This is the first movie I have ever created in my entire life! It was quite an experience since it was the first time I had ever had worked with any video editing programs before. I have worked with a lot of music editing software before but never video. My experiences with working with a Mac and imovie definitely had its ups and downs. When I first started to try an edit video it was very frustrating since I have never worked with any of the programs before, but once I got the hang of it I had a lot of fun with it. After working on this project I would really enjoy to go out on my own time and make some more movies. So here is my first movie I hope you enjoy!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
JPNA Artist Statement
As I began to put together my photograph essay in regards to the JPNA service area, I began to develop into being a more cultured citizen in general from my personal experiences while working on my JPNA service photo essay. I learned many unique and interesting things not only about the Johnsons’ Park Neighborhood but also inner city Milwaukee as well. I also got a general sense of the kind of people that live, work, and volunteer in and around Johnsons’ Park Neighborhood. Lastly I received a greater understanding of my own camera as instrument of investigation through the process of putting together this Photo Essay.
How I put together my Photo essay was by first doing a little research on the Johnson’s’ Park Neighborhood association website to get a feel and understanding for the neighborhood. Then I proceeded to take a trip down to Johnsons’ Park Neighborhood to observe and explore the area after or meeting with George Lewis. Our meeting with George Lewis also gave me some valuable information about the Neighborhood in that I didn’t have before I went. I then took the information I had gathered and digested it before I proceeded on my second trip to take pictures.
To be completely honest I was unsure of what to expect out of Johnsons’ Park before I took my trip down there as I had never been there before and also because I heard it was not one of the best neighborhoods in Milwaukee. But I have to say that it was one of the most unique and interesting neighborhoods I have ever been to. I had never seen brand new housing that was built in the inner city before let alone such nice housing. The neighborhood also seemed like a relatively peaceful as well where as a couple blocks away did not seem like the best place to be, this in and of its self speaks to Milwaukee’s unique nature.
Even though I did not see to many people walking around Johnson’s’ Park Neighborhood I sill got a sense of the kind of people who lived in and around this neighborhood. I could tell that these people took great pride in their neighborhood and that they were general close to one another. They also seemed like very clean people because ever single home was well groomed and well kept. They also seem to like small business owners as well since I didn’t see one single large chain store in the area; they like to keep their money in their community.
All in all this entire photo essay project helped me have a greater understanding about Johnson’s’ Park Neighborhood and the people who live there and should be a good base for me to start my final media literacy project.
How I put together my Photo essay was by first doing a little research on the Johnson’s’ Park Neighborhood association website to get a feel and understanding for the neighborhood. Then I proceeded to take a trip down to Johnsons’ Park Neighborhood to observe and explore the area after or meeting with George Lewis. Our meeting with George Lewis also gave me some valuable information about the Neighborhood in that I didn’t have before I went. I then took the information I had gathered and digested it before I proceeded on my second trip to take pictures.
To be completely honest I was unsure of what to expect out of Johnsons’ Park before I took my trip down there as I had never been there before and also because I heard it was not one of the best neighborhoods in Milwaukee. But I have to say that it was one of the most unique and interesting neighborhoods I have ever been to. I had never seen brand new housing that was built in the inner city before let alone such nice housing. The neighborhood also seemed like a relatively peaceful as well where as a couple blocks away did not seem like the best place to be, this in and of its self speaks to Milwaukee’s unique nature.
Even though I did not see to many people walking around Johnson’s’ Park Neighborhood I sill got a sense of the kind of people who lived in and around this neighborhood. I could tell that these people took great pride in their neighborhood and that they were general close to one another. They also seemed like very clean people because ever single home was well groomed and well kept. They also seem to like small business owners as well since I didn’t see one single large chain store in the area; they like to keep their money in their community.
All in all this entire photo essay project helped me have a greater understanding about Johnson’s’ Park Neighborhood and the people who live there and should be a good base for me to start my final media literacy project.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Final Media Project Proposal
For my final media project I plan on working with Mr. George Lewis on interviewing number long-term residents of JPNA's service area and create an archive of different residents on how the dynamic of their neighborhood has changed over time. Through researching the history of the neighborhood I can then develop questions to ask them. What they think about the new changes in the neighborhood? What they thought about the Neighborhood in the past. Hopefully though the interview process we can develop a good archive that Mr. George Lewis can use to show others the great progress JPNA has made in the community.
Picture taken from JSonline.com article
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/33703424.html
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
What is American Identity?
