Blogger, G. (2015, October 27). Learning With Documentary Films: Strategies to Engage Students. Retrieved from https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/global_learning/2015/10/learning_with_documentary_films_strategies_to_engage_students.html

This article helped me to start on the project because I wasn’t originally sure what kind of form of media would be the best to present my information. After a lot of deciding and a few rejected ideas I decided on a form of film because of this article. While it’s not a fact based article, it was helpful in what I needed it for. It gave me the idea and showed me why it might actually be better for the final product that I wanted, which was to engage both younger and older people and teaching them about mental health stigma in an entertaining way.

Corrigan, P. (n.d.). How Stigma Interferes With Mental Health Care. Retrieved January 24, 2018, from http://www.academia.cat/files/425-8237-DOCUMENTHowstigmainterfereswithmentalhealthcare.pdf

This article explains the problems with having a stigma around mental health. Unlike a lot of other articles on similar topics it both has an easy to understand photo that explains the point and explains the information in a professional way. This article is very helpful because it not only explains the immediate problems but also the long term impact of having mental health so stigmatised in society. This is something that I want my documentary to have an impact towards. This document is also fact oriented rather than opinion based, using statistics to prove its points rather than other forms of persuasion.  

Corrigan, Patrick. (2005). On the stigma of mental illness: Practical strategies for research and social change.. 10.1037/10887-000.

This book explains both the problem that society places upon people with mental health and how to start to reverse this stigma. It is an analysis on how to deal with both self stigma and societal expectation. Exploring both the causes along with the impacts everyday people make. While it backs up its information with facts and scientific studies, it does this in an easy to understand way similar to how I want my documentary to be laid out. Having a book like this can start to be a good template for how to gather the information im presenting.      

C. (n.d.). What is Stigma? Retrieved January 24, 2019, from https://www.changeyourmindni.org/mental-health-and-stigma/what-is-stigma

Understanding the problem is the key to being able to fix it. This article explains the problems with stigma in an easy to digest way. Unlike other more complicated articles, this is a quick summary about what a stigma is defined as and real examples. While this article is less helpful for the documentary itself, it was a good starting point to help me understand the articles, books, and videos that have more complex and in depth information that will eventually be synthesized down to the documentary. It was also helpful between it gave me an example of what how to show the information in a way that people will be willing to pay attention.

Don't call me crazy, call me mad. (2016, July 22). Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/podcasts-and-videos/dont-call-me-crazy-call-me-mad

The man being interviewed for this video is a man that has dealt with mental illness all of his life. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It's an interesting experience that a lot of people never get or even begin to understand, so while I’m not focusing on schizophrenia as my entire project it can be very helpful to understand other people's experience for many reasons. This video also lets me see what it looks like both video wise and in terms of what kind of questions and things I should include in my own interviews.  

Ottati, V., Bodenhausen, G. V., & Newman, L. S. (n.d.). Social psychological models of mental illness stigma. Retrieved January 24, 2019, from http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/bodenhausen/OBN05.pdf

This article explains the problems with mental illness being stigmatised. Unlike previous articles, this one further explains on why people believe these different negative stereotypes.  This is important because in order to make an impact on people, you have to understand both what they believe and why they might hold this theory. This can further deepen my understanding of both stigma and the impact that is has on everyday people, but also the impact it has on society as a whole, even going as far as explaining the difference between stigma and discrimination and how they are interconnected but not interchangeable.

U. (n.d.). Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Retrieved January 24, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1489832/

The information present in this article further explains the problems that plague society from the mental health perspective. This article however goes further into depth about the social aspects of the stigma, rather than the impact of the social basis on a single person, as other articles have done. It also goes further into depth about the difference between stereotypes and stigma.  This article also further supports the belief that education can help people's understanding of problems and how to fix them and states studies that further push this argument about how to further fix this issue.

