Prompt for Gianetti and Your Film Narrative

Read the excerpt from Giannetti. Imagine that your narrative film is finished. Work individually on this blog post (rather than in the group that is making the film) Using the image and caption pieces in Giannetti as a template (i.e. JFK, Welcome to Sarajevo, etc) name your film, with you as director, and write an overview and description. The blog post should include a description of the film, the way that the film depicts the cause, the impact it might have. Did the story serve the cause? Include an image.*

While using the facts of your research you may be creative here. The title and images used in this post may not be ones that are ultimately used by your group.

200 words minimum
* note that you can not upload an image with the comment, so you will need to post this week, not comment.

Learning Journey Towards Universal Change

Throughout this learning journey in the book Walk out, Walk On, each chapter is comprised of direct experiences inside related communities. The authors, Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze also observe and draw attention to major issues of the community. In each chapter there is insight to what’s going on in other communities and this leads in to a reflection portion which closes each chapter. The authors chose this set-up because they felt that the stories and experiences of communities would help the audience to feel immersed in the experiences of the people. They also felt as though their observations would bring attention to major issues that these communities have overcome or are dealing with, and provide insight to the wider society, as these are challenges that, in some way or time, relate to every community. Other communities are highlighted in order to give additional examples of shared beliefs to achieve amazing outcomes. After reading these first two journeys the reflection element is the most effective to me as it stimulated personal reflections in me.

The first guiding question that I chose to address was, what is community? To me, community is when a group of people unite and live in agreement and peacefulness with each other. The community share a common vision which allows for this harmonious backbone to their social fabric. For example, in Mexico the Mesoamerican civilization “have created and re-created their culture, adjusting to foreign pressure by assimilating some practices and spitting others back out” (p.23). These practices are what have essentially brought a great diversity of people together, which in turn relates to the meaning of community. In Brazil, we also get an immediate sense of community through the revelation of the warriors without weapons group, “sixty warriors stand in a circle...sixty warriors reach around the circle to grab the closest right ankle that hovers nearby...sixty warriors advance toward the center of the circle until you are standing shoulder to shoulder” (p51). The idea of this narrative truly demonstrates this sense of community also.

Another guiding question that sparked my interest in relation to the readings was, why is community important? In the opening paragraphs of the story in Mexico it is revealed that the Zapatista, Omlec, and Mayan/Tzotzil have come together to “live in harmony with many other ethnic groups that share our fertile highlands. Our languages are different. But we honor one another’s culture. My land and culture are rich - no matter that you tell me I am poor” (p 22). The image of this statement is truly moving because these people have not only made a meaningful connection to one another by disregarding their differences, but even more so, they have an expansive understanding of the world and the land that they live upon which highlights that community brings mutuality in all areas of community life. In Brazil, the way of the warriors invites people of all cultures to come together and make a change in global society, “do you want to play at transforming the world? Everybody wants to and can change the world! It can be done with play, with a free spontaneous spirit, without suffering, and with confidence that your efforts will make a difference” (p52). The community established by the practices of the warriors is the reason in which they are so dedicated to their mission and is what fuels them through their journey.

The final guiding question that I addressed was, how do we use information for social change? In Mexico we saw the example of the RASA team who established water pumps powered by bicycles and who aim to “connect urban gardeners throughout Oaxaca who are learning how to produce food through back-yard and rooftop gardens” (p26). The education and innovative inventions that the RASA teams have established, have not only provided breakthroughs for urban agriculture but have caused social change, as people in the community now have the “right to decide for themselves what they eat and have the ability to produce it” (p26). In the story of the warriors without weapons, one observation that I made was how information can clearly draw the separation between people within a community. “More than fifty million Brazillians - approximately 32% - live on less than $2 a day. Most of them are scattered among the slums that emerge wherever the marginalized population of Brazil can find a place to erect their haphazard shelters” (p56). This information is undoubtedly something that calls for change and in response the warriors group have really reached out to these people and areas in order to implement social change for the better.

