Fireside Chat

In every project we have done throughout this semester, there has always been a balance between creating something beautiful and doing so with a specific purpose in mind. For most of my projects, the meaning has methodically driven the art. For my fireside chat, however; this process was reversed in that I started with the ambiguous idea of projections and built my presentation from there.

In creating my fireside chat, I looked back at our discussion of “Embracing the Shake” and how that artist tended to substitute and push the typical norms of certain artistic media. In order to spark my idea, I looked at ways I could manipulate the medium of film in order to express my belief. I was also inspired by an image I ran into called “Prot-jection” where light is manipulated to involve the viewer with the projection.

From that thought process, I looked towards film and tried to break up the medium into its individual aspects. I understood that film was just manipulated light projected onto a screen. For the most part, we as film students try to understand the techniques and methods required to manipulate the light itself. However, we tend to ignore the projections onto the screen in terms of their artistic potential. Since we have been so focused on the impact of film to create change, I saw an opportunity to display such a belief literally by showing projections in my life that, with the benefit of hindsight, have shaped the person I am. In many respects, life is similar to film if we are substitute the silver screen for us in terms of a canvas. We are constantly bombarded by projections cast by certain institutions, groups, events, and people. Although we can rise above our surroundings so to speak, every change in life is a result of a worldview shaping projection. If that is the case, then I believe that it is essential for us in life to project onto others good, true, thought provoking principles that will be a catalyst for change. Whether this is done through impactful films, activity in the community, love in the home, or any other positive behavior, positive light can spread far beyond one’s sphere of influence.

Originally, I had a smaller projector that would allow me more range (and safety from standing on boxes) in being able to walk in front of the light and interact with the piece. I had envisioned wearing a white shirt and having the projections involving me be cast on that surface. Thus, I would shape myself to the poses and size of the projected me and establish my artistic message. If I were to take this project a step further, I would not only have the lower angle projector, but also include video so I could dynamically interact with the projection. With the tackboard and poetry (since I tend to ramble and stutter), however, I feel that I was able to adequately get my message across.

Concerned Citizen

Link to Video

Artist's Statement

In our reading for this week, activist Arlene Goldberg speaks of an idea called “storyland,” where she asserts the power of storytelling in shifting societal ideologies, beliefs, and the status quo. In Goldberg’s “storyland,” “we understand that the resilience that sustains communities in times of crisis is rooted in culture, in the stories of survival and social imagination that inspire people to a sense of hope and possibility even in dark times.” We as a team likewise were able observe our BYU culture and identify a director and group actively serving their fellowmen. However, our experience making this documentary is not limited to the time stamps, but rather created another story in which we can share with others and inspire.

At the start of this project, we realized how out-of-touch we were in terms of social change. Although each of us do small acts of service that are often ignored, we wanted to find someone who was a leader and organizer, as we felt society needs more individuals that are willing to raise up, commit, and guide others in service. For the first time in our BYU careers, we walked into the Y-Serve office in the Wilkenson and followed a trail of breadcrumbs to a vacant lot in the middle of Heber.

That cold Saturday morning, we came to know Johny Jacobs, director of BYU’s volunteer efforts for Rural Housing Development (RHD). RHD is a government-sponsored agency that helps homeless families secure financing for housing materials and, alongside them, help build their home. Johny became involved in the effort more than a year ago and volunteered to raise awareness and coordinate the efforts of BYU students in helping housing development. Johny goes up to work on houses every Saturday from 8 am – 12pm, usually with a different group every week as he recruits new volunteers. We came to see firsthand that, even in the Happy Valley, USA, there are those that are unable to have the pride of home ownership. Rather than ignore that homelessness is a real issue, which often can be the case in a cultural as prosperous as ours, Johny sacrifices his time to improve the lives of the poor.

