On Social Media For Social Change

At my school, the student body uses a Quantum account-- an e-mail, chat, and mass messeging center-- to promote and instigate change in our school community. I am on the student senate, and when we want to create change in our school community-- whether it be regarding student health and stress, bullying, or overall school "culture"-- we get a lot of our input regarding how to address these issues over Quantum. Anyone in the school community, be it teacher or student, can post his concerns and ideas for improvement on Quantum via the "chat" tool, which acts as a chat room between all the people in the school community. Posts by teachers and students are commented on by other teachers and students, and this talk online turns into public school forums, which turns into tangible change within the school community. Quantum is a vital social media tool that allows people to discuss, and create, necessary social changes in our school and local community, and it makes participation in the "change" process accessible to anyone in my school because it is convenient to use and easily accessible.

Hmmmm

I want you to write down the VERY first thing that comes into your mind when I say the following word.

Ready?

"Arab."

Without thinking, write down the very first thing that came into your mind.

Was it a word? A phrase? A picture of some sort?

I thought of the Arab-Israeli conflict as a first reaction (to the word "Arab").

Now, can you figure out WHERE that "very first thing" came from? Was it a media source? A real-life experience? Be specific.

As a Jew, and as a citizen of the world, the Arab-Israeli conflict is something that I think about and investigate daily-- it is a matter of extreme importance to all people, regardless of religious ties or "siding;" it is a conflict of humanity. My response came from personal experience and from media sources, as I have made it a priority to stay updated on what's going on with the Arab-Israeli conflict. Media sources help me do so.




1. THE THREE-PART BRAIN - In what ways do YOU think REEL BAD ARABS attracted your REPTILIAN (instinctual), FEELING (limbic) and THINKING (neo-cortex) brains?

The loud booms, explosions, and shooting sounds attracted my reptilian brain as I sat up in my seat, startled, every time the film shot changed from the main speaker (Dr. Shaheen) to a movie clip involving violent actions. The "Arab" music appealed to my limbic brain, along with the images from familiar films like "Aladdin." When I saw the clip from Aladdin, it was a kind of comforting image, as it was one of my first childhood films. It reminded me of a time of innocence and comfort. But then, of course, my neo-cortex brain was engaged as these "innocent" familiar images, were exposed as promoting absolutely unacceptable Arab stereotypes. My limbic brain was re-engaged as I felt emotions of anger and utter disgust at the prejudices that Hollywood has promoted for years about an entire people.

2.PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES - List and describe one specific production technique - lighting, music, camera effects, editing - used by REEL BAD ARABS.

I think that the editing of REEL BAD ARABS makes the film a success. The fact that every subjective statement and statistic is backed up with numerous movie clips evidences really ties me onto what Dr. Shaheen is saying about how Hollywood villafies the Arab people.

3. PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES - Looking at our list of 24 plus persuasive techniques, list and describe a specific moment from the film as an example of THREE different specific persuasive techniques used by our filmmakers.

Repetition: Clips depicting negative images of violence, greed, etc were played over and over again throughout the film; not just one clip was shown of Arabs being portrayed as "terrorists," many clips were incorporated in montages dispersed throughout the film.

Timing: Clips were put into the film at the right time after Dr. Shaheen made a statement about some topic, such as the idea that Arabs are portrayed as "oversexed" in Hollywood. Right after he makes that statement, the film goes right into a clip supporting this claim form an actual Hollywood film. it gives the statement meanin and makes what Dr. Shaheen is saying powerful. Timing is very important in the film world.

This may go under "emotional appeal," but I had to mention that the tone of Dr. Shaheen's voice when he speaks is one that draws in the attention of the audience evokes sympathy from those viewing-- it is slow, but not dull, and sounds very compassionate, which I think is the best way to speak in a film like this; really got my attention and concern on the topic being discussed.


4. SUGGESTIONS - Offer one specific suggestion for the REEL BAD ARABS filmmakers that might make their film even more powerful.

I think surveying a randomly assigned group of individuals on their first impressions at the world "Arab," like what you did with us DOTCOMers at the beginning of this blog activity would expose, even more so, how widespread Hollywood stereotypes have affected our society. The interview clips would be placed before Dr. Shaheen even begins to speak (probably right after the credits rolled)-- that would definitely add to the impact of the film, and the message that is trying to be conveyed.

