Jieun Choi
Day 169: 26 June 2016, Rio de Janeiro
I’ve long been a big fan of HONY (Humans of New York). It lets me have a glimpse into the city where I’ve always dreamed of living. It also makes me believe that diversity enriches a community. One of my favorite aspects of HONY is how it lets us understand that everyone has his/her story that as a mere stranger would never know. Such idea gave a bigger room for tolerance in my day-to-day life. But what I want to talk about today is how HONY helps us understand that ‘everyone’ has a story behind.
The man behind HONY, Brandon Stanton, gave a great TED Talk about how media feed their audience the stories that they want. What is the common ground between movies and news? They both talk about violence, sex and cute animals. Why? Because they make “good stories” that sell. When there are a handful of crimes in one neighborhood, media amplify such stories and audience easily perceives the place as dangerous. Outsiders who have only heard “good stories” and have not seen real stories reiterate what they have seen on media to themselves and to others.
Imagine how many “good stories” I’d have heard about the furthest point on Earth from my home in Seoul. Growing up, ‘Latin America = dangerous’ was an equation engraved in my mind. Korean media translated and disseminated violent images and stories about Latin America, like casuals robbery, drug cartels in Mexico and war-zone looking favelas in Brazil.
Once I started to critically read news stories, I’ve wondered how the hell people in that faraway continent even have a normal daily life. If it’s that dangerous, why isn’t the entire Latin America running away and seeking refuge? It simply didn’t make any sense. To solve such conundrum, I wanted to see for myself how people actually live in those seemingly sketchy places.
And that has been one of the stronger motives for this trip. Although it’s just a beginning, I can proudly say that I’ve defied the narrative that media repeated.
For instance, I went to a favela in Rio today. When I googled it before visiting, I read warning notes about how dangerous the place is and how I better avoid the place. So what did I see there? Lively neighborhood with colorful graffiti greeted me with big smiles, vigorous curiosity towards two Asians and hearty hospitality:
Looking at disoriented tourists, a woman came out and offered to help us out. After a delicious, homemade Brazilian meal at the top of a Rocinha favela, a friendly woman invited us to climb up the stairs to her apartment for a breathtaking view to the city. Kids playing football barefoot chased us first with their eyes, and followed us out of curiosity. Too shy to ask us whether we are from China or Japan, they just smiled. Looking at my big fat camera, some asked me to take a photo of them. And they smiled while posing silly. When we said “oi”, — a casual “hi” in Brazil — everyone said it back.
By far, the Rocinha favela — they call it “community (comunidade)” instead of a word “favela” that has a negative connotation — has been my favorite spot in Rio. If I get a chance to come back and stay in Rio for awhile, I’d love to live there. I want to befriend the kids and tell stories of the place I’m from, take lots of photos of locals, print them to show how beautiful they are. I want to sit around to practice my Portuguese (or Portuñol) while sharing some beer.
I’ve so far not experienced anything as violent as how media portray or what people usually say. Maybe I’m inextricably lucky. If that’s the case, I’d happily take that fortune and continue to explore the world. But I don’t think I’m unusually lucky. I’ve just had a faith in humanity, instead of naively believing what media tell everyone.
If I hadn’t come to Rio to see how it’s like, I would not have met so many friendly locals. I would not have met boys shyly following us out of curiosity. I would not have photos of shirtless man smiling with a bottle of beer on one hand. It all happened because I decided that I want to see the world for myself instead of relying on a third party.
Don’t just sit and believe what others tell you. Go out and see it for yourself. The world is your oyster!
Thanks for reading. I’m a student, creative, photographer and writer currently traveling in Latin America. I stopped posting on Instagram, but you can still see my old photos.