Promises

Journal 4-2

I.
               About a month ago, we discussed JR and his art projects. After a lot of talk, I became very curious as to what he was up to now? What is is next big idea? After much research, the answers have been found!

              JR is still up to his old art styles and looks to be continuing in that direction for quite some time. One of his most recent projects was called Los Surcos de la Ciudad project or The Wrinkles of the City in English.  His inspiration was based on an encounter in Cartagena, Spain, where its elderly whom were considered to be the memory or history of the city. JR took pictures of their wrinkles and marks of time and pasted them along the buildings and streets of old Cartagena. It serves as "a living memory of a city changing faster than they themselves age." This project originated in Spain, and currently has reached Shanghai, China, as part of the Biennial at The Shanghai Art Museum.

II.
               Since my past blog update, we have covered a wide range of topics in Ethic's Class. These topics range from computer programs that are designed to cure cancer to movies about children in war torn countries. All in all, it was a very interesting and informative period of time!

               My favorite part of this time period was the viewing of the documentary "Promises". This is a film that is centered around Palestinian and Israeli children who are growing up in the middle of the Palestinian-Israeli land conflict. At the beginning of the movie, I thought that it was very interesting to see how strong and severe some of the children's views were. It is very sad that they were taught the need to kill others instead of compromising. It was also very interesting to see their views change over time as well, especially in the Bonus Features! As the children matured, they became less and less for compromise and peace, and more for beating the other ethnicity by any means possible. It was very apparent that they were turning into the adults that they had originally criticized!

               Everyone did not get a chance to speak their views about the movie in class, so I will take the opportunity to do so now! At the beginning of the film, the twins were my favorite characters. I feel that they were the most moderate and least ingrained with false ideas. I was very shocked and upset to see that they ended up becoming the very thing that they originally never thought of becoming! They became soldiers that may have easily killed the Palestinian loves ones of their old friends! I understand their desire to help their country, but I honestly can't believe that they would turn against their friends after they swore they wouldn't!

III.
               After watching the film "Promises", I am very curious as to how the children are doing now. What has happened to them after the updates in 2004?

Please stay tuned for the answer next week!


Sources

Jr (artist). (2011, March 30). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JR_%28artist%29#2010

Ronsee, E. (2008, June 15). will and goodwill, policies and promises. Retrieved from http://www.documentaryfilms.net/index.php/will-and-goodwill-policies-and-promises/ 


Shahad, Initials. (2011, April 2). The wrinkles of the city shanghai // jr. Retrieved from http://visualtherapyonline.com/2011/04/02/the-wrinkles-of-the-city-shanghai-jr/ 


The promises film project. (2011, April 27). Retrieved from http://www.promisesproject.org/index.html

Art from the Heart

Journal 4-1

I.
               Last week I was very curious as to how the Artinians from Sound and Fury were doing today. After lots of research, an exact answer has not been found.
               I have read through the Sound and Fury website, as well as many, many other sources, and a direct response to this question has not been found. I assume that the Artinians want to live their lives free from the media, so they do not publish a lot of updates. I did find one recent picture though; it is shown below. Who knows, maybe they will make another documentary again soon?

II.
               This past week in Ethic's Class was a very interesting and diverse one. At the beginning of the week, we talked about turning the world inside out through art, and the film Promises. We also spent some time talking about our HIP projects, and we had a very special guest speaker come in to talk to us about grant writing. All in all, it was a very interesting week in class!

               This week we covered so much, so it is hard to choose my favorite topic! After thinking about it though, I would probably have to say that JR's TED Talk was one of my favorite activities. I had never heard of this idea before, and I thought it was really amazing! I thought it was neat to see him turn from illegal graffiti to multifunctional art! I thought that the comparison portraits of Palestinians and Israelis were very interesting and tied very well into our next topic! I can't believe that the people in the film couldn't distinguish between the two, but still hated the opposite culture! How can you hate someone if you don't even know who they are?!? I think that goes to show the ridiculousness of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict!

                On Friday, the "official grant guru" came in to talk to us about writing grants. We didn't really have a chance to discuss our thoughts in class since we ran up to the bell. Before Friday, I didn't really have a good idea as to how complex grants are! I knew they were long, but I didn't know that there were extremely strict guidelines! I also didn't know that you could go to jail if you didn't fulfill your idea!!! I thought that she had a ton of valuable information, as well as many new ideas and resources that could help us with our projects.
 
III.
               After a lot of talk about JR and is art projects, I am curious as to what he is to now? What is his next big idea?

Please stay tuned for the answer next week!

Sources

Inside out project. (2011, April 9). Retrieved from http://platinumcheese.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/riojr2.jpg

Inside out project:a global art project. (2011, April 9). Retrieved from http://www.insideoutproject.net/ 

Photo gallery. (2011, April 9). Retrieved from http://www.soundandfuryfilm.com/sixyears/index.php?section=photos 

Promesses. (2011, April 9). Retrieved from http://www.cinemagora.co.uk/ movie-4143-promises.html 

ASL, Deafness, and Implants... Oh my!

Journal 3-9

I.
               Last week after a lot after a lot of talk about the Deaf community, I was very curious about the deaf population. I wondered how many people in this world are deaf? After much research the answer has been found!
               There are over 250,000,000 deaf or hard of hearing people in the world, and  there are over 16,000,000 deaf or hard of hearing people in America! That's a lot of people!

Here is an interesting graph I found!

II.
               Unfortunately I was not in school last week, so I missed an entire week of Ethic's Class! (Consequently this journal entry will be in a slightly different format.) On my own though, I finished watching Sound and Fury and Sound and Fury 6 Years Later. Both of these documentaries were very informative, as well as entertaining!

               After watching the last 15 minutes of Sounds and Fury, I was partially satisfied and partially angry. As mentioned in my last blog, I totally support cochlear implants. I think that they are a great resource for deaf children, and they provide unlimited opportunities in the future. I was very glad that one family decided to get their children implanted, and I was even more excited to see the results! It was truly touching to see the young boy hear for the first time! I was, however, upset that Heather was denied an implant, even though she wanted one. I could almost feel her pain as her potential future was stripped away from her! It was absolutely devastating!

                After that documentary, I also watched the sequel. When I figured out that Heather received her implant, I was so excited for her! I was so happy!!! I was even more shocked when I learned that her mother also got one, even after her protest 6 years earlier. It was amazing to see Heather learn to talk and hear like a normal child! Even though her voice does sound a little strange at some points, she has progressed so much since we saw her in the last documentary! This sequel documentary clearly supports the implants and shows all of the benefits of having one. I was also happy that it made the point that implanted children easily and cohesively lived in both the deaf and hearing worlds, which was a big issue before. All in all, both of these films were by far the best documentaries that we have watched thus far!

III.
               After watching both Sounds and Fury and the sequel, I am very curious as to how the Artinians are doing today?

Please stay tuned for the answer nest week!


Sources

A hearing person. (2010, October 8). Retrieved from http://journeyindeafculture.blogspot.com/
Clements, S. (2007, November 15). About us. Retrieved from http://deafworldmissions.blogspot.com/

Photo gallery. (2011, April 4). Retrieved from http://www.soundandfuryfilm.com/sixyears/index.php?section=photos 

 Welcome to soundandfuryfilm.com!. (2011, April 4). Retrieved from http://www.soundandfuryfilm.com/sixyears/