Question 3
Sep 13th, 2007 by sallen
What values, what distinctions, what assumptions are at work in these truths? IOW, reflect on what constitutes (what beliefs, what “ideologies,” make up) the specific society that practices these meanings (of black and white) as if they are givens?
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We have to search behind the words, which is where the truth is. The distinction is the way we as a society perceive the values. We all value something different, what constitutes who is right and who is wrong?
What does “searching behind the words” mean? How does one search “behind” language?
How do we search behind language??!! Words on a page, text, symbols are all essentially tools an author manipulates to get his/her point across. There is no universal truth or one inherent meaning behind a text or piece of literature. What we must do as readers, scholars and students of literature in order to “search behind words” is analyze the different types of meaning that could possibly reside behind the words, we must take into account WHO wrote these words and what their hidden or obvious intentions were when constructing the piece.
Searching behind the words means to dig deeper then just the original definition. To then go behind every word and define that individually, to fully understand each word within the definition. To search behind language we have to go beyond just the word, and define each sound; phonetics. This translation pulls each sound from the word, and puts it into a different language as to better understand what we are reading.
The sounds and further definition of each word could easily assist with “searching behind language.”
I agree that we must “search behind words or language” in order to fully understand what an author is truly trying to say, but at the same time I think that it is dangerous to run away with the idea that the author has a “hidden” deeper meaning in the text and then get carried away with that notion creating faulty explantions or “deeper meanings” for things that do not or were not meant to exist. I disagree that there is no universal truth or one inherent meaning behind a certain piece of literature. I think that the truths that we find in language can vary, and they all may appear to us in different ways based on who we are and what our experiences have been, but most of the time the author writes the language has one thing in mind when doing so, and just because our reactions to it may each be different, that does not mean that the author’s one truth never existed.
by “searching behind the words” by defining or breaking down linguistically/etymologically assumes that a truth… some truth exists. i think you are giving these words/texts too much credit
While I agree that there is something to be found “behind the words” I also think that it is extremely important to look at the literal meaning in a text. In the example from the movie, with the definitions of “black” and “white,” the literal text gives us an incredible amount of insight into the mindset of the writer, which is where I suggest we will find the “truth.” The fact that the author(s) chose to describe “black,” which, as has been pointed out, is really just a color, as “gloomy,” “hostile,” “wicked,” as well as “devoid of color” shows us clearly that this is defining more than just the color black. It is also important to note that the word “black” has likely had negative connotations since long before American slavery, and hence may have its negative origins from some concept outside of the racial constructs we percieve. (I say this speculatively simply because I don’t actually know and don’t want to make a stupid claim). If this were the case however, it may be the negative connotaion of the word “black” that created the racial constructs in the first place. Just something else to think about.
I also think the connotations with the words black and white have existed long before any sort of racial conflicts. Race is a social construct and I think our society is moving away from defining people based on race. The term ethnicity is more often used to describe someone than the term race. We may not be able to fully get away from the imagery associated with the colors black and white but our society is evolving when it comes to racial/ethnic issues.
Also, it does seem possible to change with regard to images that are associated with color. For example, pink used to be a “girly” color but I think over the last five years or so, everyone is wearing pink and it is no longer thought of as “girly.”
It is hard to agree on one definition of truth, possibly because what is regarded as “truth” continues to change. However, we as a community hold cultural norms on a platform and when people go against the norm it is viewed negatively. It is important to take into consideration that a sense of moral pluralism can be reached and that there can be more than one right answer to a given situation. Although, if we as a society keep accepting definitions of black and white then how much can we continue to blame language instead of ourselves?