In part two of Jane McGonigal's book Reality is Broken, we start to see video games where the people play the game in real life and then move onto the computer to log what they have done. These are called Alternate Reality Games as we learn on page 112. The game that she mentions in The Benefits of Alternate Realities is called Chore Wars. In this game people compete in their homes to be the first to clean. In the game you get points for doing more work and being able to do it creatively, like while others are asleep. This to me was actually not a surprise as a game but more that it existed elsewhere. As a kid every summer I would earn points for doing things other then watching TV or playing video games. And doing things such as cleaning were the highest point getters. Then after I gained enough points I could cash in on a great prize. Doing dirty work is never fun, but if you make it a game it can become a really easy and painless thing to do.
The next section of Part 2 in the book is called Leveling Up in Life. She talks about how she wishes that like in games when you do something hard you get to level up. Lately I've been working out. A lot! And at first it can be really hard to do because you don't seem to see any results. But then you start to see the muscle definition that you wanted to see. And that to me feels like leveling up. In addition to that as a tap dancer there are really tough dance trick moves. When you first start to dance it can be really tough because you feel like everyone is far ahead of you. Then suddenly you move forward. And you start to level up. If more people could see that they're leveling up then people would perhaps feel better about the hard tasks that we have to do.
The third part of Part 2 is called Fun With Strangers. In this part Jane talks about games where the whole world is playing an ARG and you can basically meet new people. She talks about a game called Bounce where older and younger players talk on the phone and try to figure out what 10 things they have in common in 10 minutes. What it does is also creates new friendships. I love going out and having to do a scavenger hunt with people who I've just met because we have to run around and get pictures with people and things and then get back in time. It creates a common goal while building up our trust in each other and while allowing us to get to know each other. It is not uncommon in the theater world for shows to begin with getting to know you exercises. It allows for the cast to grow stronger together faster and become a team. Games like Bounce allow for people in the world to become a team.
The final section of Part 2 is Happiness Hacking. In this chapter she talks about a great game called Cruel 2 B Kind on page 174. In the game everyone starts out on their own and has different "attacks" using smiles, compliments and winks, etc. The game gets played out in a park, or a city block where people don't know who is playing and who isn't. People not playing can actually get caught in the crossfire, but it's ok because the game is so pleasant. By playing games like this people are helping to spread a little bit of joy out there into the world. There was a time that I was in Central Park in NYC and I was watching a group of people all tie a ballon next to their feet. They would then spread out and wait for a bell to ring. Then when the bell rang they all ran around and tried to stomp out the balloons of the other players. It was like flag football but a game that everyone could play. Even kids because feet are an area that everyone can reach. While I was not playing it, I was made happy to watch it. It looked fun and made me thing that I would want to play that game someday with my friends.
There are many more games that she mentions in this book and you should buy it and read it!
Part 3 coming next!
Jason
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Jane McGonigal: Video Gaming Can Save the World Part 1
So as a little boy I remember that I used to play hours and hours of video games. I actually wouldn't be surprised if by the end of my school career, like Jane McGonigal references a lot, I wouldn't have had over 10,000 hours of video gaming under my belt. Thankfully as a kid I was able to do all my homework really quickly and still manage to get a good grade. As I got older this got harder to do since the loads got larger and larger, but I still had to have my fix.
When I think about my childhood growing up I think about what was positive in my life and what was negative. The two positives that were there for me no matter what were both the theatre and video games. My parents were also a great influence in my life but due to some overwhelming circumstances they were led away to deal with big problems in the family. That being said they always made sure that they had time for me without a doubt. I was never abandoned or anything like that. But the two things that I seemed to have the most control over in my life were the video games I played, and the shows I got to do.
Now in the theatre I was able to escape for a little while by pretending to be someone else for a while. And when I wasn't on stage I was often down in the dressing room playing cards with the other cast members. In fact when things got particularly tough at home my parents would through a game night. So games were always a very pivotal part of my life.
When I was maybe 6 or 7 my dad bought me and my sister a Super Nintendo. I was beyond thrilled! And with that my video game education began. At first my parents imposed a one hour rule per day just like we had with TV but if we saved them up every week we could play more on the weekends. Which is what I normally did. After all how can you learn if you can't keep going at it hour after hour?!
Well as I grew up the rules became more relaxed and I was able to play when I wanted to. Slowly I started to adopt harder games such as Final Fantasy and games in the league of World of Warcraft. This became a realm for me to escape even further then game nights or theatre would allow. I could be the most powerful person I knew. And this brings me to Jane's book: Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World.
