TOK exhibition example A: Student work

TOK Exhibition: Subtext and Connotation

The TOK prompt I have selected is: “What challenges are raised by the dissemination
and/or communication of knowledge?”. This exhibition explores this prompt by reflecting on
knowledge and language, and more specifically on whether subtext and connotation always
create confusion rather than help us to communicate knowledge. The language we use in our
everyday lives can often be interpreted many different ways by different people, depending on
their cultural background, beliefs, ideologies, affiliations, personal experiences etc. In particular
it seems that subtext and connotation can be particularly challenging as they are often only
recognised by people that share some particular knowledge or experiences, and it seems that
they can easily be interpreted very differently by different people which can cause confusion
and hinder communication of knowledge.

Object 1. Starbucks holiday cup

This cup was used by Starbucks in 2017 and was controversial because some people viewed
the symbol of the two hands holding hands on the cup as a sign that Starbucks was promoting
a homosexual agenda, because they saw the cups as having an LGBT subtext. However, many
other people just saw the cup as spreading joy and love during the holiday season and did not
think that there was any particular subtext at all.

This cup is particularly interesting for this exhibition because a Starbucks spokesman said that
they had intentionally designed the cup so that customers could interpret it in their own way,
which suggests that they were deliberately trying to communicate in an open or vague way
rather than seeing the disagreement this might cause as being negative/ a challenge. In this way,
the cup highlights how confusion arising from the use of subtext can be useful or can actually
even be used by people intentionally to provoke discussion. The cup generated a lot of media
attention for the company while still allowing them to say that how the cup was to be interpreted
was up to their individual customers to decide.

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This cup also enriches this exhibition because both some members of the LGBT community
and also some members of the right-wing media and public saw the cups as promoting same
sex relationships. While both of these different groups interpreted the cup this way, their
reaction was very different, with one seeing this as very positive and one being very upset about
it. Yet other people didn’t see this subtext at all. So in this particular case it wasn’t only that the
subtext itself was only seen or understood by some groups and not others, but also that the
reaction to that subtext also differed very dramatically.

Object 2. My Chinese-English Translation Dictionary

This object is a dictionary I use to help me translate between Chinese and English. When we
think about how language is translated so that it can be communicated between people who
speak different languages we can see that this poses many challenges to communication of
knowledge, particularly because of the way that language uses connotations, euphemisms,
proverbs and idioms that go beyond the literal meaning of a word.

The meaning and true essence behind many words and phrases is often unique to a specific
language and the cultural/historical understanding that comes with an intimate knowledge only
a native speaker can acquire, particularly things like connotation where language can have not
only its literal translation but also can have secondary meanings.

This dictionary is therefore included in this exhibition as an example of where language and
culture can really impact on communication of knowledge and on whether we see connotation
or subtext at all as those nuances might be lost in translation. I have also included this dictionary
in this exhibition because of how it represents me and the challenges around language and
communication that I have personally experienced in my life and as a DP student – for example

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I have personally experienced how some words and ideas do not translate easily from Chinese
into English.

Object 3. Billie Holiday’s song Strange Fruit

The song Strange Fruit was sung by Billie Holiday in 1939. It is often seen to use vivid imagery
to protest against the treatment of black people in America and to have a subtext about
promoting civil rights. This can be seen to be heavily insinuated throughout the song, especially
with the use of “strange fruit” as a gruesome metaphor for the lynching of black people.

This song makes us think about whether there are things that only some people see or
understand because of their culture, personal experiences, etc. I do think that subtext and
connotation are sometimes interpreted very differently by different groups and the group that a
person belongs to impacts on the meaning and on what is being communicated. For example,
Strange Fruit was sung by Billie Holiday, a black artist. The fact that this subtext was being
expressed by a black artist means that the singer was themselves part of a group of people had
been marginalised for so long, which makes the song lyrics even more powerful and emotional.

The use of metaphor, connotation and subtext in this song helps the song communicate complex
emotions and themes about racism and civil rights. In this way, this song is a helpful addition
to this exhibition because it provides a good contrast to the dictionary. The dictionary
highlighted that subtext and connotation can sometimes cause confusion because they add a
layer of interpretation to the literal meaning of language. But this song shows that sometimes

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subtext and connotation can actually help communicate complex ideas and emotions rather than
always being a challenge to the communication of knowledge. Thinking about this song, I have
realised that connotations and subtext don’t always have to be challenging or misleading. If the
person is trying to evoke a powerful meaning or emotion, often words that have many layered
meanings deliver a more powerful impact.

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References

Sugar, R. 2018. ‘How Starbucks’s annual holiday cup became a battleground for the heart and
soul of America’, Vox, accessed online at https://www.vox.com/the-
goods/2018/11/2/18052550/starbucks-holiday-cup-explained-2018-controversies

Lynskey, D. 2011. ‘Strange Fruit: the first great protest song’, The Guardian, accessed online
at https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/feb/16/protest-songs-billie-holiday-strange-fruit

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