Day: November 7, 2008

Categories
These Are Those Things

People Power

So many positive things have come out of this election.  

Certainly one of them is my renewed love for email.  It’s been a total thrill to watch different videos go viral.  Whether it’s comics or photos, it’s been a delight to open my email box and see the different expressions people have found to express their delight in the outcome.  I have never seen anything like it and it feels like each one brings us closer together.

I had the pleasure of receiving Charles Stone’s preparation email thoughts as he got ready to shoot and post Wassup 2008, and thus share in the thrill as it became the top viral video of the week.  I loved getting and seeing all the BattlegroundPostcards that Gus Van Sant and other filmmakers shot and posted.  Another friend sent me each video that Lee Hirsch made on Local Voices in Joplin, MO , and when they then got the news that Obama would visit, I felt a wave rush through my body.  Time and time again you saw the people take the media into their own hands and bring change.  Each time I knew the world had changed for the better.  
I didn’t see this video until after the victory.  It may not be by a professional filmmaker, but it captures how fresh this campaign was due to folks doing what they loved and sharing it.  And it proves that everything is always better when delivered with a good sense of humor.

Categories
Bowl Of Noses

What Our Country REALLY Looks Like

By now you might have seen those maps that are done to show how people voted.  You know, the red and blue ones where blue represents Obama and the Democrats, and red represents McCain and the Republicans.  Never mind that in most other countries red usually represents what is called the left and blue usually represents the right, but these maps are confusing for other reasons too.  

Mostly the political maps are confusing because they are drawn for geographical purposes and not based on population (how many people there are).  Geography works for when you have to get from place to place (like walk or ride your bike) but it doesn’t represent people (and how they live or work or vote).  
This is what it looks like when you change the map and draw the states in terms of how many people live where (i.e. make the more popular regions larger).  It shows you how much Americans wanted Obama — a whole lot! (Unless maybe if you live in Texas).

And just to remind you, this is what the map looks like when you forget about what matters most in this world: people.   

If you want to learn more about these maps, you can click here.

Categories
Truly Free Film

Tools: Brave New Theaters

Maybe I am a little late to the game, but thanks to a tip from Zac Forsman, I finally caught up with some of the latest work coming from the Brave New Films revolutionary force.  What a great tool.  As the Brave New Foundation website states:

Brave New Theaters is a website that brings together a global network of screening hosts and filmmakers by providing services to both so they can reach more people. The site will emphasize films with a political message.Filmmakers think their job is to make the film and then someone else will distribute it for them. They dream they will go to Sundance, sign with the Weinstein brothers and win an Oscar. Eventually reality sets in and they realize that if anyone is going to see their film, it’s up to them to make it happen. Brave New Theaters will help these filmmakers reach a diverse audience using the distribution methods that have made the documentaries of Brave New Films a success.