In this book Jane talks about a lot of things that games can do. Starting with part one she talks about Why Games Make Us Happy. She talks about Unnecessary Obstacles, Emotional Activation, More Satisfying Work, Better Hope of Success, Stronger Social Connectivity, and Becoming a Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves. Now the first one she talk about Golf on page 27, and how the goal of the game is to get the ball into the hole with the smallest number of points. She also talks about then how rather then us just walking up to the hole and dropping it in we use clubs to make it harder.
When dealing with problems at home as a kid I didn't want to take the hard route at first. So playing games like golf or Tetris or Portal would have driven me crazy at first. Feeling as lost as I did initially growing up those types of games would have driven me crazy. (I'm very rule oriented.) But as I got older and the games I originally liked got way to easy I had to upgrade and I found that I indeed did like games where I might not know where I'm supposed to go or what to do.
Then she talks about Emotional Activation. She talks about David Sudnow on page 42 and talks about how he played the game Breakout until he was able to beat it with a perfect score. By doing so he reaches a certain happiness called Fiero. An ultimate joy of victory. Then when he beats the game he has no reason to keep playing. Throughout the book Jane talks about how when a game becomes to easy to win then it no longer is a game that one would desire to play. This for me has always been true. I have two breaking points in a game. 1 is when it's now too easy and I'm just waltzing through to the finish line, or 2 where it gets so hard that I can't move forward at all and get stuck. Those two times for me drive me crazy. I obviously want a challenge but I'd like for it to be obtainable. Games nowadays have and are doing a much better job of that then games of the past.
Then she goes onto More Satisfying Work. She talks about World Of Warcraft. While I have never played it I've played games that are off-line and similar such as Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls. These games have, as she calls it on page 57, "Problems" not work to be solved. When we're at our jobs we go to boring work, but here in these games we get to solve work in the disguise of being a "Problem." It to me is the perfect ideal. Later in the book she talks about how to make work become viewed as a "Problem." If more work nowadays were viewed as a game I feel like it would not only get done faster, but with more love and care.
Then she moves onto Better Hope of Success. As a gamer now I don't mind losing, if it is done in a fair and just manner. As a kid I hated losing at all. The only time that I didn't mind losing was when a fellow human being beat me at a game or if I was really close to beating a really hard computer level after winning a bunch in a row. To this day though I prefer losing to another human. I feel less like I was cheated against with a human. For all I know the computer decided that it was time for me to lose and cheated.
During the part with Stronger Social Connectivity Jane talks about Facebook games and the such. At first I really fought against such games because I felt like whats the point of playing if you don't get to find out who won right then. But then I moved away and found myself wanting to play games with people from back home or even my folks. This was a way for me to keep in touch with those I love and not feel like I was stranded on the other side of the world. It also helped me meet some new gamers who I now play with often.
Then the final part of the first part is Becoming a Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves. She talks about Halo 3 and their 10 billion kills together as a community. While I've never been a part of something like that as far as a game point of view, I can say that I really have enjoyed being a part of something bigger than me with things such as benefits and the such. When they say that we helped raise more then the charity has ever raised before it makes me feel great!
I have to run for now but more on Parts 2 and 3 later today!
Jason
PS Read the book! It's great!
When I think about my childhood growing up I think about what was positive in my life and what was negative. The two positives that were there for me no matter what were both the theatre and video games. My parents were also a great influence in my life but due to some overwhelming circumstances they were led away to deal with big problems in the family. That being said they always made sure that they had time for me without a doubt. I was never abandoned or anything like that. But the two things that I seemed to have the most control over in my life were the video games I played, and the shows I got to do.
Now in the theatre I was able to escape for a little while by pretending to be someone else for a while. And when I wasn't on stage I was often down in the dressing room playing cards with the other cast members. In fact when things got particularly tough at home my parents would through a game night. So games were always a very pivotal part of my life.
When I was maybe 6 or 7 my dad bought me and my sister a Super Nintendo. I was beyond thrilled! And with that my video game education began. At first my parents imposed a one hour rule per day just like we had with TV but if we saved them up every week we could play more on the weekends. Which is what I normally did. After all how can you learn if you can't keep going at it hour after hour?!
