Documentary Pitch!

The other day, while discussing St. Patrick's day plans with a friend, she said, "Well, I'm a Murphy, so you know we have to celebrate!" It got me thinking how we each have an idea of how we should act by where our ancestors came from (or think we came from). So I think it would be cool to interview a bunch of people around campus or in Boise about where their ancestors came from and if it affects them or their identities.

Comments

  1. BballengerMarch 12, 2018 at 9:23 AM

    Hi Kelli,

    I think this has a lot of potential, but you might flesh out the idea a bit more. In general, of course, our identities are, as you note, often shaped by where our ancestors came from. But of the many influences, what are some that most interest you? Which seem particularly troublesome, or raise interesting questions? And what's your stake in this? Do you find that your own ethnic or cultural background is something that appears on your radar from time to time? If so, how? Why do you find interesting about it when it does? One of the things that I find particularly relevant about the general topic is that we are a nation of immigrants, as is often noted, and that idea is increasingly complicated these days. Do you see an angle there?

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 12, 2018 at 9:56 AM

    I really like this idea! It's something we actually hear more than we think, someone doing something because of where their ancestors were from. I think you could find some really good evidence and interviews towards this topic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 12, 2018 at 11:56 AM

    Interesting idea, Kelli. I think this would take you down a path of not only finding out a lot about how people identify based on these things that they are often times several generations removed from but I think you would also find some interesting things on the side of people that don't have much knowledge of a clear background.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownMarch 12, 2018 at 1:35 PM

    This seems like a good start, but how are you going to interject yourself into the story? What, as BB's post states, is your personal investment into this story?

    Do you think much about your cultural heritage? Is it something that is important to you, or--like in Dante's pitch--is it rather the absence of tradition that has made you curious about where people come from?

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownMarch 13, 2018 at 6:39 AM

    I'm curious how much ancestral knowledge survives in the digital age, as I couldn't even tell you my great grandparents names let alone my family history. However, this may just be unique to me, though I still think that family title don't carry the same weight they used to.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on class, and a little bit of life and the secrets of the universe

What an interesting experience watching everyone listening to our nonfiction essays in class. For me, that was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in college--and I've been doing college for 4 years now (I don't want to talk about how I'm not graduating just yet ;) ) It really helped me learn about making something that you are proud of. I've been blessed with just getting by with my work, I'm not a bad writer, so it's pretty easy for me to put minimal effort into an assignment and manage to pass. But this was different: I not only had to write, but also hear myself reading what I wrote. That gave me more of a sense of ownership over what I wrote, but it also gave me a greater sense of vulnerability that I've never experienced before. It's scary stuff that is happening in this class! In regards to genre, I have the "wonderful" opportunity to be taking 3 different writing classes this semester. This one, fiction, and nonfiction. I ...
Read more

Radio Essay: Date from Hell

The flash nonfiction radio essay is an enlightening assignment to the sophomoric writer in the sense that, instead of writing towards a page number, the writer must take extra care to condense and compress their writing down to its basest, most essential elements. The course curriculum so far has done a great job in directing us to think about how to communicate greater meaning with less words. My biggest struggle with the flash nonfiction essay was a fear to truly explore the subject matter I wanted to. Indeed, my first date was ruined by the death of two people who I did not know - and the biggest emotion I felt was a disappointment that the date didn't go the way it seemed it was meant to go. I feared this would paint me in a very selfish light (which, admittedly, it still does), however, the class's reaction to my piece informed me that I really should've pushed the boundaries and taken the risk. In a way, having to compress the language caused me to fear that this me...
Read more

My Thoughts on The Radio Essay (so far)

I’ve been writing for a few years now. I started telling stories and jotting them down before I was 10, but by no means am I (or will I ever be) an expert. I’ve taken quite a few writing classes, but they always teach you the same things: “This is an essay . This is how you outline said essay. This is is how you write said essay.” Those classes didn’t teach me how to be a better writer, only a better bull-shitter. Once you’ve mastered the craft of bull-shittery, there’s not a lot that a typical writing classes can teach you. This is why I was very excited to come upon ‘The Radio Essay.’ The concept of transitioning a written piece into an audio recording astonished me. I had never taken a second to actually think about my pieces being read aloud, nonetheless myself being the reader. After the first assignment, I realized just how complex a spoken story is. It’s much more difficult to write a story that’s meant to be heard. I had to think about my word choice, diction, and senten...
Read more