In terms of our documentary, we wanted to emphasize the transformative processes occurring while Johny answered basic “what, why, and how” questions to give the sense of activity and progress. In a symbolic way, the processes that were transforming raw materials into a home were also transforming Johny and the volunteers’ personally. We sought inspiration from process piece documentaries, utilizing in particular the editing techniques seen in Smith Journal’s The Smokehouse. Much like that film, our short documentary juxtaposed actions with dialogue so there existed a sense of synergy between what was said the interview and building process. It allowed Johny’s words to have greater power, as we see an active application of his ideals towards a productive solution rather than some abstract rhetoric.

We do not know how many people will be inspired (or even watch) our short documentary. Even if it is ignored, we as a team have lived a story that is personally inspiring and motivates us to participate more actively in finding solutions to social issues.

Information about Rural Housing Development

https://yserve.byu.edu/programs/rural-housing-development

Game For Change

Artist's Statement
In first approaching this assignment, I had the idea of shedding light onto the issue of conforming to labels and social conventions as seen in the documentary The Mask You Live In discussed in class. However, I kept coming back to a philosophical debate that I feel is even more ignored by modern media: the idea of utilitarianism and its role in suggesting moral relativity. I initially was afraid to focus my game on a philosophical debate as it would make my message much more broad and open to interpretation. However, as I proceeded to create ethical dilemmas, I realized that challenging people's ethical code and guiding them towards greater self-reflection is one way of helping to promote social change and widening viewpoints to social issues. While we can raise awareness of certain issues, it is still up to the individual to act upon said issues and apply their moral conscience.

Upon researching the social effects of moral relativism, I realized that almost no objective studies have been conducted, which makes sense given that any attempt to measure "positive" or "negative" outcomes when it comes to moral conscious is very biased and can be easily criticized in a philosophical debate. Much like our class discussion, the subject of belief ends in a paradox, and this can frustrate and confuse many people in society; especially when the only see issues from a utilitarian perspective. The closest I came in terms of statistics was an article which stated that atheists were almost 50% more likely to use drugs, alcohol, not marry, and other (from one perspective) counterproductive behaviors than those that follow religious beliefs. With that, I decided that statistics was not going to have the punch necessary to make my counterpoint, so I looked at philosophical arguments.

My research led me to two sources, one an article outlining utilitarian moral dilemmas and the other to an analysis of The Brothers Karamazov, an influential novel that deals with belief versus relativism. I decided the best way to establish my message in a way that was not so heavy handed was to have the player be confronted by a "devil's advocate" and put through moral dilemmas. In seeing the brutality of such frameworks and eliciting an emotional response, I wanted to have the player question the worth of utilitarian thinking much like the article. While the article established that moral relativism does foster empathy and tolerance, it is largely destructive in that The debate on freedom and relativism in addition to the paradox of Christ's sacrifice comes from the article for The Brothers Karamazov. Since we were dealing with a devil's advocate, I thought it would be potent to have him mix up some church doctrine in order to confuse the player, much like The Brothers Karamazov does for the reader. In the end, however; the book establishes that moral relativism takes freedom away from individuals by removing the opposition necessary to build character, or in LDS terms, to have "opposition in all things." This idea stands as the final climax to the player's journey and makes what I was trying to say a little more clear.

As we go out and try to change the world, I think it is critical to understand the differences between empathy and moral relativism. There are times when we have to stand for something, and the media is largely ignoring the importance of moral self-discovery. I may be biased due to my upbringing, but I feel that social change can be further facilitated when people take the time to find truth in the world and act upon it. It sounds super idealistic, but if we all take more time to search for truth and understanding, then we will be better citizens for it. Then we will see the world differently and hopefully, be more incentivized to understand and change it.

Play the Game
http://philome.la/JakeJaketnelson/the-ultimate-good

Sources

https://kenanmalik.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/the-greatest-novel-of-belief-and-unbelief/

http://www.iep.utm.edu/moral-re/#H4

https://www.jashow.org/articles/worldview/moral-relativism/the-fatal-flaws-of-moral-relativism/