Social Injustice In The Gambler By Paolo Bacigalupi

Society is often portrayed as a series of perceptions rather than reality. As I learned in psychology, people have what is called social desirability bias, which prevents them from expressing their true selves because it may be socially unacceptable. I believe this concept is the basis of much of humankind as well as the media. However, in “The Gambler” by Paolo Bacigalupi the reader is compelled to sympathize with the protagonist, Ong who stands out by going against social norms. He, like his father, stood strong against the injustices of his society.
Within the realm of media, appearances are key. The inner working of how media is produced is often hidden from the public eye. Which is why I found “The Gambler” so intriguing in how it discussed

As Ong did with his articles, society can become united against injustice if it is brought to light. Police brutality that had gone on quietly for many years has finally reached the news with an explosion of media posts with powerful phrases like “Black Lives Matter” being crowned in the process. Words turned to actions where all across the world people were chanting Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and many others. This international outrage at injustice was due significantly to the media coverage that was finally given to the issue. As well as, the people began taking coverage into their own hands through social media. Hashtags, comments and posts that used to seem trivial turned into powerful methods of expression. This was shown similarly in “The Gambler” with Kulaap’s own media stream of her date.
To me, this was reminiscent of the evolution of social media and self-reporting, particularly the rise of Youtube. Video logging used to be just for home videos but now, millions flock to watch the latest beauty guru’s tips and the daily lives of relatively average people. In this way, we are more connected than ever before. Like the maelstrom, the internet is a hub of global interaction reaching pockets of the world that may never even leave a 100 kilometre radius in their entire