Since our nations founding in 1776 immigrants who moved to the United States have always sought to fit in and become “Americanized”. What exactly is the American identity and who exactly gets to decide what really is American or not? Even though many Americans probably think they have a good understanding of race, many of their ideas are vastly different from one another and many confuse it with ethnicity or nationality as well as cultural differences (Bensheoff & Griffin 47)(1). I would argue that there has been a long standing view that “American” is white and middle class but this view has been mostly made up by the white middle class. A great example of this is from photographs of non-whites who are trying to fit in to the white American culture because they believe that is what is truly American.
A photograph that is
really evident of this kind of thinking is History and Memory (Rea Tajiri 1991). The photograph shows a man and women of Asian decent (most likely Japanese) standing in front of the American Flag. The Photograph appears to be from the 1940s-1950s given clothing as well as being in black and white. We know at this time in American history Asian-American were viewed as enemies to America given the fact that World War II was occurring or had taken place as well as the Korean War that took place in the 1950s. It’s clearly evident that the individuals in this photograph are trying to look like they are part of the white suburban middle class (even though they most likely aren’t) due to the their average American attire rather than Asian inspired garb. This along with the American Flag proudly standing erect in the background reinforces this. Many Americans themselves were trying achieve the American dream during the period of the 1940s-1950s because that’s what many people thought was the ideal reality during this period.
The second photograph The Ohio Project (Nikki S. Lee 1999) depicts another sid
e of the American culture then the one depicted in History and Memory. The woman still appears to be trying to live the American dream with her bleach blond hair and her white husband. The comfortably dressed couple in the photograph proudly sit in their home next to what they feel is the American flag. Instead of being properly and strictly placed in front the flag they slouch next to it and are flanked with their mountain dew, potato chips and embracing a shot gun. Honestly, what is more modern American than this picture? This is the America of today, this what many see as living the American dream. Even though this picture may be a staged photograph when it’s introduced to us we most often preserve it as “incontrovertible proof that this event took place in a particular way and in a particular place” there for speaking the truth in a direct way to us (Sturken & Cartwright 17)(2). Just to be in America is enough for many immigrants (as well as many natural born Americans for that matter); they feel it is more than their mother country can give them. This is in stark comparison to what was the American dream was of the past.
The American dream of the past was a cookie cutter home on a suburban street with a dog in the backyard and two children in the home with an apron-clad wife cooking dinner in the kitchen. Today’s American dream is to live comfortably, eat well, and to have a roof over your head and for many just get by. But who really decides what image of America is more American?
Works Cited
1) Benshoff, Harry M. and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality at the Movies. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009
2) Sturken, Marita and Lisa Cartwright. Practices of Looking: An introduction to Visual
A photograph that is
really evident of this kind of thinking is History and Memory (Rea Tajiri 1991). The photograph shows a man and women of Asian decent (most likely Japanese) standing in front of the American Flag. The Photograph appears to be from the 1940s-1950s given clothing as well as being in black and white. We know at this time in American history Asian-American were viewed as enemies to America given the fact that World War II was occurring or had taken place as well as the Korean War that took place in the 1950s. It’s clearly evident that the individuals in this photograph are trying to look like they are part of the white suburban middle class (even though they most likely aren’t) due to the their average American attire rather than Asian inspired garb. This along with the American Flag proudly standing erect in the background reinforces this. Many Americans themselves were trying achieve the American dream during the period of the 1940s-1950s because that’s what many people thought was the ideal reality during this period. The second photograph The Ohio Project (Nikki S. Lee 1999) depicts another sid
e of the American culture then the one depicted in History and Memory. The woman still appears to be trying to live the American dream with her bleach blond hair and her white husband. The comfortably dressed couple in the photograph proudly sit in their home next to what they feel is the American flag. Instead of being properly and strictly placed in front the flag they slouch next to it and are flanked with their mountain dew, potato chips and embracing a shot gun. Honestly, what is more modern American than this picture? This is the America of today, this what many see as living the American dream. Even though this picture may be a staged photograph when it’s introduced to us we most often preserve it as “incontrovertible proof that this event took place in a particular way and in a particular place” there for speaking the truth in a direct way to us (Sturken & Cartwright 17)(2). Just to be in America is enough for many immigrants (as well as many natural born Americans for that matter); they feel it is more than their mother country can give them. This is in stark comparison to what was the American dream was of the past. The American dream of the past was a cookie cutter home on a suburban street with a dog in the backyard and two children in the home with an apron-clad wife cooking dinner in the kitchen. Today’s American dream is to live comfortably, eat well, and to have a roof over your head and for many just get by. But who really decides what image of America is more American?
Works Cited
1) Benshoff, Harry M. and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality at the Movies. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009
2) Sturken, Marita and Lisa Cartwright. Practices of Looking: An introduction to Visual
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