Well as I grew up the rules became more relaxed and I was able to play when I wanted to. Slowly I started to adopt harder games such as Final Fantasy and games in the league of World of Warcraft. This became a realm for me to escape even further then game nights or theatre would allow. I could be the most powerful person I knew. And this brings me to Jane's book: Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World.
In this book Jane talks about a lot of things that games can do. Starting with part one she talks about Why Games Make Us Happy. She talks about Unnecessary Obstacles, Emotional Activation, More Satisfying Work, Better Hope of Success, Stronger Social Connectivity, and Becoming a Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves. Now the first one she talk about Golf on page 27, and how the goal of the game is to get the ball into the hole with the smallest number of points. She also talks about then how rather then us just walking up to the hole and dropping it in we use clubs to make it harder.
When dealing with problems at home as a kid I didn't want to take the hard route at first. So playing games like golf or Tetris or Portal would have driven me crazy at first. Feeling as lost as I did initially growing up those types of games would have driven me crazy. (I'm very rule oriented.) But as I got older and the games I originally liked got way to easy I had to upgrade and I found that I indeed did like games where I might not know where I'm supposed to go or what to do.
Then she talks about Emotional Activation. She talks about David Sudnow on page 42 and talks about how he played the game Breakout until he was able to beat it with a perfect score. By doing so he reaches a certain happiness called Fiero. An ultimate joy of victory. Then when he beats the game he has no reason to keep playing. Throughout the book Jane talks about how when a game becomes to easy to win then it no longer is a game that one would desire to play. This for me has always been true. I have two breaking points in a game. 1 is when it's now too easy and I'm just waltzing through to the finish line, or 2 where it gets so hard that I can't move forward at all and get stuck. Those two times for me drive me crazy. I obviously want a challenge but I'd like for it to be obtainable. Games nowadays have and are doing a much better job of that then games of the past.
Then she goes onto More Satisfying Work. She talks about World Of Warcraft. While I have never played it I've played games that are off-line and similar such as Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls. These games have, as she calls it on page 57, "Problems" not work to be solved. When we're at our jobs we go to boring work, but here in these games we get to solve work in the disguise of being a "Problem." It to me is the perfect ideal. Later in the book she talks about how to make work become viewed as a "Problem." If more work nowadays were viewed as a game I feel like it would not only get done faster, but with more love and care.
Then she moves onto Better Hope of Success. As a gamer now I don't mind losing, if it is done in a fair and just manner. As a kid I hated losing at all. The only time that I didn't mind losing was when a fellow human being beat me at a game or if I was really close to beating a really hard computer level after winning a bunch in a row. To this day though I prefer losing to another human. I feel less like I was cheated against with a human. For all I know the computer decided that it was time for me to lose and cheated.
During the part with Stronger Social Connectivity Jane talks about Facebook games and the such. At first I really fought against such games because I felt like whats the point of playing if you don't get to find out who won right then. But then I moved away and found myself wanting to play games with people from back home or even my folks. This was a way for me to keep in touch with those I love and not feel like I was stranded on the other side of the world. It also helped me meet some new gamers who I now play with often.
Then the final part of the first part is Becoming a Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves. She talks about Halo 3 and their 10 billion kills together as a community. While I've never been a part of something like that as far as a game point of view, I can say that I really have enjoyed being a part of something bigger than me with things such as benefits and the such. When they say that we helped raise more then the charity has ever raised before it makes me feel great!
I have to run for now but more on Parts 2 and 3 later today!
Jason
PS Read the book! It's great!
Monday, April 9, 2012
YouTube Viral Videos
So there are many YouTube
videos out there. Some of them go viral and some don’t. What makes a video go
viral?
These
videos are just a sampling of videos that have gone viral. But almost all of
these videos have a real meaning to me and have gone viral, even if only to a select group or two.
I want to
start with what has been pegged as the first viral video ever to hit the world.
Or at least the USA, "The Angriest Man in the World," or as it is
titled in the documentary about it, "The Winnebago Man." Jack Rebney
is the man behind this magic. Now yes, this outtake reel is hysterical if not
insanely profane, but it also helped create the magic we now have called viral
videos. In the 80’s Jack retired from being a News Anchor because he was fed up
with how news was no longer just about the facts. After he left that job he became a Winnebago
Infomercial Salesman. This required him to help write and shoot an infomercial about Winnebagos. During the shoot he had a lot of troubles remembering his lines (despite the fact he wrote them!) and as a result swore. A lot.
