Naomi Klein, the author of the book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, spoke at Carnegie Mellon University last week. Naomi said “Every time I go to New Orleans, I get mad.” That is close to the way I felt after hearing her speak.I left the auditorium feeling this desperate anger like “How could my country be doing this to people?”

I could be just talking about Katrina, or the Iraq war, but I’m talking about regimes in the U.S government that doesn’t strive to provide for it’s people. Citizens have to fight for every piece of policy that works in their favor instead of some business’s favor, when in fact, it is the sole job of the government to provide for the people.

Naomi read an email from a politician whom I can’t remember. It was a wish list with all of the policies he wanted to pass in the wake of Katrina that would help out big businesses. Instead of mourning the people in New Orleans, instead of being upset and angry about the situation people now have to live in, he viewed Katrina as a blessing because now all sorts of pro-business policies will be able to be passed. Is this the attitude of the whole government? Is this the attitude of the people who are supposed to provide for me? After hearing Naomi run through example after example of the government making decisions with this train of thought, I left the auditorium in feeling incredibly furious.

In writing class, we couldn’t get Naomi to speak to just 15 of us, so we watched the short movie created by Alfonso Cuaron and Naomi Klein called The Shock Doctrine Short Film. The film used a variety of editing techniques and Naomi Klein’s message to create a powerful piece of risk communication. In the short, six minute film, Alfonso and Naomi didn’t focus so much on specific examples such as Katrina or the Iraq War, instead she dealt with the metaphor of her Shock Doctrine book. A metaphor that I thought was especially interesting, that spills over to other aspects of life. The movie said that soldiers break down the door and bust in with guns and yelling. The idea is that I prisoner should be in a constant state of shock, never let out. That was an intense thought to me. Naomi describes this as a metaphor for disaster capitalism. After Katrina, people were in shock, and that politician who sent the email, was able to keep the U.S citizens in shock as he and his cronies passed the pro-big-business legislation listed in the email.

I thought the video was really effective in getting across this message and stirring interest for the book. Although it didn’t touch much on topics like Katrina or 9/11, it didn’t really have to since that is all in the book. The combination of fast, scary visuals and intense sound track kept me on edge throughout the whole six minutes. In fact, the video stirred enough interest in me that I went to see her speak.

My first picture has to do with the contrast between life with plentiful water and life with the absence of water. The picture shows lush, green flowers living over dried clay. The explicit message is that there is a starch contrast between life with water and life without water. Life with water is lush and life without water is dry and deadly. The implicit message is that there is a disparity in the world between developed countries who have access to water and undeveloped countries that don’t have access to clean water. There is a disparity in the lifestyles and health among these countries. I would use this image to enforce the contrast.

My second picture is aimed at selling an experience to my audience. This image shows a white, female student from a developed country, volunteering in Africa. The explicit message is studying abroad in Africa and being with African children is an amazing and necessary experience in one’s life. The implicit message is that anyone who registers for my study abroad program, H2Student will have a life changing and mind blowing experience. This is because that image shows more than just a white volunteer with an African kid, it is about the abroad experience that people in developed countries think is necessary for “finding themselves.” It also represents that same person making a difference in the world by helping create better water access in Africa. I would use this image to stir those emotions in the student who is thinking about signing up for my program.

My third picture is about how important clean water access is to human life. The image shows a few Tanzanians in despair as they look outward because their water hole isn’t very strong and is providing very salty water. The explicit message is that the lack of water in the area is very stressful and life threatening to the people living there. The implicit message is that something needs to be done to help provide more and cleaner water to these people. The implicit message is also a calling to the students reading who are reading about my H2Student program. I will use this image to spark them into action.