Social Lens #1

I want to start another little series besides the Love the Clouds! one which I hope you guys have liked so far.

This one is called "Social Lens": Social, because I am interested in everything related to humanity, how people live and act, what we do consciously and unconsciously, how we effect the world around us and treat one another. Lens in this context refers to -- wait for it -- the lens of the camera I will be using to take the pictures of what I am seeing (that at least is pretty obvious...), but it also refers to my viewpoint - everything I watch and see is observed through my eyes. There isn't really a way around that of course, and as long as one is aware of that it shouldn't be much of a problem. After all, life is experienced individually and every point of view can add to the greater whole.

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So I was driving down the road with my bike today when I saw this commercial as well as the Muslim family out of the corner of my eyes. I immediately realized what a great picture this would make, so I stopped as quickly as possible and got off my bike. Taking a picture of something like this...

...isn't quite as easy as it might sound (at least if you want to go about it in a less obvious manner). Sure, I could have pointed my camera in their faces, but that would have resulted in at least a couple of things: First, I would have probably gotten very disapproving looks (as I had my big camera with me and it would have been very obvious - so I took the picture with my smartphone, hence the quality isn't so good), and second (which is more important) it would have changed the way the people behave. If you have been observing social life in some way or form, this is one of the first things you learn. People change their behaviour when they see that they are being observed.So that's a no-go, at least if you don't want to mess up the social space.

So I think it's pretty obvious why I took the picture, right? Some might say cultural clashes or maybe cultural tensions. But perhaps less dramaticly it could also be thought of as social contrasts.

Germany (where I took the picture) has had some interesting couple of years when it comes to immigration and the question of integration. You probably heard of the rise of the Afd, a political party on the far right, which was a direct result of the large immigration of mainly Syrians to Germany about two years ago. Since then social debates have been raging about this task of integration and how to deal with the situation. While there are many points of view, it remains a fact that Germany has become a lot more diverse over the years (perhaps starting with influx of Turkish workers in the 60s). Since then these kinds of images and social contrasts have become very common and normal. Just like in many other parts in the world.

Yet one still has to wonder. How do Muslim families deal with these cultural differences? Probably, they have become used to them. Otherwise this family at least would not be standing right there, situated mere inches from this naked woman (On a side note, this is one of the more dramatic displays of nudity I have seen in commercials over the last years!).

Society is a living thing. It is shaped by its individuals and we all make it happen in one way or the other. How do you think it should be shaped?