The crew found this to be really funny, and found themselves taping these
outtakes so that they could make a blooper reel at the end of the shoot. Sadly
this video found its way into the hands of those in the upper management of the
Winnebago Company and Jack was let go. After that he vanished.
This
video however started to circulate across the country from filmmaker to
filmmaker. It was sent from friend to friend via VHS (old school!) and then
people would copy it several times and send back the copy they got from the
original owner and then send out new tapes to their friends. It was sort of a
you're in the club, and know what it's like to work with someone who can be
difficult, or always forgets their lines and then screams at everyone about it,
including themselves sometimes.
In the
documentary Ben Steinbauer (the maker of this film) stumbles upon this viral video of “The Angriest Man in the
World,” and decides that he would like to find and interview him. He sets off
on a mission to find him and finds that Jack had retired to the top of
a mountain to live as a caretaker of sorts of the lands at a park. In fact Jack
had no idea that this video was viral and that he was famous.
The
documentary follows Jack as he learns about his infamy or fame, and watching him use it
to forward his political messages against Dick Cheney and Walmart. In addition
to that this movie shows us about what it is like for someone who is just
trying to live their life and then have it interrupted due to the viral video.
In his case Jack makes good on it and is able to go slightly political with his
viewers.
Also
watching this documentary and what they talk about involving viral videos you
can see that what really makes a viral video take off and spiral out of control
is people sending it to their friends with the message of, “You are not going
to believe what I just saw!” or, “This is the funniest/most touching/cutest/sickest/etc.
thing that I have ever seen.” Then people click on the video because their
friends who they trust have watched it and watch it themselves. Then as they
watch it they are moved in whatever way that they are and they forward it to
their friends.
To view the trailer of the movie or the website for the documentary go here:
Now I
want to move onto some other viral videos that have made an impact on me, and
how they went viral when they did. The first one that I want to show is the one
that really touched me. It is of a young 21 year old Airman who is gay who is coming out to
his father. Randy Phillips calls his dad on Sept 20th 2011 which is the day that the
LGBT men and women of our armed services were finally released from their bonds
to DADT (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Here's an article from the U.S. Department of Defense about DADT and the WikiDADT WebPage.) and
are allowed to be open to being who they are.
This
video was actually really hard for me to watch at first. I had to have a friend
who posted in on Facebook tell me that it ends well. It goes really well with
his dad, but his mom doesn’t take it as well. Which is really interesting since
normally people think that is tends to go the other way due to all the
Hollywood movies and TV shows showing the dad as the one who is against it,
such as Queer As Folk with Justin’s (a character on the show) coming out.
Randy
actually talks about that in the follow up video where he comes out to his mom.
This video is also hard to watch for a few reasons. The first is that his mom
doesn’t take it as well as his father, but also because it is a bit hard to
hear her voice over the phone. In addition to that she starts in on the Bible
and how god apparently didn’t make gay people. One of the things that is good
about this video is that despite all the things his mom says, and she does say
that she’ll still love him, he manages to say that he is OK with himself and is
happy with who he is. This is important for all the kids out there who are
still scared of coming out and are trying to figure out who they are.
Another
really interesting thing is that Randy started making videos before it was ok
to come out as a gay soldier. What he did however was cut off his head from the
screen so only to have a shot of his chest. His first video is actually really
beautifully done here. He wanted to document his journey in coming out. You can
actually feel the fear and excitement from him as he is able to start making
this YouTube video. He is finally going to be able to come out and be who he
is.
The
first video of the three that I showed you went viral because of Rachel Maddow.
She posted it to her blog http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/ and I believe that she showed the clip on
air around the time it was posted. It then was spread all across Facebook. This
all happened right as the repeal of DADT happened. It was spread by people to
show those who were in doubt that there were LGBT members in our armed forces
that they existed and also to show that these people are human just like us.
The video had a lot of help becoming viral because of the topical subjects of
coming out, DADT repeal and Rachel Maddow talking about it. It is a great video
and I hope will continue to inspire kids and grownups alike in coming out and
showing the world that we are just like everybody else. In addition to Rachel Maddow there are tons of articles on Randy and his coming out story. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/who-is-randy-phillips/2011/09/20/gIQA2MYBjK_blog.html and http://abcnews.go.com/topics/sports/football/randy-phillips.htm Since the video's success Randy has now started recording workout videos on YouTube and plans to open his own gym someday. http://www.towleroad.com/2012/01/phillips.html
The final
viral video that I want to talk about for now is the infamous Rebecca Black
song Friday. The music video was a viral video over night. This is one of those
cases where a video went viral for the wrong reason. It went viral because it
was so bad and everyone had to show their friends so that they could make fun
of it.