The idea of scaling across in Mexico is one that I think would be highly beneficial if adopted within the Canal community. “Scaling across happens when people create something local and inspire others who carry the idea home and develop it in their own unique way” (p36). After being involved with the participatory research within the wider community and carrying out interviews with organization leaders, something that has become more observant to me is the small local changes these groups are trying to achieve through the services they provide to the community. They in their own way are “scaling across,” using information gathered from community members to identify social needs, and taking that information to help implement change. Other local communities within the Marin County area are also doing the same thing in their own way, which is where I draw the connection between scaling across and these community organizations. At the same time, another way I have looked at this question is by this local community fostering the idea of generating power using bicycles. Majority of the population that reside in the Canal area are low income families, and this innovative strategy could help lower power costs and other associated costs for these families, which could overall make a huge difference in their lives. When one thing is working for one family, other families will see this and buy into the idea also.

-- Taki Te Koi

Power of Information

1.     The book is structured in an imaginative way.  Many adjectives are used to illustrate what is going on.  For instance, on page 24, the narrator states, “Walk four blocks to the right.  Turn right at Azucenas.  Three-quarters of a block down on the left-hand side, you’ll find a former private home painted terracotta brown that has high windows with metal bars.  Go inside.  Welcome to Universidad de la Tierra, Unitierra for short.”  The narrator is using specific details to help me as the reader imagine what is going on by painting the location of the story.  The narrative arc of this story relies heavily on illustrating an image for the reader.  In addition, pictures are used to help formulate said images in the reader’s mind.  I think the authors chose this structure to tell the stories of their journeys in communities in order to make it as real to the reader.  By making it real to the reader, it makes the story more authentic.  All of these factors made the reading of these narratives to be most effective.  

2.     What is information? “This is the room where you spend only fifteen minutes every day.  You are cleaning this space, shoveling layers of shit and broken dreams onto pallets and dragging them out into the sunshine.  Our task seems impossible.  We will never finish.  But finishing isn’t the point; this is a daily practice” (page 54).  It is important to understand that making one aware of information is crucial to understand how a society lives.  This quote talks about how it is a daily routine to clean up the said room.  An outsider needs to know that finishing isn’t the point, but that this is reality. 

            Why is information power? “Is it too much? Mexico is like this.  It is not the land you’ve been trained to see: Men with long mustaches wearing sombreros…” (Page 22).  This quote speaks to the question because it represents how information can be interpreted many different ways and that one’s understanding of the information can be interpreted differently by someone else.

            How do we use information for social change? “The only reason change happens on this planet, the only reason change ignites across networks…the only reason these changes happen is because of people” (Page 48).  This quote talks about how the power of information leads to increasing one’s knowledge.  By increasing one’s knowledge, it might just empower said individual to go out there and make a change. 

3. The uniterra concept from Mexico can definitely be used with Bahia Vista. On page 25, it states, “Learners at Uniterra follow a self-directed path.  They choose a topic, find learning partners, and proceed at their own pace.”  I think this method would work best with the older kids as to help them transition to middle school in order to make them independent intellectuals.  

Learning from Past Success

The way the book is structured is very interesting. The style of writing in the introduction is very formal. Soon after though, the writing style becomes more informal, more modernized, and friendlier. I enjoyed the way they painted the picture in our minds for us in the sense that they were very descriptive, yet not overbearing. I believe they chose theses structures to give the readers the feeling they had when they visited these communities. It is hard to tour a person through text, however I believe they did a wonderful job. The most effective narrative for me was the portion about Uniterra. The text painted a picture for me that was as accurate as the picture they provided at the end of the narrative.

What is interconnection? Interconnection is being able to work in a group to progress towards achieving a common goal. "And without the hard work I had already put in, he would not have seen what he could create" (page 61). I chose this quote because in this section Deborah realizes that although the man had disrupted the work she had been doing for the past few days, he had established a more successful method and that wouldn't have been possible without her hard work.

As stated before, I like the concept of the Uniterra taking place in Mexico. I believe that this type of learning could be beneficial to the Canal community and inspire many of the members to put themselves in a learning environment. The only setback of this program is the fact that there is no degree achieved after participation. That segment would have to be changed in some way to help the members get jobs.

