Thoughts on 'Paper People' by Harry Baker
Paper People is a spoken word poem by Harry Baker. In the poem, Harry Baker explains how he could build a world out of paper and what this world would be like. He then relates this to the real world and the issues in the real world. I find it interesting how he helps us understand our own world by introducing us to a world of his own making, it helps put things in perspective.
The poem starts with Harry Baker talking about how he would build this world starting with the "proper pop-up purple paper people" saying "I could build a paper metropolis". this introduces us to the concept of a world made of paper where everything was exactly the same as our world except made of paper. He goes on to say that he "wouldn't wanna deal with all the paper people politics. Paper politicians with their paper-thin policies". This is where he introduces the purpose of the poem, how our world is being led by corrupt politicians who do not have the peoples best interest at heart. This is where we start to see the links between the world of paper and our own world.
The next stanza starts with the words 'There'd be a little paper me. And a little paper you" When he says "A little paper you", it puts you in the world and makes it seem as if he is speaking directly to you as if he is directing these issues at you and saying that you need to change this. He then goes on to make a lot of pop culture references such as "There'd be a paper princess Kate, but we'd all stare at paper Pippa, and then we'd all live in fear of killer Jack the Paper-Ripper", and " we could watch paper TV and it would all be pay-per-view". This shows us the similarities between the world he is describing and our own world and letting us know that the problems in the paper world are problems that we ourselves are facing in the real world. This once again strengthens the connection between us and the issues he is describing. He also says "The paper propaganda propagates the peoples' prejudices, papers printing pictures of the photogenic terrorists."This is a reference to the fact that news channels, newspapers and news websites have become biased and are often reporting events with false information to bring across the point they want to make. They are also often paid off by politicians to report what those politicians want them to report. He ends that stanza with a serious note to remind us that while this world has many good things that are just like our world they also have bad things and we can't forget about them. I am usually quite optimistic and sometimes I forget that not everyone is as fortunate as me and that there are problems in the world so it is a good reminder for me.
In the next stanza also starts with the words "There'd be a little paper me. And a little paper me." This phrase is repeated several times throughout the poem to emphasize its importance. We are all personally responsible for these issues. Later he says "There'd be that pompous paper parliament who remained out of touch and, and who ignored the people's protests over all the paper cuts, then the peaceful paper protests would get blown to paper pieces, by the confetti cannons manned by the pre-emptive police."This gives us the idea that the overall message is a political one. That the parliament is too out of touch and is not responding to the people's protests. This is an issue all over the world and in many places peaceful protests have turned into riots because people weren't getting their voices heard. These riots then get broken up by police, but often peaceful protests also get broken up by police because they just assume that all protests are, or will soon be riots. This in turn only causes more protests and riots, which leads to people getting injured. All of this could be avoided if the parliament would stop ignoring the peoples' voices and listen to them. I find free speech very important and I feel very strongly about people being heard and I also believe that we should not have to resort to violence just to make a point.
'And yes there'd still be paper money, so there'd still be paper greed." At the beginning of the fourth stanza Harry Baker brings up the issue of poverty and greed. He is saying that any place where there is money, there will be greed even in a paper world. "A proper poor economy where so many are proper poor." He is saying that the reason that people are so poor is that we have a bad economy which again ties back to politicians. The politicians first and foremost look after themselves and not the people. "But while their needs are ignored the money goes to big wars." In this, he is saying that the politicians care more about fighting each other than they do about caring for the economy or the needs of their people. This happens in most countries, they are all so eager to fight wars and make a mark in the world that they don't realise that their people are crying out for help. Fortunately, in New Zealand politicians are not like this. Since New Zealand is quite a small country we have never started a war and our politicians are very aware of what the people want, so we don't really have many riots or protests. For this reason, I am very proud to live in such a peaceful country.