5. Would you recommend this film for viewing with friends or colleagues? Why or why not?

YES. I actually sent the Youtube link to some of my friends, and during a run last week I brought up this film, and asked my friends how wrong they think it is that Hollywood encourages negative stereotypes about Arabs-- such as the image of the oversexed, greedy, grubby, violent, hateful people they are portrayed to be in movies. I was amazed at how unaware my friends were of the stereotypes being promoted. Just from seeing the reactions of shock and surprise my own friends had in my mentioning of how Hollywood portrays Arabs in a negative light (I got a lot of "really?"s), shows how ignorant our society is around culture-generated stereotyping.
A lot of my friends did not even realize there were any negative Arab images in Aladdin! Makes me worried, you know... Films like this spread awareness and open the eyes of the public to issues that may otherwise go unseen. Stereotyping people can be dangerous, and the example around Hollywood's depictions of Arabs is a significant case of this. I think this is a great conversation-starting, mind-engaging film. It opens the ground up for discussion on flaws in our culture, and how widespread subjective media sources such as films affect the populations' way of thinking about humanity and the way we see our world. I'm not saying I agree with everything in REEL BAD ARABS, but it is an important film to view as it inspires personal reflection and action through discussion and sharing with others.

I LOVE DOTCOM

Hello DOTCOMers and DOTCOM-lovers across the globe! Sorry for the lateness on this; I have been blessed with a cold for the past week or so and have been slowwww to get things done around here. But I'm back and ready for (reel) action! So, reflection time....

1. What proved the most challenging part of our July Phase 2 DOTCOM experience for you?

I think one of the biggest lessons I learned throughout DOTCOM in July was about communication between individuals and groups of people. Everyone's ideals are different, and every individual has his or her own expectations for every project and experience in life. Because of this, communicating ideas in a group project and synthesizing individual "visions" to make a final, unified project is massively difficult. Each of my lovely group members had his and her own expectations for our film, and I had my own ideas, as well. It is so, so, SO important to be respectful of each other's suggestions, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort to find solutions that combine every group member's ideas so that the final product is a fair representation of every individual's ideas and passions, and, in the end, though the process was long and, sometimes difficult, we made a great film.

Truthfully, it is very dissapointing that, after our vast efforts and hours upon hours of hard work, our film had to be pulled from the web. It saddens me deeply that, for reasons I understand and epathize, our work cannot be shared with the world at this moment. DOTCOM was both a blessing and a curse in opening my eyes to the realities of the world, and, while I am upset at times, I have come out of this experience a grown person, and certainly more perceptive to the world and the issues of this world than I imagined possible. I am immensly upset at times with the reality of it all, but I am also tremendously thankful to have had such an eye-opening experience. I know I will only continue to grow as DOTCOM continues.


2. What proved the most rewarding part of our July Phase 2 DOTCOM experience for you?

I, as I'm sure most DOTCOMers would agree, feel that the absolute most rewarding piece of the summer experience was the friendships made. I am a different person now than I was at the start of July because I was so affected and touched by the other students I met-- from all three countries. Not only are the friends I made compassionate and inspiring in their own individual ways, but the fact that they opened up to me and shared their personal stories and fears and concerns made me learn more about humanity and human relationships than I ever imagined possible in a 3 and a half week period. I can honestly say that I love my DOTCOMers, and the connection I have to them is deeper than any bond I will ever be able to experience with friends in my home town because we endured such a tremendous experience together, and-- goodness-- I love them. I'm teary-eyes right now thinking about everyone.
I wish we were together still and will totally explode with joy when we're all reunited in the spring. I miss you all. I love you all.

3. What proved the most fun part of our July Phase 2 DOTCOM experience for you?

Haha oh my gosh, DOTCOM was so so SO fun!... SO MUCH FUN! I think I laughed for a month straight because everything was hilarious and the other DOTCOMers are so awesome. But I should give a specific example, I think... Hmm, David's PSAs on recycling and the slow Internet were HILARIOUS. And the S'more video! And of COURSE Lenin and the 4th of July parade were fantastic because, honestly, who ever thought that David and Dr. Rob would be able to March in the Washington, D.C. Fourth of July Parade??? WITH A RUBBER CHICKEN!? I think I laughed myself to sleep every night. And my host family, was rockin' and Emily and Sona and I went biking, and ended up on the highway, and every day was an adventure, I swear. I can't find one moment that was "most fun" because I think every day and every experience, regardless of all the stress and chaos that accompanies film producing, was a complete blast. OH OH OH and seeing the Armenian DOTCOMers in the airport when Katie, David, Jacob and I were leaving because their flight was cancelled-- THAT WAS WONDERFUL. I couldn't believe that I saw you all again so soon! I cried!
This is way more than 3-4 sentences and it is totally scatterbrained but it's because I am so enthusiastic about the program and about you, my friends, and just thinking about July makes me swoon and smile and leap for joy. It was the best experience of my life. LET'S GO BACK for a Waitsfield reunion ASAP.