The video
was released last year on September 16th, 2011. To date it has
27,950,540 hits on YouTube. There are still comments being posted to this day
on it. At this point there are 400,154. And in addition to that it is one of
the most disliked videos out there on YouTube with 587,630 dislikes compared to
140,370 likes. If you look at the graph that is under the video next to the
number of hits called show video statistics you can see that this video
spiraled into a viral hit with over 10 million views within two months of the
video coming online.
To this
day there are still people commenting on how this song is the worst thing that
they have ever seen and as YouTube user levig090 commented, “[T]his will be
used in future concentration camps.” It almost seems that still to this day
people are trying to one up each other for the most funny and horrible thing
that they can say. Most of the comments are really quite inappropriate.
This is
actually not that surprising because if you listen to the lyrics you’ll be
quite amazed (and in my case mortified) at the phrase, “Yesterday was Thursday,
Thursday. Today it is Friday, Friday. We, we, we, so excited. We so excited. We
gonna have a ball today. Tomorrow is Saturday and Sunday comes afterwards.” A
lot of my friends happen to be song writers and these lyrics offend them. Also
my friends who are not lyric writers were offended. Because of how bad the
lyrics are and Rebecca’s only OK performance it has become the video you wont
believe when you see it. That is yet another reason that it went viral.
Another
interesting reason that this video went viral is because of all the parodies
that were made for it. Thecomputernerd01
is a guy on YouTube who makes parodies of a bunch of different songs by
rewriting them and then singing them himself. His version of the song,
“Friday,” is called, “Tuesday,” because that’s his “favorite day of the week.”
The parody focuses on the absurdity of the lyrics in addition to the randomness
of the song as a whole. This version of the song also went viral with close to
6 million hits so far.
Another
parody is a personal favorite of mine, which is the ASL (American Sign
Language) version of this song. It doesn’t have as many hits (20,415), but in
my opinion, just like “Tuesday,” it is far more entertaining to watch then the
original video. While this song is more of a copy it was made so that those who
are deaf and or hard of hearing could understand what all the hype was about
Rebecca Black’s song when it first came out. While there are a few ASL videos
that have gone mainstream viral over 20,000 hits is really good for a video
where the main base are the deaf and hard of hearing.
There
are many videos that have gone viral and I plan to post a few more and their
interesting stories of how they became viral soon. To me a viral video can
slowly accumulate a ton of hits but still manage to reach a large audience in
addition to springing into the spotlight overnight. However just because it
only has 20,000 hits doesn’t mean it hasn’t gone viral in a specific group of
people. What are your thoughts on YouTube and viral videos?
~Jason
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Street Art
So I recently did a piece on Public Art and I was asked to do a follow up on Street Art and the differences. I was struggling to find any Street Art near me or even in NYC. I think that the reason is that while I now understand that Public Art is funded by the public and Street Art is not and often anonymous, I find it to be just what it is. Art.
Now that being said I've noticed looking at the different types of art and everything that Street Art tends to be a little bit more edgy. This is not always the case but it seems to me that the more funded art is just a little bit more family friendly. However there are a few subway art pieces that are a bit creepy to me and if I was a kid I probably would have avoided them. But art is supposed to invoke emotion so I suppose that it was doing its job!
One thing I came upon one day when driving around Los Angeles were these posters of Hilary being presented almost like a champion. It also was asking her to save us. Now I have a lot of mixed feelings about the posters, because while I wish that Obama could have done more in his first term, he's not doing the worst job that he could be doing. For the most part he is being hindered by those in the house and senate.
The one thing that this art did for me though was show how unhappy people continue to be with the current climate. To me Street Art shows what the people are really feeling and voices it for others to see. I remember in an episode of Queer as Folk the character Justin (who is an artist) started to put up street art in season 3 (I think!) to oppose a very anti-gay candidate Stockwell. The posters end up working and in the long run the candidate is not elected. They show the candidate for who he truly is.
I feel like art can change the world regardless of whether it's publicly funded or not. But it seems like more and more the art with the deeper messages are the ones that are Street and really speak the voice of the people.
What do you think?