TED. (n.d.). 12 talks on the struggle of mental health. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/playlists/175/the_struggle_of_mental_health

These talks are helping to understand other people's perspective. While the scientific information is very helpful, this playlist also has videos that explain how to start a conversation about something like this, which is very important when you are talking about an important but often personal topic such as someone’s mental health.  I plan on trying to go into detail with a few peoples stories and how that has impacted that and its important that I understand how to do it right since a topic like this is often portrayed wrong and I don’t want to perpetuate bad stereotypes.

Trice, A. (2013, September 11). A Crash Course In Adobe Premiere Pro CC. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5TdzEe5TjI

While this isn’t information pertaining the the documentary itself, it allows me to better understand how to use the resources available to me through the SLA community. I don’t have as much experience with video editing as a whole and using this video, coupled with help from my fellow students and some of the video teachers, I should be able to learn a lot. This should help me get a kickstart on learning a new skill such as this. Learning this skill is a vital part of my project and the primary learning experience of the project.

Wellness, P. S. (2018, March 12). Teen Health: Mental Health. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i9OktVsTWo

This video is a quick and simple explanation of teen mental health and why it matters. It's helpful as shorter version of what I want my documentary to look like. This allows me to better picture and write out the entire product. It is also a good source of a lot of statistics that draw your attention, which are important to try and get people listening to what you have to say, which I personally believe is the hardest part of creating a form of media. It's different than the other articles because of the video aspect. It's not just information, but information in a way I can emulate and learn from.

Introduction

The goal of my essay is to explain how one’s identity is a literacy and how stereotypes based on predictions affect how one views their own identity as well as other people's identity. The essay goes more into depth about sexuality specifically.  The part of the essay that I am most proud of is the third paragraph down. I could improve on allowing my ideas to flow better.

Don’t Judge a Book by It’s Cover

My hands were swinging by my side, the air was cold and there was snow on the ground. The street was loud, booming with crowds of people. I thought that maybe I had heard it wrong. My mind raced with the possibilities of what he could have said, hoping he said something different, praying, as I heard the words run through my brain. The words he spoke tainted the image that I had of him, more than I could have ever imagined.

I was happy not knowing the gleeful ignorance of his misunderstanding when he exclaimed the words “I would not have sex with a bisexual person because of sexually transmitted diseases.” My stunned response led to more rude comments that I would have never expected, unveiling ridiculous stereotypes of a bisexual person, statements such as bi people are whores, and questioning why bisexual people can not commit, or why they cannot choose between heterosexuality and homosexuality.  This is normal for me; my friends and people around me making homophobic, or just generally offensive, jokes at my expense and expecting me to laugh as if my feelings do not matter. It was a few years ago, but the voice still stings in my head, the words, while not important to him, changed the way that I spoke my language.  

The stereotypes that are ingrained in our society allow people to judge a book by its cover, determining one’s value by looking at the outside cover without reading the inside.  People give these stereotypes no second thought, living and breathing based on the judgements that they make.   There is nothing wrong with the judgements, but people can go above and beyond those two dimensional images. It is when you force any one person into the stereotypes where the problem comes up. Forcing people into set images separates them from their identity.

Each person's identity is a language that each person speaks, but it's more than the actual words, it is also made up of the actions, the ideas, and the visual representations of the person. The combination of these aspects is what makes up a person's individual language.

The following quote by James Baldwin in his work, If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? reinforces the idea that people’s language is what makes up their identity and creates the image that people see.  “It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identify: It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public, or communal identity.”  The way people communicate and interact  are tainted by the outside world, the way people look at them and the way you look at yourself are shaped by the the words and views of other people. They can not speak their language because people do not understand it.  

Sexualty is not on a lever where you can switch it from straight to gay, there is a sliding bar of sexualities. Each person fits somewhere on the scale. The people who do not see and understand this look at the world as a black and white image, the vivid color of each person's identity is drained from their view.  It is no different than the different languages people speak. Some people speak English, others speak Spanish and people are judged by how they speak by different groups.