4. What are you most excited about, looking forward to our online Phase 3 DOTCOM experience coming up this fall?

I can't wait to see how we will use our knowledge from Phase 1 and our July experience to progress in the DOTCOM program. I'm not so sure what to expect right now; DOTCOM Phase two is still quite enigmatic for me, which is exciting! I'm looking forward to using the Flip more-- PSAs, anyone? And just following the blogs of my fellow DOTCOMers is exciting because I MISS EVERYONE SO MUCH and now I look at other DOTCOMer's blogs with a fresh eye because I really KNOW you all now, and I don't feel like I'm reading some distant (but lovely) person's blogs-- I now see the blogs and see your personality's shine through and feel so close to you all even though we're all home. It's so comforting to know that, regardless if you live in Armenia, Azerbaijan, or across America, you are all still living DOTCOM with me, and I feel closer to you all than ever before because of it.

I loved our "field trips" together in D.C. and Vermont. We appeared on the huge screen in the Newseum, which was so cool!!!

Reflections on DC!

1. What did you learn in Washington D.C. about media?

I had a great time in Washington D.C., especially in all of our media-based activities and educational experiences. One of the most notable stops on our trip around D.C. was at the State Department, where we were informed on the ways in which the State Department is utilizing media tools such as "chats" and Facebook to connect to the global population. For example, I was very excited and surprised to hear about the CO.NX webchats-- uniting people from all across the globe-- including State Department experts-- using media 2.0 resources. These chars allow people from countries such as France, Egypt, Kenya, Pakistan, etc., to engage in enlightening and relevant chats on significant current events. I find this to be a very impressive and practical use of "chat" technology, and I appreciate how CO.NX uses chat, a very common and easy to use media tool, to unite people internationally (much like the DOTCOM program has united Azerbaijanis, Armenians and Americans through blogging!)

2. What did you learn in Washington, D.C. about your student colleagues from the other two countries?

The best part about living with my student colleagues from Armenia and Azerbaijan-- sharing a home, eating meals together, and just spending time hanging out and talking-- is that there have been so many opportunities to just ask cultural questions and learn about our similarities and differences. For example, eating breakfast one morning, I asked one Armenian friend about breakfast in her country. I told her that, in America, "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." I asked her what her favorite breakfast food was, and was surprised to hear that, in Armenia, breakfast is not common and, oftentimes, students don't have their first meal until after school at 2PM! Of course, aside from the cultural differences, I learned a lot about our similarities-- we all love music, we love comedy, we love movies nature. D.C. was a wonderful time and I felt like we all really bonded during our time in the big city. :-)

3. What has been hard or challenging about the DOTCOM program so far?

Sometimes the language barrier is a bit of a challenge and I have to be careful in choosing my words because I want all of my friends, from all three countries, to be able to understand my dialogue. I appreciate the "language barrier" issue because it has made me aware of how I speak and it has made me realize the importance of really pronouncing the words I speak and conveying what I say in a clear, coherent way.

4. What has been exciting and rewarding about the DOTCOM program so far?

The most rewarding experience by far has been meeting and getting to know all of the other participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and America. It has been only a week and I already feel so close to everyone and cannot wait to continue spending time with all of my new friends as the program progresses!
On another important level, aside from all of the enjoyment I have experienced during this program, I have also gained a great deal of insight from my experience with the Armenians and Azerbaijanis (and other Americans). For example, during dinner tonight, my host family-- consisting of five Americans, an Armenian, and myself-- had a really fantastic, open discussion on the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This open discussion gave me the opportunity to synthesize what I already knew about the two countries, and allowed me to expand my understanding of the conflict because my Armenian host sister provided a great deal of insight, as well as the rest of my host family. I really feel myself becoming more globally aware, and I am recognizing deeply how important it is for me, an American teenager, to be aware of conflicts such as that of Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is our world and we are all citizens of it, and there is no such thing as an "isolated" conflict: We are all responsible for advocating peace and tolerance.

