Thursday, December 20, 2012
Agents of Change
What does the LVR movie Agents of Change show us about social justice? Record as many thoughts as you can, big and small. (Be sure you've watched right to the end.) Are these new ideas? If not, where have you heard them before? Is this film an effective method of demonstrating those ideas? Why or why not?
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I think that ultimately, this movie shows us that the journey of someone advocating for social justice, or social change, is one that is full of trials and tribulations. It is never easy fighting for causes that one cares about, especially if the view of society isn't stacked in your favor. In this film, we saw the main character fight for the environment. This fight wasn't easy though. We saw her become the victim of distrust in the community. We saw her abandoned by her friends because her views were too extreme. We saw her not even be supported by her family until the end of the movie. We saw her struggle! But most importantly, I think we saw her succeed in the face of adversity. This movie showed us that even if odds are not in one's favor, one mustn't go down without a fight.
ReplyDeleteWhat the movie endevored to show us is that the fight for social justice takes planning, affirmative action, and complete and utter conviction in the issue for which you are fighting. We saw the main character devote every waking minute of her days to positive change. We saw her attending protests, planning events in her little hideaway, rallying support—which we saw wasn't easy until the end—and fighting against those who wanted her to throw in the towel. A powerful part of the film, for me, was when the teachers were intent on shutting down the "Occupy the school" movement but the group fought against this opposing power and achieved the results they wished. In terms of the ideas presented, I wouldn't suggest that they are particularly new—fighting for the environment; discrimination (I'm specifically referring to the boy that moved to Nelson from up north), having heard about these issues since I've been young, but the way that they were presented was new and creative. It drew attention to the issue in a cinematically compelling way that encouraged me, at least, to enjoy watching the movie. I didn't feel like I was being preached to, and I feel like issues were presented in an effective way because I became aware of them only subconsciously. I was mainly focussed on the storyline of the film. It was a very effective way of making their opinion made because it's a new and fresh way to present old and..dare I say "outdated" issues.
Anyways, the movie was great: The quality was top notch, the storyline was compelling, and the message was conveyed in a new and engaging manner.
ReplyDeleteI think that ‘Agents of Change’ taught me how hard it can be to make a difference, but how possible it is. We watched the main character struggle throughout the movie. She was trying so hard to convince people to help change an issue, she strongly believed in. It became everything she could think about and her dedication was what made her have success at the end of the movie. I think that you need to have dedication, like she did, in order for change to work. I also think that you cannot make an effective change without a lot of support. If I had a friend, like the main character, I would make sure to give her my full support. Anyone trying to make positive change needs to find someone with the same ideas. Working together as a group makes things a whole lot easier.
The school wide protest, at the end of the movie, showed us how quickly change can occur, ‘once the ball is set in motion’.
This movie has given me many things to think about. New Ideas have come from it because I have been thinking more and more about what I can do to make a difference. I have also never really thought about how bad the oil sands are, so the movie opened my view on them. I think the movie was well done, demonstrated a positive change, and expressed a good message.
I think this movie shows that campaigning for a social justice issue is very challenging. In the movie we saw the main girl lose her friends and support of her family because she was determined to fight for the environment. She didn’t give up even when she had no one supporting her, she kept fighting and eventually it paid off. I think that you really need to be serious about the issue you are fighting for, because it will take everything you can do to be able to succeed.
ReplyDeleteThis ideas aren’t necessarily new, people have been fighting for the environment for a very long time. The way the issue was presented was a new way, they way they presented it made me pay attention because I was focused on the storyline and the facts were integrated into that. I felt like I wasn’t learning boring facts, it felt interesting. Like Denomie, I never really knew how bad the oil sands were, and this movie opened my eyes to that. Overall I think the movie was very well done and expressed the message very well.
"Agents of Change" showed me the trials and tribulations of many social justice activists. This film highlights the true effort it takes to influence changes in people and society, and that change truly can start with a single individual's passion. I love that this film showcased the real local doukhobor activists as Carly’s ancestors. I was reminded how long people have been fighting for change, and that it is my responsibility and privilege to continue influencing change. It made me think that they (the Doukhobors) were protesting for change to take place that would benefit their children, now we must make change to benefit our children. The most effective aspect of this movie, to me, is the fact that so much passion and effort was put into making this film. Although the events in the movie are not real, the social issues, local passion, and teamwork are. The cinematography itself shows the viewer just how much love and effort was put into the film. So as much as I found Carly’s passion inspiring, I found the passion of the students and teachers that came together to make this film even more inspiring. I also found the emotional aspect of all the characters to be accurate. Getting involved in a project as big as “Project Turquoise Snowflake” would be very time consuming. Not everyone would be willing to sacrifice all of their time and energy to the cause.
ReplyDeleteI found this multifaceted film to be very effective in conveying its message. The schools unique way of protesting inspired me to look and see if there were any similar real life situations. I stumbled on the recent story of Sam Harrison, a 16 year old canadian who made a presentation at the Vancouver hearings into the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. His presentation is so inspiring. I think more canadian teens need to be as brave as Sam Harrison, and tell the government just how we feel. As Sam put it,
“The Arctic will melt; the world will experience the next mass extinction,” he said during the review panel. “My generation will have to deal with the consequences. Surely, your generation owes it to us to not make it worse.”
Situations like those that happened in Agents Of Change can and are happening right now all throughout Canada, and I know it’s time to take action.
Here is the link to an article on Sam Harrison, as well as a video of him.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/teen-activist-strikes-nerve-with-statement-to-pipeline-hearing/article8279977/