Some people believe that repeated slurs can change a person's perspective of themselves. This can be seen in Gloria Anzaldua’s work, How to Tame a Wild Tongue in the quote,  “Repeated attacks on our native tongue diminish our sense of self.”  It is acceptable to speak a commonly known language that people can learn and understand, but as soon as it's not easy for the majority of people to understand, it is deemed wrong. People may correct those mistakes and attach negative ideas to that correction. Being prejudged and berated erodes a person’s identity of themselves, it creates a society where people are ashamed to speak a language that is not seen as normal. That feeling of the lack of normality leads to the more negative effects, creating a never ending cycle.

Work Cited

James Baldwin,nytimes,New York Times,July 29, 1979,http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/29/specials/baldwin-english.html,

Accessed Dember 8. 2017

Gloria Anzaldua,everettsd,Borderlands = La Frontera.,1987,https://www.everettsd.org/cms/lib07/WA01920133/Centricity/Domain/965/Anzaldua-Wild-Tongue.pdf,Accessed December 8. 2017

I remember how the wooden floor creaks as I put my foot down, the smell of hot Chinese takeout  welcomed into my stuffed-up nostrils. The light from the last bit of the sun going down streams in, beaming off the white, black, and gray countertop, bouncing right back out the other window, but leaving an orange glow to the room. One person crowds the food while the others sit in front of the blaring TV, football storming the whole house as three people cheer and hiss at the winning and losing of their favorite sports team. Rice, splattered sauce, covers the counter, illustrating the frantic attempt to get food during the 30 second commercial breaks. Collecting a plate and utensils, I start my hunt for some food. I first find the spring rolls.  There are three spring rolls in the container, but there are four of us eating. My first thought is to ask if someone has already taken one.  Obviously, I want a full roll for myself, but I didn’t want to cheat anyone out of their portion.  I stroll into the living room, where they are all perched with their food, and stand there waiting until the commercial to ask my spring roll question. A second of silence goes by, then Dad starts screaming at me!  It is hard to understand his pointless, angry, rambling.

I tried to brush off the incident with my father, but it was harder than I anticipated. I’m sure my father has flown off the handle before, but for some reason, this time really had an impact on me.  I think that’s because it actually changed my perception of him.  Prior to that incident, I thought my father was perfect.  I mean, obviously nobody is “perfect”, but I thought he was the laid-back, patient father I had always known.  After a few days, I got over it, but it's not the moment itself that mattered, it was the change in my perspective, the moment of realization. Now that moment is cemented in my memory. When you're a little kid, everything is perfect all of the time; you don't question the boundaries of your parents’ world . The problem is that is not what the real world looks like, and the older you get, the more you understand that the world is not that perfect. That realization of imperfection starts with our parents.  Those moments that push the boundary are the moments that change you, they are the moments that shape your view of the world.

This change in perspective is constantly shifting when you're younger, as it develops. It’s similar to how your physical view changes as you get older.  When you're a baby, you're small and you see everything at your eye level. When you learn how to walk you’re obviously higher off the ground, therefore you have a different view. This continues when you're a teenager. You're taller than you were when you were a toddler, again forcing you to see things differently.  It’s the same idea, but instead of visual changes, perceptual changes occur as you get older.  The cycle is always the same: the older you get, the more your perspective changes; the more your perspective changes, the more you see things differently. I guess this is the cycle of growing into adulthood.  

