The Material World

The term ‘material world’ relates to the environment in which society finds itself today (Finding meaning in a Material World, 2013). Just as with all living things, society has been forced to change and evolve according to human needs, technology and energy requirements. Although it is obvious that it must have certain adjustments every now and then to work along with individuals, transformations in the material world occurs more often. In fact, at present, human and technological needs are having serious effects on the material world. Society has too much power and control over this world and it is struggling to survive (Finding meaning in a Material World, 2013). In my poster I have focussed on both positive and negative changes that have occurred due to a modern society and its population, food and energy needs, industrial development and mining around the globe.

The reason behind the background is to symbolise the division of our world, in this case into two halves of white and black. The white colour epitomises health, wealth, stability and peace. Conversely, the black colour symbolizes poverty, illness and war. The newspaper frame around the poster stands for the rise of media around the world. The advertising through the media helps information spread faster, reaching the public on a large scale and affecting their opinions. This is particularly relevant to the material world, as brands are able to advertise the latest global trends and products. However, it also can be used for propaganda and other negative political means and can lead to the deception of the public.

This image is the largest and most important symbol on the poster because it highlights the gap between the upper and lower classes throughout the world. The different coloured hands also represent racial differences, with the white hand representing the upper class, wealth and prosperity, while the black hand represents the troubles faced by impoverished countries. On the other hand, however, the image of both different hands holding up the earth shows that the world belongs equally to each race and requires co-operation between all people of different backgrounds in order to stay afloat.

The ship symbols on the earth are giving a clear example of how the rich people always travel on the top levels of the ship and live the comfortable life, but the poor people are in the bottom of the ship without any light, representing the darkness of poverty.

This image of tall building symbolizes the rich countries and people who are able to live in it. It shows how the rich countries have clean street, electricity and developed with Skyscraper buildings. It also represents the constant improvements made in the material world, shown here by a modern, bright and futuristic city.

This image symbolises the rich people who can buy anything and everything and do whatever they want due to their economic position. For example, the rich families live in big and comfortable houses and have more than one car; some of these houses are bigger than hotels and their possibilities are only bound by their imagination. This is a reflection of the material world and shows how the rich often horde material goods.

This image, of a delinquent young adult eating money, symbolizes some of the rich family’s children provided with all the material goods they could want. They have everything they need, but they do not care about their education or their future. They have no sense of responsibility and are on the opposite end of the spectrum to those in poverty who can barely feed themselves.

This image shows the poor people who live in the street or in small houses with only a room or two, who don’t have enough money to buy food. The houses are built close together to other houses because they do not have enough space and money to afford more land. There are no windows at the front of the house, so the houses look very sad.