Michelle Bella

Step Along for the Journey

1. From how the book is structured, I also see it as a type of journey going from community to community around the world. It is very detailed in the way it presents itself with images, questions, beliefs and gives readers a different type of perspective than most books. I believe that the author chose this kind of structure to tell the stories of their journeys in communities to invite readers along for the ride and keeping them involved. By breaking the fourth wall and talking to the audience, it also helps the readers to understand it better and make connections.

2.
What is community?
"You are welcome here and sent to meet two members of the political council, who will tell you the story of this place--its history, its idealogy, its practices" (33).
Through this quote, it is indicating that the narrator is inviting the reader into their world and helping them understand the base of how their community was formed. The Zapatistas are accepting them as a part of their environment and are telling audience members their story.

How will we tell the story of meaningful connection?
"Before you descend from this misty highland village, the Zapatistas will make one request of you: Will you remember their story? Will you let it remain in your heart and provoke your imagination?" (41).
This quote indicates that the Zapatistas are asking readers to share their story and pass it along so others can also understand their village. By doing so, it will contribute towards giving people a story of meaningful connection.

What makes our lives meaningful?
"But as we get busier, move faster, and generally are more distracted, we often stop noticing that there are other versions of reality. It takes slowing down and reflecting on our experiences to notice that there are many ways to live life, to understand situations, to solve problems" (42).
When you calm down and appreciate your experiences, you'll be able to understand the meaning of life. Many people stress and fail to see these things causing them to freak out and worry about their problems. Its not until a person takes the time to stop and reflect that they'll understand what it means to live life.

3.
One of the strategies used by the community of Brazil that I found most applicable to MCCS would probably be the strategy of SESC or the Social Service of Commerce Center. I feel that this would be best fit because it'd give the kids at MCCS an opportunity to connect on a different and more cultural level. From movements to dances, it brings communities together and I think this would be something awesome for a school like MCCS. "This oasis has magic in it--a magic that beckons people to stop by, to contribute, to create something beautiful together" (61).

mending not ending

1) As I was reading it felt as if I was going along with the narrator on a journey in both Mexico  and Brazil, speaking to me the reader and showing adding images  instead of boring descriptions helped me understand and interpret these passages better.

2) What makes our lives meaningful?

" Here ,on this tiny parcel of land you discover that there are bicycle powered machines, solar ovens, dry compost toilets, humanure and vermicomposting, rain water catchment systems , small scale urban agriculture, and ecobuilding projects, recycled alternative fuels and even a bit of wind power.pg 27" personal I think this answers the question pretty well, for a small place in San Pablo Etla  they are basically living off the grid, they don't need to go to markets, they have all the power they need, no water from big corporations, no power from privatized power plants, its personally what I would want to be able to do except here in America, this place is a wonderland of going green and recycling, mending instead of ending.


Why is information power?

Information is powerful in so many ways, to some it can start a revolution, to others it can open doors to new technologies." We dont want to waste time reinventing the wheel. but we do need to reinvent the wheel.pg 46" sure living in one uniform way  makes living life simple, you wake up , you follow a certain guided plan invented long ago for living a successful , meaning full life. But what if you don't need to follow the herd, in this bit of the story they are working together with lots of other communities and learning, by communicating ideas, the way humans evolved from simple apes.


how do we use information for social change?

In a world filled with consumerism, we use many of the earth resources with out thinking twice about what goes in to your every day products, and then we just throw them away, but it all goes somewhere.we find it easier to just throw something away if it is broken then to just fix it," Up-cycling is the practice of inventing beautiful, and useful , and surprising products out of waste materials. pg 65" if every one practiced this it would make the earth a better place to live in for  OUR future generations. Learning and inventing ways to reuse old stuff is an interesting idea and can easily change everybody ways if they only knew how they could reuse old waste.

Welcome to the Journey of the Past, Present, & Future

The book is very detailed in the way it is structured. It’s as if it invites you to go on a journey among the seven communities around the world with them. Each community has it’s people with it’s own stories, beliefs, and perspectives. They also incorporate pictures in a couple of pages to let us feel that we are actually on the journey where we sometimes don’t have to imagine what things look like, because they can just show us right there directly.

After reading the first two stories I would say the element of engaging the reader on the journey really made me intrigued into what I was reading. Instead of just knowing that I was reading a text on descriptions of things in Mexico and Brazil, I was able to feel like a tourist for brief moments.

