Your Commentaries on "Home" videos

Quick update Mon. 4/9: you should post your responses to each video on the same page as the video itself: you will notice a white box beneath the video that says, "Enter your comment. . . " so go ahead and post the comments there.  Remember to add your name to the bottom of the comment, since some people have signed on to the blog with a different name.

You will notice that all the Photo / Video Essays on "Home" are now posted in the new column to the right.  In most cases, your PowerPoint photo essays were converted to a very brief movie and then uploaded to YouTube.  For each video, I used the following settings:

• Unlisted (not public, but available to anyone with the link)
• Comments option:  off
• Ratings option:  off
• Embedding option:  on

I identified each video by the student's first name and last initial.  If any of those YouTube settings need to be fixed, if I didn't list your name correctly, or if you're listed with the wrong Discussion Group, just email me at jgarrett1@une.edu to let me know.  Also, if you added a soundtrack to your essay that somehow did not "translate" when it was converted the video, I'm afraid I don't know how to fix that.  If you would simply like to create a new version of your video, upload to YouTube, and then send me the new link, I'll embed the updated video. 

Here are the guidelines for your responses to the videos (posted earlier on the original assignment page).  Please post your response by Mon. April 9:

• once all the photo and video essays are up, all students will write a two-paragraph formal response to (at least) one of the other visual essays; begin this response by trying to describe the location and images depicted in the visual essay; then analyze those images by responding to a few of the questions below:
• compare and contrast this photo/video essay to your own idea of “home,”
• what kinds of figures populate this representation of home (if any)? why do you think the student sequences the images in this way?
• what do these images tell you about the notion of belonging and not belonging?
• how do ideas about gender roles relate to these images?
• has this person’s home shifted places, and if so, what does that mean?
• how does this person’s idea of home compare and contrast with stereotypical mainstream images of the ideal “American” home?
• how does the idea of home contrast with the public sphere / public spaces?
• is home a safe space?  or a dangerous space?
• how has this visual essay transformed your own sense of what “home” means?
• complete your response by offering a question or two that the visual essay raises for you 
• then "sign" your response with your name at the bottom (first and/or last)
• when you write your first response commentary to be counted for this assignment, you need to choose a visual essay that does not have any responses yet
• remember that these are very personal portraits that other students are offering, so your comments should be thoughtful and constructive in tone.   
• if your group members would like to contribute additional commentary and discussion after that first round, that would be great but is not required; the original producers of each video are welcome to respond to any of the commentaries and questions posted about their videos at any point in the discussion
• once you've completed your "2-paragraph formal response" to one of the videos, you can of course comment or respond to the other videos more informally if you like!

I Hotel: 2nd reading

This reading brought the whole last section to the peak, when Ben and Olivia got married. Historically their marriage was shown to parallel the same days when Ferdinand Marcos became dictator of the Phillipines, which is where Ben is from. This reading goes through their marriage in detail, including their vows and then moves into Olivia's pregnancy. However, it then jumps back to the beginning of the first reading, when Malcolm, who could possibly be named after Malcolm X, is three years old. This passage ends with Olivia dying of cancer and Ben crying into her hair.

I think the main reason why we experienced the story of Olivia and Ben was because they represent the 'marriage' of two races, or nations, as did their revolutionary movement. These two people represent all the different opinions, backgrounds, ideas, brains and love that goes into a revolution, and all the hardship that comes with it and must work through to come out with what is wanted in the end.

I Hotel: 296- 341 First Reading

While reading this section, I found it very different from the first reading of I Hotel. I found this reading much more easy to follow, mostly because there were less characters, the major ones being only Olivia and Ben. Also, their story acted as a pathway for the story about the revolution which made the whole story easier to follow in comparison to the first reading where there were multiple main characters and their stories were very brief, only one section each. Their relationship was fun to read and although it did help with the chronological play of events happening historically, I also found it a good insight to how these revolutionaries were living, especially in the first section when they are running from the "red squad". In this reading, I was able to understand more of what they were protesting as well, and where their core values and ideals came from, Marx, Lennon, Mao, and Malcolm X. I have never read any of these famous people's ideas and words, and found the quotations from each very insightful of the means they wish to find in the end. Whereas in the first reading it was mostly all stories of their oppression, which is important to understand, and continues on in this reading when a chapter was devoted to stories of various women and their male relationships. However, I found this reading more important to read to understand the political side of everything instead of simply being in the mind of the opressed, and what they wish to acheive out of this revolution.

