identified on a map, they most certainly still exist. They cannot "disappear" simply because the names people have given to such a location is not found on a map. After all, the world had, at one point, no identities for certain territories. The only difference between now and then is that people have labeled each territory and have therefore constructed a map.
Interesting observation, Audrey.
-Chloe Martianou
It seems as though the people who work at the visitor's center are trying to forcibly control their visitor's opinions and understanding of the city. In a way, by perpetuating the ignorance of those who don't know the city well, they are ensuring that the "bad areas" cease to exist. While of course the areas are still physically there, if they are not put on the map, they no longer exist in the minds of many travelers.
ReplyDelete-Tara
This is a great example of advertising. Just like any other company slants statistics or scews commercials to hightlight them, the visitor's center is altering the map to highlight the best parts of the city.
ReplyDeleteThe bad areas don't exist in the minds of travelers, just like the bad reviews don't exist for someone shopping for a new car. But they are still there.
~Becca
But if a traveler never knows about the area and never visits the area, then does that area actually exist according to the traveler? Certainly, its concrete existence could be proven to exist. However, barring this, the area does not exist in the mind of the traveler.
ReplyDeleteSince the sole visitor's perception of the world is the sole visitor's reality, and since the area is not included in the sole visitor's perception, doesn't that mean the area doesn't exist in the reality in which that visitor lives?
-Bryce Cody
I think that this could be one of the propaganda that we learned in class. Card stacking propaganda, only saying one thing and leaving out the rest. One can try to make a certain place disappear by not mentioning it, but I don't think that ignoring its existence can make the place disappear, because it is still physically there. Comparing this issue to humans, one person who everybody ignores is an outcast and can be socially not existing, but that does not mean that that person is not physically there. So it depends on one's definition of state of non existence. Matter of physical or social disappearance.
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