Jason
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Public Art
So this week we were talking about public art and how it can influence others to either create art or make a social change of their own. My friend Annie and I were talking one day and I told her that I had a photo project to do for class, but was unsure as to which direction to take it in. She had been noticing the brilliant art that was on all of the subways in NYC and we decided to make a photo project involving the art on the subways. We sat down and figured out which ones meant the most to us and how did they affect us.
This series we did was from Alice: The Way Out, by Liliana Porter (1994). This one was a big one for both of us because we both loved the story and also because I used to live at this subway stop. This stop is at Broadway and 50th street in Manhattan and I used it often. I can also imagine that this stop is used by a lot of families and the children who must walk by it I'm sure recognize the characters and are thrilled to have something comforting to look at while being in such a big scary place. (I know it was comforting to me when I first moved there and I was 18!!!) Also I really love the idea that Alice is back down in the rabbit hole (the subway) looking for the way out.
These were from the 66th street Lincoln Center stop. Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, by Nancy Spero (2004) was another series where I had lived at one point in Manhattan. However when I lived there the art was still being put up. (It was completed while I lived there.) This stop also held a lot of meaning to use because we are both actors and Lincoln Center is a huge source of culture and the arts in the city. You have Opera, a Broadway Theatre, Jazz, Ballet, Juilliard and the Performing Arts Library all in one block basically. This is a huge deal for those who are pursuing theatre or performing in anyway. Annie and I have always dreamed of being on Broadway (and while my dreams have shifted a little bit to becoming a working TV actor...) and so coming to this station was a constant reminder that it is right around the corner. This art was constantly reminding us that the theatre is here and we are ready to be a part of it.
These photos are from the Life Underground, by Tom Otterness (2000) series of sculptures. We found that we didn't want to be limited to just mosaics and wall art. Not that those weren't amazing in their own rights, but these sculptures really spoke to us. As it happened we learned on the day that we were shooting photos with sculptures dealing with union problems. This for me was a real joy to shoot since I am a huge fan of unions. I am a proud member of AEA (Actors Equity Association) and enjoy the benefits of not having to go to all day rehearsals without breaks, or fight for pay of any kind. Back when I was non-union I had to fight to get paid 25$ a week. Now I never got into being an actor for the money, but if I am doing a great job and hard work in a show then I deserve to be paid a livable wage. AEA helps negotiate the contracts which make it so that when I get hired for a show they have a minimum that they have to pay me. I can negotiate for more, but often I'm just happy to be getting paid what I am getting.
This series of photos were actually taken on another day, because when we were out shooting the other photos we couldn't find this piece of art. We had the hat and everything but we lost the art Memories of Twenty-Third Street, by Keith Godard (2002). When we finally looked it up and found it, it was too late to go back out and get the photos we wanted to. So we postponed it for another day. We actually were able to take the photos on the day before I moved away from NYC to LA. So this series has a sense of completion for me. We finished the task that we set out to do. That being said I would love to go back to NYC sometime and get my camera out and take photos with Annie at the other locations.
Art is often right in front of you, but when you are in a rush you don't often see it. One thing that the subway art did for me was make me smile and bring a little bit of life to the otherwise cold and empty subways of NYC. Don't get me wrong they were often full of people, but most people in NYC didn't take notice of each other and just went about their business. This artwork in my opinion helps bring a little bit of joy to those who have the time to stop and look around them.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Born Into Brothels:Calcutta's Red Light Kids
This week I watched Born Into Brothels. It was a really
powerful movie talking about the children who are born into Sonagchi, Calcutta
red light district. Normally I try to avoid movies like this because I truly
feel like what can I do? How can I help? And I was not disappointed. This movie
was both motivational and inspirational to make me want to help out these kids
among many others. But that being said I found myself unsure of how I could
help. I of course have told several friends to watch it to help spread the
awareness of the situation out there, but I found myself really hurting from
watching it.
I have often been called an idealist by my mom (and she says
it with pride!) because I am a firm believer in the fact that if something
doesn’t work then we have to change it. For example these kids are being born
into a vicious cycle and, at least for the young girls, being forced into a
life of prostitution. I have
always stated that if we take half of the money that we have in the prison
system and poured it into the schools then we eventually wouldn’t need a prison
system. It would eventually make it so that very few people have to be locked
up because they are smart enough to get high paying jobs that can support their
families and can rely on their brains rather then their bodies to make money.
(That also includes robbing people with force.)