Yamashita, p. 343-369 - Post 2

I really enjoyed the second part of the reading for this week. Although it was predictable, the fact that Olivia and Ben got married was rather cool. The passage that I'm interested in looking into further for this week is on page 355. It is the scene in which Ben and Olivia are playing the piano for each other at their wedding festivities. They are quipping and jabbing at each other, as they have throughout the entire reading. This time, thought, the jabs are full of love and care. They are playful. It made me think of Olivia and Ben's conflict throughout the story, and how they were attempting to analyze another conflict concurrently, the war. Olivia and Ben were able to find love in each other, whereas that this rarely seen in war-the two opposing sides usually come to a tragic and ghastly end. Are these two ideas related? Is a war really about love? Love for something that can not be achieved? Love for something that can not be conquered? Love and pain are very related. This was the thought I was left with after the second part of the reading, particularly after what occurred at the end of the novel.

Yamashita, p. 295-342 - Post 1

For the first part of the reading this week, naturally I found the relationship between Olivia and Ben interesting. I particularly found their relationship dynamic while traveling of interest. This weeks reading was a little haphazard in style, similar to last week's, but I found this entry much easier to read and comprehend overall. I also found the dynamics of the story in general simply more interesting. As far as Ben and Olivia's relationship, the most interesting concept for me was that there was so much tension when they were both participating in movements against the Vietnam War. They had a very hostile, but also flirtatious, environment while traveling. Ironically, they were traveling to a peace assembly to stop the way, located in Montreal. 

At first, I thought there was meant to be a sense of confusion. After all, with the war going on and the complicated issues that Olivia and Ben are trying to navigate in regards to their personal interactions and their interactions with the war, maybe this was what Yamashita was trying to create; this sense of confusion. The issues at hand are complicated, and so is the story line. It makes sense. However, I'm sure some may point to the set up of the quotes as furthering this confusion. For me, this seemed to ground me into the reading further. The quotes helped to frame the point of Olivia and Ben's heated conversations. I really enjoyed this. 

I Hotel

While reading this segment of the book I enjoyed it but was confused at all the different stories and where they were all leading. Perhaps we would have had to read the whole book to fully understand all the individual characters' stories and how they all peice together but because we are only reading one section it was strange to read. The segment I enjoyed the most was Ria's section. I felt that her section of the packet had the most purpose because I could understand the whole picture of what her story was like. The stories that came from the male characters were a little more difficult to peice together because they kind of blended together but had some major distinctions. What I find really interesting is how all of these characters are brought together to go to Alcatraz to help out with the Indian occupation. I think it would be interesting to find out the whole story because this packet was such an interesting insight into the book as a whole.

I Hotel-Post # 2

"Funny how a group can be bound by refusal and resistance. Maybe something does get passed along. Could be ghost stories, something in the deep places of your psyche that's always hungry, hungry for intangible things that get defined later. You might go on a quest to find all the answers, but sometimes those ghosts are right there next to you, following you around, holed up inside your being. Then one day, it all gets sweated out" (419).

This passage reminded me a lot of the novel Bone. Leila, the character in this novel, was the person I first thought of upon reading this passage from I Hotel. Throughout the novel Bone, Leila is constantly struggling. Her family is going through so much, and it seems to not get better. It's simply one trial and tribulation after another. Yet, though she is stressed and in many ways negatively affected by her family, it is this despair that keeps them together in a way. She constantly tries to help and find answers; she is constantly searching. Yet, the most profound moments in the novel seem to be when she just figures things out along with her family, as opposed to separating herself from them. The end of our reading of I Hotel surprised me in the sense that I did not think another reading from the previous week would stick out so obviously. This was pretty awesome for me; to be able to really relate to a previous reading.  

I Hotel-Post #1

"Around the fire and after a change of clothing, the storytelling continued. The Indians of All Tribes had a comparative story going on about Turtle Island. It seems like several tribes have a variation of this creation story, how the Earth was born from a tiny plug of soil on the back of a turtle. There are usually three animals who go in search of land. Some say the questing animals were an eagle, a loon, and a muskrat. Others interchange beaver and otter. Others put in for the toad. But there's pretty much some agreement that it was a turtle's back and always some minor amphibious animal who came back to the surface of the water with a precious plug of earth. Maybe it's a creation story, but maybe it's also a story about sacrifice and quest" (381).

This passage address the concept of storytelling that arises frequently in this reading. It's interesting that the story seems to be different, and yet it's also the same. They all have differences, yet their story is the same. It reminds me of the reading of Citizen 13660. In this novel, the graphics did such a great job at conveying the universal experience of the Japanese Interment. The author did a great job conveying how everyone felt. Yet, the experience was delivered through her own lens of her own experience. So, her explanation and feelings about the occurrences during this time were also individual. Both examples (from I Hotel and from Citizen 13660) allow us to see how individual experiences can differ, but also how they can mold into one universal experience for a group of people all experiencing the same event. It's a great concept.

Responding to "Home" Photo Essays

Hi everyone -- it is going to take another week or so to get all the Photo Essays posted (and remember to email your file or link to jgarrett1@une.edu, rather than posting it here).

When all the videos are up and ready for viewing and comments, we will let you know.

Thanks!
Julia Garrett