What makes our lives meaningful? “A magic that beckons people to stop by, to contribute, to create something beautiful together” (61). This quote was said about the oasis that is built where children, adults, whoever can come by and drop off gifts, or be involve with what they want to put in the garden.

Why is community important? “They tell you about the school, where the lessons have been designed by the community, and the older students become teachers o the younger ones “ (Wheatley 33). This quote stands out as how the community puts together something that can benefit the children of Mexico. There are also other a clinic that offers free treatment and medications listed. There are also places where people can learn things and tell their story through handicrafts.

How will we tell the story of meaningful connection? “The mountains told us to take up arms so we would have a voice. It told us to cover our faces so we would have a face. It told us to forget our names so we could be named. It told us to protect our past so we would have a future” (34). This quote states of how every story always have its wounds (problems) and leaving its scars, but being able to learn from them and creating new influence will mark a new continuation. This gives a meaningful connection for everyone to be involved in.

I think the strategy of the SESC could be adapted in my community that I am working in. The reason why is because a lot of students in schools don’t get the opportunity to have Art as one of their classes, hence the students will never get to express their feelings through the arts of pictures, words, paint, etc. The Oasis game contains a circle dance, and through movements it’s suppose to connect everyone to one another. Relatively to the students at MCCS, I can tell each time I come to my community; it brings the students’ talents out where they didn’t even knew existed.

A Journey

Mckenzi Kerrigan

1. The book is structured like a journey. This is to bring the reader along from community to community with the characters in the events that occur in the various places of the story. Often the reader is directly addressed or spoken to by the narrator to create a sense that the reader is along for the journey being told.

The addition of quotes, pictures and explanation of terms from the author in the narrative allow for greater understanding allowing the reader to make connections and fully follow along with the story without getting stuck on an unfamiliar word or image.

2. What is community? The communities of Mexico were not necessarily all of the same nationality of people who spoke the same language and had the same culture. “They speak many languages and honor many traditions. Their land is sacred, as it is the resting place of their ancestors, and they will organize to sustain it – which at times means they must fight, and at times means they must become invisible” (Wheatley, Frieze 23). What made them a connected community was the desire to sustain the land in which they thrived.

“We tinker. We invent. We dream and we imagine and we make believe until its time to go out there and build the world we dream” (Wheatley, Frieze 59). The communities of Brazil were formed by the collaboration of all different types of people and all different communities that come together to create and build what their communities need and want for the betterment of all their members.

Why is community important? “What does work is when teams from one organization travel to another and, through that experience, see themselves more clearly, strengthen their relationships, and renew their creativity” (Wheatley, Frieze 35). Community is important because they imagine and create within the community and also feed off of the ideas of other communities in order to become successful. They are not built off of a single story so to say, communities are built from all different experiences and stories that help to incorporate different strategies for the best chance at learning and developing.

“…that reminds you how much more is possible when you have a whole community standing with you” (Wheatley, Frieze 53). Community is also important because there is strength in numbers.  Shown in this quote from the Brazil communities’ story, the possibilities of being heard are much greater when there are multiple voices shouting for the same cause.

How do we use information for social change? “This is scaling across: releasing knowledge, practices, and resources, and allowing them to circulate freely so that others may adapt them to their local environment” (Wheatley, Frieze 32). Information can be used to educate people about the environment and community they live in in order to contribute and adapt to it.

“Like Brazil’s fruit, nobody knows exactly how many favelas there are or how many people live in them. What we do know is that their growth is also relentless, and that there are enough of them to assume that when it comes to transforming life in a favela, no one is coming to help” (Wheatley, Frieze 56). Although all of the facts of a situation may not be known, any information of a circumstance should lead to questioning and discovering what can be done to change a negative situation.

3. The strategy of Daniel who traveled from place to place teaching the youth of the villages how to build bicimolino, a bicycle powered mill, from a few photos and concepts instead of an entire and detailed instruction manual. This way the communities knew how to build the model, but also had plenty of room to adapt and improve them. This allowed the communities to alter the machines to suit their specific needs like described in the Barefoot Movement (Wheatley, Frieze 31).  I think that this is a wonderful strategy that can be implemented in any community and have a great chance at success because it allows people to take an idea and adapt it for their specific community needs and continue to make it better and teach others about it around them. 

