Again, this is not a requirement, but if you do finish the film and have something to say about it, I'd be psyched so post away if you'd like.
No matter what, I can't thank you all enough for your commitment to watching all of the docs and posting your thoughtful comments about them throughout the semester. I'm going to miss this class and our blog, but I hope you'll continue watching - and hopefully making - more documentaries in the weeks, months and years ahead. Thanks again - and post away one more time if you'd like!
American Promise
ReplyDeleteAmerican Promise was a compelling movie that really gave me a different perspective on my education. I grew up in the public school system at very diverse schools, however I always congregated with white people. Which I think is pretty natural, everyone gravitates to people that look like them because it’s comfortable. I never considered what it’s like for black people to go to school with a majority of white people and how that affects your education. The difference in Shay and Idris’ education post middle school is insane. Watching the decline in Shay’s drive to do well was heartbreaking but understanding because most kids go through that. Idris had parents who stayed on top of him relentlessly. Shay’s parents were on top of him to an extent but eventually life got in the way. Who’s to say one student turned out better than the other. As a student Idris clearly got a better education and cared more and eventually got into a better college with a scholarship. It seems as though Shay grew more socially, he could talk to women easily, he had a lot of friends in a lot of different groups of people. And he too got into college. So who’s to say what path is better, it’s all perspective. I loved watching them grow. It was also interesting because they grew up in the same generation as I did and throughout their childhood I could see their interests and the things around them influence that, those influences were the same as mine. Idris asked his mother who Brittney Spears was, Shay was playing Nintendo, eventually Idris had AIM and facebook, all of those things were parallels in my childhood. It was cool to watch them grow up and I was able to relate to a lot of aspects of their childhood.
The structure of the documentary was flawless. I loved how to transitions into the next year were always smooth and simple. It would start with a phone call from the school or a basketball game and you could tell that something was different about the boys. It was also great watching the quality of the cameras grow with the times. At first it felt very home video like and gradually the cinematography became more and more beautiful. It’s a great concept following someone for their entire boyhood. It was easier obviously because the parents were the ones filming but it’s a concept that I would like to explore one day. The result of the parents being the filmmakers is that everything became much more candid. The subjects felt as though they could be more honest. I would consider this doc to be “truthful” because it was all personal. It was intimate. I loved this documentary and I’m glad I watched it. It really moved me and helped me realize all the things my parents did for me and why they did them.