Brainstorm Week 7 - Pavithra Prabhu

My name is Pavithra Prabhu.

According to Catherine Ramirez, “Chicanafuturism explores the ways that new and everyday technologies, including their detritus, transform Mexican American life and culture.” This is synonymous to the use of different advertising outlets in order to garner attention to important issues. This is demonstrated in ‘Out of the Shadows’ where Sasha described how young activists went on a hunger strike; their purpose for engaging in these types of actions were soon publicized across various outlets such as social media, print, TV and radio. Thousands of people saw a live-stream of them, garnering them more attention and support. This shows how the lives of DREAMers can be changed by effectively using social media and other technologies in order to allow their message to reach a larger audience.

Lisa Cacho’s concept of “social death” refers to the idea that groups which “in the eyes of society, have little value, depend on capitalist and hetero patriarchal measures of worth.” (Summary, Social Death by Lisa Marie Cacho). This is further emphasized in this week’s readings of ‘Layers of humanity’ and ‘Undocuqueer Movement’. These articles address the issues queer undocumented activists face in their fight for equality. According to Lisa Cacho’s “social death”, beyond the fact they are not US citizens and have to face racial discrimination, they now how to deal with the prejudice surrounding their queer identity. One prominent player in trying to fight back “social death” is Salgado; he is the creator of the “I am Undocu-Queer” series. The UndocuQueer activists then “skillfully creating and launching visual art & videos, (utilizing) social media and (organizing) live-in person collective action”. They are fighting back social death and showcasing resilience by spreading their message and informing the larger public about the issues they are facing on a daily basis.