The change in your perspective isn’t always a huge deal, sometimes it is just about one person who you barely know. An example of this happened to me about half way through tenth grade.  I remember sitting in math class, tapping my foot to the teacher’s endless rambling about a project, the due dates, and a bunch of other stuff that I don’t care about. My ears pique as I hear a long list of people with their partners being listed. Finally, after what feels like a millennia, the teacher gets to me.  I hear my name, Chloe Hart, followed by my partner’s name. Immediately I feel a rush of excitement, not for the project itself, but to hear and talk to my partner.  He is super popular and very smart.  I’m on the shy side, so I don’t get the opportunity to talk to people in the “in-crowd” very often.  This is going to be a fantastic opportunity for me.  Maybe this person will take a liking to me and I will be welcomed into his group of friends.  At the very least, we’ll create a great project together since this person is a straight-A student. Well, It doesn’t take long for me to lose the excitement. It feels almost like a thunder cloud lurks over him as he talks. He is not a nice person.  His words feel like a slap in the face; I couldn't have been more wrong about him. Everyday, he disappears from class, or leaves a little early, to grab a smoke outside. This small, daily action completely captures my new perception of him.

Overall, as a person’s behavior around you changes, so does your perception of the person.  These perceptual changes can be for the positive or for the negative. When someone does something that you don't agree with, or you find offensive, your opinion of the person immediately declines.  But, is the person fundamentally different than he was prior to this behavior, or did it just change your perception of him?  It’s a tricky question.  It’s like looking at someone through another person’s prescription glasses.  All of a sudden, the person looks like someone new, possibly unrecognizable, but you know that he is the same person. That’s important to keep in mind as your perception of people shifts.

What keeps people from stealing, murdering, raping, and other actions that most people find disgusting?  If asked this question, almost everyone would say they do not behave that way because it goes against their religious or moral code of ethics.  In other words, they just consider this type of behavior innately wrong. But, is that the real reason?  In a civilized world, these offenses are deemed crimes.  The government says they're wrong, and makes it against the law to commit any of these acts.  Members of society know that if they do something against the law, they will be punished.  This prevailing concept is what keeps civilizations running smoothly.  But, what if there were no laws or no government or ruling power to enforce laws?  Would people still have moral integrity?

In the book, “Lord of the Flies,” by William Golding, a large group of boys no older than twelve years old crash land on an island and have to survive by themselves. Without having a ruling power to oversee their actions, they start to misbehave.  When they first realize they are stranded on the island they state "We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages…(42)” The boys are trying to create some form of society that they are familiar with. They even go as far as saying they're not savages, acknowledging that only savages live in a ruleless society. They realize the importance of laws and law enforcers and elect a leader to create a form of ruling power, or government, to determine what is right and wrong in the island society. The leader acts almost as an adult, keeping the kids under control, but not restricting them completely. The leadership quickly falls apart due to disagreements, which causes cracks in the leadership. Trouble begins from the start. When they were voting for a leader, Jack stated, "I ought to be chief," right before another one of the boys, Ralph, got voted to be chief of the island society. These cracks cause the leadership to fall apart, leading to a constant struggle for power among the other boys. The lack of leadership allows for bigger crimes to be committed without consequences.  Because the boys do not have to accept responsibility for what they have done, their crimes become more frequent and more violent the longer they stay on the lawless island.

Throughout the book, the boys demonstrate less and less moral integrity and more insanity.  This is because there is nothing stopping the boys from running away from their morals and not taking responsibility for their actions. Since the boys are losing connection with a society, they are also losing connection to the power society plays in forcing its members to adhere to a moral code. When Jack, one of the boys that crashed on the island, starts hunting for pigs, he starts turning into more of a savage. The first time he hunts, he is unable to kill the pig.  The quote, “they knew very well why because the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh (31)…”  describes that Jack, though eager to hunt, was unable to kill the pig.  However, after a short time of living in a lawless society, Jack undergoes a drastic transformation. The book states, ¨The madness came into his eyes again,¨ before he proclaims,  "I thought I might kill." This quote exemplifies that he has changed from the boy he was when he first arrived on the island. Jack starts off trying to be a productive member of society, providing food for himself and the other boys.  The time Jack spends hunting causes, even more, separation between his previous life and his new life on the island. He has become more in contact with his natural survival instinct, something that is frowned upon in society.