But for some reason people seem to feel like well you can’t
take the money out of the prison because then we’ll have to let the prisoners
out and then there will be a bunch of scary people out in the world. Here’s the
thing. You don’t let the prisoners out. You keep them in and educate them too
while pouring the money into the schools. Yes it is a hard investment and we as
a society will be paying double at first. BUT then you’ll find after awhile
that we won’t have to pay as much for the prisons after all the kids stop
committing crimes. Also it costs way less to spend a little extra teaching
children the tools to be a productive member of society, then to keep a man
alive in a prison for his whole adult life.
This is exactly what Zara Briski (Zana Auntie) was trying to
do with the kids that she was working with. By teaching them a skill
(photography) and getting them interviews with the schools she was giving them
a second chance. It was hard to watch what all the kids had to do to go through
to even be considered. Like the HIV tests that they had to take. I’ll admit as
a gay man I do often get tested and it comes up in my life more then I wish.
While I am negative and safe because I was born lucky and into a family that
teaches safe sex I forget that the kids who are born in the red light district
are not always taught this OR more importantly might have been born that with
the disease(s) already infecting them.
That moment alone in the movie made me really want to help
out. But how can I help? I keep asking myself. If you go to the website http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/bornintobrothels/ you cannot only purchase prints of the photos that that kids shot in the film but also copies of the DVD. All of the proceeds go to helping the kids education and their well being.
Another two moments that really spoke to me was were the
moments where the kids were brought to the beach and also when they were
brought to the zoo. In this moment you see all of the kids being what they are
kids. They’re playing with the animals and running into the water and al around
enjoying themselves. You forget for a moment that they have problems. For a
brief while it seems as if these kids are just kids enjoying their lives. As it
turns out though in every interview that we see, these children are not in fact
children or allowed to live out their childhood. Suchitra is forced into the
brothel at her young age, and Avijit's mother is burned alive in her kitchen by her pimp. These kids also have
no real hope to become anything other then what their parents are unless they
get to go away to a school or get to go away period. While I was thrilled that Avijit, Tapasi and Kochi make it out into schools, I was unhappy with how not all of them made it out of
the red light district.
Truthfully though until we as a whole change how things are
done this is going to repeat itself as a pattern over and over again. We need
to help educate these you kids and make it so that they can live lives that
they want to pursue. Not the lives that have supposedly been chosen for them.
Have you seen the film? What were your favorite moments? If you haven't then nows the time to pick up a copy and watch it. You'll be inspired to help!
Jason
Monday, March 12, 2012
Comedians Who Use Comedy for Activism
So this past week I was thinking a lot about comedians who have helped make me think about issues and how they affect me and others. I also thought about those who have helped me find talking points through humor. I'm a huge fan of debating things peacefully and with humor. When I feel attacked I stop listening to the other side of the issues arguments and then we're not going to get anywhere.
Now with comedians there is definitely an attacking force that they bring with it, but it is done in a more light hearted way. For example if you look at The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, you can see how they use humor to play on the stupidity of others to prove points in a political light. But the key is also that while these shows are very left leaning they also make fun of the Democratic party as well. It is not just a bash on one side kind of thing.
Then you have George Carlin. (Who is a personal favorite of mine.) He is way more of an "attacks only the opposite party" kind of guy. But again he does it with humor. And not just silly humor, but smart humor. When he says things he offers ideas or in some cases facts about what he is talking about. I feel like there are tons of comedians everyday who are helping bring to light very important issues through their humor. Below are two videos where he talks about ver political things.
Now with comedians there is definitely an attacking force that they bring with it, but it is done in a more light hearted way. For example if you look at The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, you can see how they use humor to play on the stupidity of others to prove points in a political light. But the key is also that while these shows are very left leaning they also make fun of the Democratic party as well. It is not just a bash on one side kind of thing.
Then you have George Carlin. (Who is a personal favorite of mine.) He is way more of an "attacks only the opposite party" kind of guy. But again he does it with humor. And not just silly humor, but smart humor. When he says things he offers ideas or in some cases facts about what he is talking about. I feel like there are tons of comedians everyday who are helping bring to light very important issues through their humor. Below are two videos where he talks about ver political things.
George Carlin vs The Republicans
Pro Life, Abortion, And The Sanctity Of Life
Everyday we see comedians getting active, but I would say that we don't always notice them because they are often very funny and mask the message in the humor. What do you think?
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