My Top Three REEL ACTION Themes

In number order of preference:

1. My top choice for a REEL ACTION film is the theme of social justice. One of my biggest passions in life is working to ensure social justice in all dimensions of life: I have worked at the Greater Boston Food Bank and participated in the annual Walk For Hunger to ensure to fight the issue of hunger in my home community; I have lobbied on Capital Hill for civil rights in the workplace; and I have participated in numerous Habitat For Humanities projects because I believe that every person deserves a place they can feel comfortable in and call their home. The entire umbrella of social justice compels me and I would love to do a REEL ACTION film focusing on a social justice-related theme.


2. Religion has always been a topic of interest to me. My synagogue in my home town is located right next to a Mosque, and this past year our two communities have started to plan joint social activities, to raise both cultural and religious awareness and understanding, while simultaneously building social relations and creating friendships. I am vice president of social action on my synagogue's youth board, and this year, I hope to plan more activities with the youth from the Mosque, and with the youths of many other religious communities to build knowledge and understanding, and strengthen tolerance. I would really enjoy working on a 5-7 minute REEL ACTION film focusing on the theme of religion/ religious tolerance.

3. My third choice for my REEL ACTION film is stereotyping. The theme of stereotyping interests me because I believe that stereotyping ensues from a lack of understanding and awareness. If there is some way to get a message out to break down the walls constructed by stereotyping, it is through film. I think that making a REEL ACTION film on stereotyping would allow me the opportunity to expand my own awareness on a given issue through gaining education on the facts, and the effects of the film would open the eyes of others, too.

90 Second Elevator Pitch Video! :D

"Hey, my name is Danielle. I am 17 years old and am from the state of Massachusetts in the United States. Some things you should know about me? Well, I am certainly a nature girl—I adore spending every opportunity I have outside-- going for walks, hiking, and participating in Cross Country running. Music is a tremendous part of my life—I play the flute, piano, and the piccolo. I also adore listening to music, especially classic and Latin rock. My family is the most important part of my life. Their influence and encouragement has helped me to develop a spirit that is filled with immense passion and vivacity. I have an unbelievably optimistic outlook on life, and I live my life in a way that can best be described in the phrase “carpe diem--” seizing the day and, as American author Henry David Thoreau would say, sucking “out all the marrow of life.” I am wildly passionate about working with people and with my community—be it my school, my religious community, my town, my state, my nation. I once read a quote by philosopher William James. It said-- “To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.” This statement, I realized, does not simply apply to human life, but to human action. Because of this understanding, I do not simply say that I want to make a difference-- I take progressive steps to address matters that are important to me and significant in the lives of others. I truly look forward to the continuation of the DOTCOM program, getting to know everyone involved more and more as the project progresses. Until then, ciao!"

:)

A. What was the most fun/exciting part of the DOTCOM PHASE 1 project for you?

I really enjoyed learning about the different "brains" (i.e. reptilian, neocortex, limbic). I nowadays find myself thinking "This is totally appealing to my limbic brain!" as I drive past beautiful scenery, or sneaking up on my friends and scaring them, using "I was just testing to make sure your Reptilian brain was working alright!" in my defense. The "persuasive media language" module was also one of my favorite parts of phase one because I always have been aware of the fact that media uses subliminal messages and propaganda tools to appeal to the public, but I never analyzed a particular advertisement and dissected the "deeper meanings" of it all. Now whenever I see the Rhapsody commercial, or any other advertisement for that matter, I try to pull it apparent and figure out what the company is trying to "say" to the viewers. I find it to be quite entertaining!

B. What was the most challenging part of the DOTCOM PHASE 1 project for you?

There are so many people, and SO MANY BLOGS that I want to read and follow! I wish that it was easier for me to follow more people's blogs because there is a ton of really awesome, insanely interesting people in the program, and I only got to follow a handful via blog!

C. What is one specific suggestion you have for the DOTCOM PHASE 1 project, when we do this project again?

I have been thinking about a response to this question for quite some time and, honestly, I think that the first phase of the project was planned perfectly-- from the youtube video activities to the online interviews. The chronology and progression of the activities was awesome, too. I truly cannot think of any suggestions for change as of now, however, if I do happen to come up with something later one, I will be sure to post it!

2. Second, find the FUNNIEST video you can find on YouTube, embed it in your blog, and tell us why you find it so funny.

There are too many hilarious videos on youtube for me to deem one "FUNNIEST," but I think that there is something very cute and funny about this video: