Are Letters Dead? Gen Zs Answer

As a part of the Gen Z community, I believe that addressing this topic- whether or not letters are dead- is important. I have noticed that we, as a society, are slowly adjusting or perhaps have already adjusted to technology’s way of life. Fast and impatient. The words that once had so much importance such as “I love you” or “I miss you” lose their value because they are able to be sent in an instant through our screens and have now become mainstream. Because everything has now become instantaneous, we have forgotten the beauty of the process, the power of our words and the blessing of limited time. In my opinion, epistles have the power to turn daily, insignificant words into something that holds more power than those three words. This is because in order to write a letter, one must pause, reflect and spend a fraction of their limited time on this planet to simply get their messages across to the recipient. It may even be argued that the purpose of the letter may be seen as something as valuable as its contents. Because epistles are so scarce, receiving any letter with a purpose is deemed to be impactful and memorable. Through interviews of six Gen Zs whose responses are limited to answering direct questions about how handwritten letters and electronic messages affect the genuineness of a message, I will argue that due to more convenient and technologically advanced communicating means present, the significance and genuineness of letters are more apparent than electronic messages. I will further contend that in the move from handwritten letters to text message, letters are more impactful in delivering emotion through words due to its scarcity, physicality and delivery form. By comparing the ways in which letters and electronic messages are used, we may come to better understand the appropriateness of sending a text message versus a letter. As a result, we may become more aware of the ways in which we communicate through different mediums and how our thoughts and messages come across to our receivers.

Samantha Maree Iligan is a second-year Arts Student at the University of Alberta. She’s a letter fanatic and believe that epistles are one of the few defunct mediums that are irreplaceable.

Propaganda from Film to Instagram: a comparative analysis of Triumph of the Will and oromoprotests

Propaganda, misinformation, fake news, “alternative facts”. These are all terms becoming increasingly common to describe the political landscape everywhere around the world. They all relate to the truth, or more specifically a misconstrued version of the truth. If this is how politics is being influenced, it is worth investigating why such terms are proliferating and how it affects citizens. Considering media is the framework behind delivering messages, propaganda or not, a helpful place to start investigating the topic of propaganda is various forms of media. The research question I develop is: in what ways are the two texts, Leni Riefenstahl’s 1935 film Triumph of the Will and the current Instagram account “oromoprotests,” based on the movement of an Ethiopian ethnic group, similar as propaganda platforms and in their techniques of conveying an ideologically charged political message in their respective time periods?

By analyzing these two texts, I will argue that, although they can both be considered propaganda, the two texts stray away from each other in terms of technique. While the film tends to use artistic tools to evoke emotions that direct the audience towards a particular view, the Instagram account relies on journalistic conventions and formats to relay their partisan messages which effectively frames the account as informative, trustworthy, and credible. By analyzing and comparing two texts from different eras both relevant in the political sphere, historical and contemporary, we may learn more about how media production and consumption has changed in terms of affecting and shaping our political ideologies.

Selam Abraham is a second year undergraduate student currently in the process of transferring into the Faculty of Arts from the Faculty of Science. Through her work and research, she hopes to combat misinformation that harms marginalized voices.

Debbie Beaver is the Director of Outreach for Black Settlers of Alberta & Saskatchewan Historical Society, which researches, compiles, coordinates and centralizes the history of Black Settlers in Alberta and Saskatchewan over the last century. She was recently featured in the University of Alberta's Folio about her work: https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2021/02/great-granddaughter-of-black-settlers-chronicles-albertas-little-known-history.html