While this podcast was very confusing to me at times, the topic of close reading and symbols/symbolism really spoke to me. I believe that today most people do not utilize close reading in almost every aspect of life. I also believe that people abuse close reading in the sense that they only practice this when interested or when trying to make/prove a point. I think this is extremely dangerous especially with the control that social media has on people. The old saying “don’t believe everything you see and hear,” is often disregarded. People fail to fact-check the outlets in which they receive both significant and insignificant information. A prime example of this is what is happening with COVID vaccine distribution. Over the past year and a half 500k Americans have died from COVID yet people fail to educate themselves about the virus, which has led to the politicization of the virus. With the recent pulling of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine people are freaking out and spreading rumors like wildfire that the J&J vaccine will kill you or even give you COVID. People are failing to utilize close reading. Instead, people are continuing to freak out when in reality the data does not lie. Close reading must be utilized more than it is.
Symbolism is present all throughout life. When I think of symbolism I often think of the emotions that come with different symbols. Symbols bring out emotions that help us understand a moment, location, or action. Symbols can be extremely powerful, especially in the darkest of times. Symbols can also bring out immense fear and hatred. All in all, symbolism can be extremely impactful.
I agree that the hold social media has on people is extremely tough to break away from, especially when it comes to bias. We seek out information we already want to believe, which is why COVID has become so politicized.
I like the point you make about close-reading; the headline may say “J&J Recalled,” leading to panic, but the article itself talks about how small of a percentage it is and how, no, J&J vaccine will not kill you and there is no evidence to show that it could. I think close-reading needs to be talked about more.
I completely agree with your analysis on symbolism. In high school, I think a lot of the time I would overlook the importance of symbolism as yet another way that our english teachers could assign work. Symbols are certainly an effective way of bringing attention to important things in the work and further spark bigger/necessary conversations to better understand the meaning of the work. That’s where close reading becomes so important, although it is viewed as a waste of time by many students.
I agree that symbolism is very important, and is prevalent in many aspects of life. For me personally, I find symbolism the most in the movies I watch and the books I read. One of the most common symbols I find in entertainment is the symbol of water as being a form of rebirth and renewal, such as in the Poisonwood Bible, when the rain symbolizes a renewal of the Prices family. After having this symbol pointed out to me in high school, I have been able to analyze the movies I watch and recognize the repetitive use of certain symbols in media and entertainment.