cassiedoddDESMA9 Event 1

This week, I tuned into an online talk by filmmaker John Halpern titled “Leveraging Community and Media Assets: A Look In and Out.” Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect as I hadn’t heard of Halpern before but by the end, I found myself thinking more critically about how media shapes our perception of the world.

Screenshot of the Leveraging Community and Media Assets: A Look In and Out Event 

I’ve always considered myself an optimistic, glass-half-full kind of person. One thing that’s always bothered me is how overwhelmingly negative the news tends to be, not just on TV, but across most media platforms. While I understand that the world isn’t without its problems, it’s frustrating to see how little space is given to good news. In fact, only about 6% of news in 2023 was categorized as positive. 

It was refreshing to hear John Halpern share his perspective during the talk, especially when he spoke about The Bridging Project, an initiative he was part of back in 1977. Bringing together a group of artists, it was a collaborative event on the bridge around New York City, aiming to creatively “bridge” divides through media and art. Their mission was to challenge the dominance of negative news by creating a “market for good news,” showing that media could be used not just to report on the world, but to inspire change within it. Although this took place a bit before my time, it’s honestly disappointing to realize that, over 40 years later, not much has changed, as negative news still overwhelmingly dominates the media. 

Video on The Bridging Project

In a similar spirit of empowering people through artistic expression, John Halpern launched an initiative called Smokesculpture. The project involved over 1,000 participants who exhaled cigarette smoke into a giant plastic bag, which was then sealed and mailed back to the cigarette manufacturers. It was a bold, symbolic act highlighting how consumers had been overtaken by nicotine addiction. This exposed the vulnerability of consumers but also emphasized their potential to reclaim power. He documented the project through both film and powerful protest art, sparking conversation around corporate responsibility and personal agency.

  

Video of the Smokesculpture (left) and Poster of the Smokesculpture (right)

John Halpern’s work resonated with me as it reminded me that media doesn’t just reflect reality, it just has the power to shape it. His projects are an excellent example of how creativity can be used to question the status quo and imagine something better.


Image/Video Citations:

john DiLeva Halpern. “BRIDGING 1977 Work in Progress Trailer by Ruben O’Malley 8 Min.” YouTube, 14 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW2O_lDKi-M. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

john DiLeva Halpern. “SMOKESCULPTURE.” YouTube, 3 Mar. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih7diD_IOrc. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

Smoke. “INSTITUTE for CULTURAL ACTIVISM INTERNATIONAL/ F.I.U.” INSTITUTE for CULTURAL ACTIVISM INTERNATIONAL/ F.I.U., 2024, www.instituteforculturalactivism.org/newconsume/p/smoke-sculpture-poster. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025

*Screenshot of the event*


Source Citations:

John Halpern. “Talk by Filmmaker” LEVERAGING COMMUNITY & MEDIA ASSETS: A Look In and Out. Zoom, 23 April 2025 

“John Halpern - the Works.” Johnhalperntheworks.com, 2018, www.johnhalperntheworks.com/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

john DiLeva Halpern. “SMOKESCULPTURE.” YouTube, 3 Mar. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih7diD_IOrc. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

Matthews, Dylan. “Why the News Is so Negative — and What We Can Do about It.” Vox, 13 Mar. 2023, www.vox.com/the-highlight/23596969/bad-news-negativity-bias-media.

Smoke. “INSTITUTE for CULTURAL ACTIVISM INTERNATIONAL/ F.I.U.” INSTITUTE for CULTURAL ACTIVISM INTERNATIONAL/ F.I.U., 2024, www.instituteforculturalactivism.org/newconsume/p/smoke-sculpture-poster. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025

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