"Origami armies unfold plans for paper planes and we remained imprisoned in our own paper chains." This is saying that we could do something if we wanted to but we are imprisoned in our own chains, humanity is caught in a cycle of violence and war and we are so caught up in it, so used to it that we can't even stop it when we know it's wrong. "But the greater shame is that it always seems to stay the same, what changes is who's in power choosing how to lay the blame." This happens over and over again, we are imprisoned in our own humanity as history repeats itself, just with different politicians blaming different people for the fallout. This is not something that really happens in New Zealand, which makes me very happy, unfortunately, this is not the case in many other countries and I believe that it is important to keep this in mind. A great example of this is the 1st and 2nd World Wars. Germany didn't learn from the first world war, instead, they found someone to blame, in this case, the Jews, and started World War 2. For the first nine years of my life, I lived in Germany and you can still see the effect that mistake had on the country and the people.
"I like people. 'Cause even when the situation's dire, it is only ever people who are able to inspire." Up to this point in the poem, it has mostly been explaining the paper world and pointing out how the paper world, like our world, has many issues that need to be solved. Now he is telling us how to solve these problems. He is telling us that even though it might seem like the world is a dark and terrible place at times we still have hope because we're people and we can make a difference and we can fix the problems we have because only we can inspire. I think this is a great thing to bring up because up to this point everything has seemed a little bit hopeless and bleak. "but in the bottom of Pandora's box there's still hope, and I still hope 'cause I believe in people." This is not only a reference to a Greek myth which once again ties the paper world to our world, but it is also a great reminder that no matter how much darkness there is in the world there is always still hope. I like this because when reading poems on topics like this one you usually hear about the bad things. They don't usually end these poems on a happy note, so it was nice to have an inspirational message in between all the negativity. Sometimes I find it all too easy to only focus on the bad things and think that there is no hope, so I like that he included some positivity in this poem.
"People like my grandparents. Who every single morning since the day I was born have taken time out f their morning to pray for me." I love that he connects this message to his own life to show that it applies to every single one of us in some ways or another. Everyone has someone who loves them, even if they don't know it. I think this is a very important message for everyone. This also makes me think of my parents who pray for me every single night, especially when I'm worried about something. It always makes me feel so much better and never ceases to reassure me and make me feel like I can do anything. "People like my aunt who puts on plays with prisoners. People who are capable of genuine forgiveness." He once again points out people in his own life who portray the message he is trying to convey. This shows us that he is not just saying these things but that he genuinely believes them and has seen evidence of them in his own life. This makes the message more believable. This helps me to believe that it is possible to solve these issues in our world and helps me to believe that there are people like this out there and that people can make the world a better place. "People who go out of their way to make your life better, and expect nothing in return." I like that he chooses to include a positive message in his poem instead of just being negative. This makes me want to be a better person and to help end poverty and government corruption and it makes me feel like I could actually do it. It makes me feel empowered which is something that I really like about this poem.
The first line of the next stanza is my favorite line in the entire poem. "People have potential to be powerful." I believe that this is the most important line in this poem, This is the overall message Harry Baker is trying to convey. The world is a messed up and terrible place and sometimes it is all too easy to get caught up in the hopelessness but we need to remember that we can make it better. We all have the potential to be powerful, we all have the potential to change the world. "Just because the people in power tend to pretend to be victims we don't need to succumb to that system. And a paper population is no different." This ties the poem back to the issue from earlier and reminds the reader about the issues mentioned at the beginning. "There's a little paper me. And a little paper you." This is once again repeating the words from earlier on in the poem, Which ties it all together and reminds us of the part that we play in the world. It shows us that even in this paper world we are still important and we can still make a difference. It also makes me feel like I'm personally responsible for solving these issues and makes me want to make a difference. "But in a pop-up population peoples problems pop up too, but even if the whole world fell apart then we'd still make it through." This tells me that no matter how bad things get and no matter how much we want to give up, we can still make it through, we are more powerful than we realise. There are so many problems in the world such as the refugee crisis, war in the middle east, and terrorism, but we can solve these problems and we can make the world a better place because we are capable of so much more than we realise. "Because we're people."