Prompt: Walk Out Walk On

In Walk On Walk Out, read pp. xv-xvii, 22-72

1. What do you notice about the way way the book is structured, about its narrative arc? Why do you think the authors chose this structure to tell the stories of their journeys in communities? After reading these first two journeys which element of the narrative did you find most effective?

2. Look at the Guiding Questions for the Colloquium on the course syllabus. Find places in the narrative journeys that speak to these questions. Pick at least one question from each of the underlined what categories in the Guiding Questions on the second page of the syllabus. Cite a minimum of one reference from the communities in Mexico and Brazil for each question.

3. Imagine one of the strategies used by one of these communities - Mexico or Brazil - and how that strategy could be replicated or adapted in the community in which you are working.

The Vast Bias in Reading

I feel that I often do not judge characters in books as harshly as if I were to meet them in person. Daisy Miller definitely acted in questionable ways for the time and place she was in, but all-together, I did not think of her as evil or a horrible person, just naive, immature, and ignorant. I saw her as a young, flirtatious, possibly overly confident American girl. While these traits can be looked at in negative light, I think that she was, in a way acting as she had been socialized, and also rebelling in her young age to explore and make decisions as she wanted. Nafisi definitely sees Daisy is more a positive light than some of her students, and although I do not wish to speak as if I know what living in Iran is like, I feel a certain connection and guidance by Nafisi and respect her ideas about Daisy, especially considering the times and place she was in. To Nafisi, Daisy “defies the conventions of her time…and refuses to dictated to” (p.194). It was even more insightful when Nafisi said that Daisy was “more complicated than the later, more obviously revolutionary…because [she] made no claims to be radical” (p.195). This totally contrasts with one of her male students perspectives in which he thinks “Daisy Miller is a bad girl…reactionary and decadent…our own revolutionary women are those who defy the decadence of Western culture by being modest” (p.195). This is interesting to consider. On one hand, this student is entitled to his opinion, and the other, it is that of a male-- a voice, which in Iran, generally dictates so much of what people think is popular opinion. However, Nafisi also provides the journal entry of one of her female students, who seems to dislike Daisy and thinks of James like Satan, in that he “creates sympathy for a sinner like Daisy…” (p.199). But, then again, one student Mitra writes that “she envied Daisy’s courage” (p. 200).Nafisi also points to the idea that some readers may change opinions, possibly as part of the narration or goal of the book. “My former students went back to there ‘mistakes’ about Daisy Miller in their writing and conversations” (198). Like her students, I think all of us may judge or feel a certain way about the characters, until we are possibly shocked by the death at the end and then we reconsider our harshness in feeling guilty or ashamed to have judged now that it’s all over. Some of Nafisi’s students had to go through this. This touches on the idea of a believing a single story.

In various sections, Nafisi regards the idea of stories, narratives (and other art features like film) as being a way for her people to escape, use their imagination, and discover truth. Nafisi suggests that James’s writings are always around a struggle for power. “The struggle for power is rooted in the central’s characters resistance to socially acceptable norms…” (p. 213). In one conversation with a student, Nafisi discovers her students really do care about the “trials and tribulations of a plain, rich American girl…They care even more” (p.221). I think this is touching on the idea that Daisy’s character is much more explorative and significant of larger themes that the reader does not realize until later. James makes his heroes and heroines to “all make mistakes, harmful mostly to themselves. Their mistakes become essential to their development and maturity” (p.223).  All these ideas of exploration are important to students in war-stricken Iran. It acknowledges human nature- good and bad—but also explores the idea of societal/cultural norms and how they can or cannot be successfully challenged or undermined. I would guess, that especially the female students, gained a new perspective not otherwise accessible through the literature and conversations. I would hope that they were also inspired to feel comfortable, courageous, or just okay with exploring their own opinions, biases, wants/needs inside their societal norms and within their true selves.

Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover

When I first read the story of "Daisy Miller", I judged the character, Daisy, in a negative way because of the aspect that the other characters in the story were seeing. Daisy Miller was her own unique person, and that was why Winterbourne was determine to have her as his lover, because she was different than other people. Nafisi describes how Winterbourne thought she was just "a dazzling mystery at once too difficult and too easy to solve" (Nafisi 195). She was not scared to take risks, independent, yet unaware of what was around her and why people said the things that they did. When Nafisi's story was told, Daisy, instead of being this childish lady that would just be a flirt with any man that comes by, Daisy was a lady with so much courage, and determination that separated her from the norms. Her student's interpretations of Daisy were harsh and blunt because many of these students "were more practical and did not under what the fuss was all about" (195). They wouldn't understand "why did Daisy tease Winterbourne so?" (195) Specific students, such as Mr. Ghomi, had a "defensive and irritating" tone towards Daisy Miller. He stated that she is " obviously a bad girl' she is reactionary and decadent" (195).

These interpretations from the students were just merely from how they were raised and what society had brought upon them. Personally, my judgment wasn't as hashed as some of the students felt, but I did have a negative vibe. Growing up an Asian family, I was more prone to always respect your family, don't ever talk back, and reserve yourself to just one man. Even though I may not come off strongly about it, because I try to not let my judgments get to me by knowing someone.

I eventually at the end did understand that Daisy was actually a hero in the story. She was a type of Mimi, you can say, where she was innocent and felt that at least she was making herself happy, and living the life she wanted, and not live by the government or how society says she suppose to live and act like. They were leaders and not followers, and relative to Nafisi and her students, she could open new doors and views to the world.

It is natural that in reality, when something is different comes into place; it takes awhile to get used to. Whether it would be a new hairstyle, new look, new way to talk, new way to walk, or even new way to act, it needs to be adapted and accepted into society, and then people could view it into a more positive way. With Daisy at first, the students were bickering, especially after a student's view of what he felt. What students couldn't view was that she brought new ideas, ways of acting, and bringing the theory that we don't always have to follow what the society tells you. We need to make our own paths and regulate ourselves. Happiness is the key, even though sometimes it doesn't fit into the norm, It can benefit someone later.

Daisy Miller has the power to influence Nafisi and her students by teaching them to step out of their comfort zone and making themselves happy. The single story effect was brought by society as a negative aspect, and would only allow students to see it in a different bad way. Since it was banned from Iran, it already had a bad first impression. However, the story at the end, after some interpretations and analyzing it down, it had a deeper meaning. Single stories are should to be looked upon cautiously, because sometimes people would just easily judge a book by its cover.

Power to the Females

Nafisi’s story of Daisy Miller is vastly different from the story I read and understood.  When I read Daisy Miller initially, the titular character came off as assertive, entitled, and unrefined.  However, Nafisi describes Daisy Miller as some sort of heroine, noting how she was “revolutionary” during her time period.  When one of Nafisi’s students, Mr. Ghomi, adamantly expresses his disdain for a character like Daisy Miller, the female students privately went up to Nafisi after class and expressed to her that they didn’t agree with him.  They had to go to Nafisi privately because they live in a society where women cannot speak up for themselves.  Additionally, they tell Nafisi that they appreciate her class as they are learning about female characters they aspire to be.  They admire Daisy Miller for her courageousness about marching to the beat of her own drum.  So, when the students found out that the story did not end with Daisy’s death, they were puzzled.  They didn’t understand why they story had to continue on without her and with the male Winterbourne.  One of the students actually pointed out that her death could have been a nice way to end the story for all the parties involved.  Mr. Ghomi, however, found that she had to pay for her sins, implying that ending the story with Daisy’s death would only glorify her.

My new understanding of the truth is that Daisy Miller can be seen as a heroine.  Although her ways are unorthodox, she is still admired for standing on her own two feet.  This is important for Nafisi and her students because they need to know that there are people like Daisy out there in the world that are not afraid to speak their own mind. Learning about another perspective of the Daisy Miller story tells me the dangers of a single story.  I found Daisy Miller to be this spoiled rich wannabe initially.  However, after reading Nafisi’s story, I can see how she can also be seen as a role model for those who don’t know or can’t stand up for themselves.