Jack and the other boys’ descent into savagery isn’t just a fictional story William Golding made up. There have been documented cases of the same thing happening to people in real life. Pitcairn Island is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean.  In 1970 a group of Polynesian people were stranded on the island after their boat sank while they were trying to escape an attack. While on the island they started a small civilization.  Like the boys in the book, the society on Pitcairn Island quickly fell apart.  The stranded people suffered a very similar fate to the boys in “Lord of the Flies.”  They resorted to committing murder, thievery and rape.  After the people were found, they were tried on 91 counts of murder, thievery and sexual assault. This clearly demonstrates that people lose what makes them civil when they are separated from society.  

The men and women on this island and the boys in “Lord of The Flies” are one and the same. Both groups start as law-abiding members of society.  Both groups get stranded on an island that quickly becomes ruleless.  As the rules disappear, the stranded people become more savage.  They start acting less like civilized people and more like animals, exhibiting a “kill or be killed” mentality. This is proof that, contrary to popular belief, it’s not a person’s internal moral code or an innate sense of what is right and wrong, that guides our behavior. It’s our society, and the laws that are enforced by our society, that keep us civilized.  Without a society, we are no different than the animals we call savage beasts.

Works Cited-

Golding,William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Holloway, April. "Real-Life Lord of the Flies: The Strange and Violent History of Pitcairn Island." Ancient Origins. Ancient Origins, 7 Aug. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.

audio via google drive-https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4o7xZVa6WS1TFBkN1A1WUhITjA

You bonehead! Why do you have to say something like that?  For once can you shut your mouth and be respectful, not everyone has to be your sex toy.

You weren't always like this you know, you used to be nice and most of all respectful. I know you don’t want to talk about this especially not here, where we first started when we met where we made something more out of ourselves together.  Before falling apart really seeing the face behind the mask.   I thought I loved you! Boy, I was wrong! you're nothing but a disrespectful whore.

I know you know exactly where this is going to go but this time is going to be different, this time you're going to listen or were done, if you F this is like you always do then goodbye I'm not talking to you again, you do this then look at me like you did nothing wrong, and then with a quiet voice that almost just almost makes you sound like you really actually care, then you squeak out, I'm sorry if that offended you?

I'm Sorry if that offended you? Well if you were really sorry you wouldn’t do it F every day.  You won’t, rate women by how hot they are or act like the only reason they exist is to fuck them.    

Almost every time you open your big ass mouth, something stupid comes out.  If you're really sorry then show it, I used to be proud to be your friends now I don’t want to be seen with you.  Pointing and laughing at like it some kind of joke, it’s sickening I don’t even want to be around you, put myself through this every day.  When you stop and look at me with your eyes almost crying and say it was only a joke. I can’t keep letting myself take this torture it hurts. To hear and see James, I used to look to look at you and see someone so kind and so compassionate and now I see a jerk who covers it up with thier huge smile and big wide eyes.   

I want to laugh also so explain it to me please, I don’t get it why the hell you think this is  alright. If you think this is some kind of joke it not funny. I want to be your friend, your best friend like we used to be. When we knew each other and our conversation had an impact, when we mattered to each other.   You're making it kind of hard if I have to put up with this, every day.

(pause waiting for a response)

You're an ass and you're mad at me for pointing it out.  I’m saying my honest opinion about what you do. You're saying I’m the ass for telling you what I think instead of standing there agreeing with you, the way women are supposed  to right?!

(pause waiting for a response)

RIGHT?!

I don’t even know what to say any more to you,  I look back and it magic and I stand here and it’s hell, washing over us.  I thought we were perfect. (crying) If I had known it would come to this I don’t know if I ever would have tried. We had so many good times. But looking back they were only full of cruel jokes and lies. I honestly cannot forgive myself for being a part of that.

So, go ahead and say whatever you want me to believe, try and use you tilted head and big eyes to make everything ok. It’s not going to work this time, I can’t keep doing this, forgiving you and forcing myself to forget what is really happening.  