The poem starts with Harry Baker talking about how he would build this world starting with the "proper pop-up purple paper people" saying "I could build a paper metropolis". this introduces us to the concept of a world made of paper where everything was exactly the same as our world except made of paper. He goes on to say that he "wouldn't wanna deal with all the paper people politics. Paper politicians with their paper-thin policies". This is where he introduces the purpose of the poem, how our world is being led by corrupt politicians who do not have the peoples best interest at heart. This is where we start to see the links between the world of paper and our own world.
The next stanza starts with the words 'There'd be a little paper me. And a little paper you" When he says "A little paper you", it puts you in the world and makes it seem as if he is speaking directly to you as if he is directing these issues at you and saying that you need to change this. He then goes on to make a lot of pop culture references such as "There'd be a paper princess Kate, but we'd all stare at paper Pippa, and then we'd all live in fear of killer Jack the Paper-Ripper", and " we could watch paper TV and it would all be pay-per-view". This shows us the similarities between the world he is describing and our own world and letting us know that the problems in the paper world are problems that we ourselves are facing in the real world. This once again strengthens the connection between us and the issues he is describing. He also says "The paper propaganda propagates the peoples' prejudices, papers printing pictures of the photogenic terrorists."This is a reference to the fact that news channels, newspapers and news websites have become biased and are often reporting events with false information to bring across the point they want to make. They are also often paid off by politicians to report what those politicians want them to report. He ends that stanza with a serious note to remind us that while this world has many good things that are just like our world they also have bad things and we can't forget about them. I am usually quite optimistic and sometimes I forget that not everyone is as fortunate as me and that there are problems in the world so it is a good reminder for me.
In the next stanza also starts with the words "There'd be a little paper me. And a little paper me." This phrase is repeated several times throughout the poem to emphasize its importance. We are all personally responsible for these issues. Later he says "There'd be that pompous paper parliament who remained out of touch and, and who ignored the people's protests over all the paper cuts, then the peaceful paper protests would get blown to paper pieces, by the confetti cannons manned by the pre-emptive police."This gives us the idea that the overall message is a political one. That the parliament is too out of touch and is not responding to the people's protests. This is an issue all over the world and in many places peaceful protests have turned into riots because people weren't getting their voices heard. These riots then get broken up by police, but often peaceful protests also get broken up by police because they just assume that all protests are, or will soon be riots. This in turn only causes more protests and riots, which leads to people getting injured. All of this could be avoided if the parliament would stop ignoring the peoples' voices and listen to them. I find free speech very important and I feel very strongly about people being heard and I also believe that we should not have to resort to violence just to make a point.
'And yes there'd still be paper money, so there'd still be paper greed." At the beginning of the fourth stanza Harry Baker brings up the issue of poverty and greed. He is saying that any place where there is money, there will be greed even in a paper world. "A proper poor economy where so many are proper poor." He is saying that the reason that people are so poor is that we have a bad economy which again ties back to politicians. The politicians first and foremost look after themselves and not the people. "But while their needs are ignored the money goes to big wars." In this, he is saying that the politicians care more about fighting each other than they do about caring for the economy or the needs of their people. This happens in most countries, they are all so eager to fight wars and make a mark in the world that they don't realise that their people are crying out for help. Fortunately, in New Zealand politicians are not like this. Since New Zealand is quite a small country we have never started a war and our politicians are very aware of what the people want, so we don't really have many riots or protests. For this reason, I am very proud to live in such a peaceful country.
"Origami armies unfold plans for paper planes and we remained imprisoned in our own paper chains." This is saying that we could do something if we wanted to but we are imprisoned in our own chains, humanity is caught in a cycle of violence and war and we are so caught up in it, so used to it that we can't even stop it when we know it's wrong. "But the greater shame is that it always seems to stay the same, what changes is who's in power choosing how to lay the blame." This happens over and over again, we are imprisoned in our own humanity as history repeats itself, just with different politicians blaming different people for the fallout. This is not something that really happens in New Zealand, which makes me very happy, unfortunately, this is not the case in many other countries and I believe that it is important to keep this in mind. A great example of this is the 1st and 2nd World Wars. Germany didn't learn from the first world war, instead, they found someone to blame, in this case, the Jews, and started World War 2. For the first nine years of my life, I lived in Germany and you can still see the effect that mistake had on the country and the people.
"I like people. 'Cause even when the situation's dire, it is only ever people who are able to inspire." Up to this point in the poem, it has mostly been explaining the paper world and pointing out how the paper world, like our world, has many issues that need to be solved. Now he is telling us how to solve these problems. He is telling us that even though it might seem like the world is a dark and terrible place at times we still have hope because we're people and we can make a difference and we can fix the problems we have because only we can inspire. I think this is a great thing to bring up because up to this point everything has seemed a little bit hopeless and bleak. "but in the bottom of Pandora's box there's still hope, and I still hope 'cause I believe in people." This is not only a reference to a Greek myth which once again ties the paper world to our world, but it is also a great reminder that no matter how much darkness there is in the world there is always still hope. I like this because when reading poems on topics like this one you usually hear about the bad things. They don't usually end these poems on a happy note, so it was nice to have an inspirational message in between all the negativity. Sometimes I find it all too easy to only focus on the bad things and think that there is no hope, so I like that he included some positivity in this poem.
"People like my grandparents. Who every single morning since the day I was born have taken time out f their morning to pray for me." I love that he connects this message to his own life to show that it applies to every single one of us in some ways or another. Everyone has someone who loves them, even if they don't know it. I think this is a very important message for everyone. This also makes me think of my parents who pray for me every single night, especially when I'm worried about something. It always makes me feel so much better and never ceases to reassure me and make me feel like I can do anything. "People like my aunt who puts on plays with prisoners. People who are capable of genuine forgiveness." He once again points out people in his own life who portray the message he is trying to convey. This shows us that he is not just saying these things but that he genuinely believes them and has seen evidence of them in his own life. This makes the message more believable. This helps me to believe that it is possible to solve these issues in our world and helps me to believe that there are people like this out there and that people can make the world a better place. "People who go out of their way to make your life better, and expect nothing in return." I like that he chooses to include a positive message in his poem instead of just being negative. This makes me want to be a better person and to help end poverty and government corruption and it makes me feel like I could actually do it. It makes me feel empowered which is something that I really like about this poem.
The first line of the next stanza is my favorite line in the entire poem. "People have potential to be powerful." I believe that this is the most important line in this poem, This is the overall message Harry Baker is trying to convey. The world is a messed up and terrible place and sometimes it is all too easy to get caught up in the hopelessness but we need to remember that we can make it better. We all have the potential to be powerful, we all have the potential to change the world. "Just because the people in power tend to pretend to be victims we don't need to succumb to that system. And a paper population is no different." This ties the poem back to the issue from earlier and reminds the reader about the issues mentioned at the beginning. "There's a little paper me. And a little paper you." This is once again repeating the words from earlier on in the poem, Which ties it all together and reminds us of the part that we play in the world. It shows us that even in this paper world we are still important and we can still make a difference. It also makes me feel like I'm personally responsible for solving these issues and makes me want to make a difference. "But in a pop-up population peoples problems pop up too, but even if the whole world fell apart then we'd still make it through." This tells me that no matter how bad things get and no matter how much we want to give up, we can still make it through, we are more powerful than we realise. There are so many problems in the world such as the refugee crisis, war in the middle east, and terrorism, but we can solve these problems and we can make the world a better place because we are capable of so much more than we realise. "Because we're people."
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