I tried and kept trying, watching as you point as laugh like it no big deal, pointing out every single flaw someone has, when there just walking down the street, I can’t anymore after all that you have done.  You final pushed to my breaking point rubbing me off, treating me like a servant, like a slave to your every wish.   I nothing to you anymore, nobody is to you we're all just there for sex when you want it.   

Well I'm sorry then that it had to come to this, but I can’t put up with this anymore and You're not going to change, for me we both know what your happy the way you are, with or without me, you know what I'm glad, You can have your fun and I can have new better friends, it a win-win situation,  Nobody is on the bottom.  

Don’t bother saying you're going to change, I don’t believe you. I tried it all with you, you're not going to change so don’t bother lying to me or yourself, someone will be ok  with it  just not me. We were once so strong, now here we are barely holding on to the sight of each other as we walk away.   

Bye I guess, there nothing really else to say.

 Chloe’s  poem

Chloe Hart

Soy recuerdos

Mi cuchillo de cristal, en mi carne

Contra viento Y marea, alzó en alto en vuelo

Nunca parada

Nunca olvidaré

Gasto el dia en cinco minutos

Perdió en la ciudad

En contra del silencio Oigo mi nombre

Yo Veo mi hermano

corra

Yo  El sabor la victoria

No puedo perder

Yo escribo los palabras de los juegos nosotros  jugamos

Nosotros  corremos Y gritamos

Yo levantar mi manos en la victoria
Nunca colgar bajo en la derrota

Yo corro en la playa

Ver mi familia juntos

Somos llegamos de todos partes del pais

I started with a picture looking of the pictures of me. I was looking In and I had a few of my and my dog but I went with my and my best friend Theo.  After looking at it for a few minutes I realized it draws up your eye but only for a second I very bright compared to the not so bright dark background of the rest of the slide.  After that I got a bit suck.  I really did not know what to right on the side.  After a bit of thinking I started to list things about what that I would talk about during the presentation.  I listed three things in relatively big letters.  I thought that it would give a basic idea without directing your attention away from from me.  Also the image bleeds of the slide.  I did this because because I wanted to make it look like it was a bigger image without making the acall image bigger since it did not as good if it is bigger.  If the Since the picture was not too advanced. You get the idea of both though it taking your attention for two long.   I also had my name on top after a bit of thinking I was not sure if  I should have had it. Since it more text that can distract them. I decided that I could just say it.  

I started with a picture looking of the pictures of me. I was looking In and I had a few of my and my dog but I went with my and my best friend Theo.  After looking at it for a few minutes I realized it draws up your eye but only for a second I very bright compared to the not so bright dark background of the rest of the slide.  After that I got a bit suck.  I really did not know what to right on the side.  After a bit of thinking I started to list things about what that I would talk about during the presentation.  I listed three things in relatively big letters.  I thought that it would give a basic idea without directing your attention away from from me.  Also the image bleeds of the slide.  I did this because because I wanted to make it look like it was a bigger image without making the acall image bigger since it did not as good if it is bigger.  If the Since the picture was not too advanced. You get the idea of both though it taking your attention for two long.   I also had my name on top after a bit of thinking I was not sure if  I should have had it. Since it more text that can distract them. I decided that I could just say it.  

A few days ago we watched a video called I am a witness.  The video was about Jack a little boy who was getting bullied. You had the option of stopping it by pressing the eye. If you did press the eye then the bullies would be nice to him.   He went thought out his day until he went home and they told him was was not worth anything on line.  It made me think not just of bullying in person more cyber bullying.  Since you can press the eye for cyber bullying that was to represent that you can stop it.  It just not being stopped.  The video makes you want help.  If you don't see it then you forget what you hear. Subconsciously ignore what bad. That why trolls get away with it most of the time. Since untill it happens people ignore it. Since they don't want to see it.