Jordan Chapman
Professor Doris Cacoilo
Acts Of Resistance Spring 2024
23 April 2024
Real Men Cry - Final Intervention
My project for this final intervention is the last part of a trilogy. What I decided to do for this final was to create a short film about my same topic, men and mental health. The reason why I had chosen this topic was because it is very important to me, and I think that it is not talked about enough. I can say that the topic is getting more noticed than before, but I still believe that we have a lot more work to do and a lot of more problems to handle and men to fix. I went the short film route because technology and videos are something you watch every single day; I want people to see this video and get a feeling out of it to wanting to either take action to improve their community or to take action for themselves to help out their own mental health issues. My message for the audience is to never be afraid to express your feelings and ignore what people have to say negative about them. Everyone has feelings for a reason, and they are meant to be shown, that is the whole point of having emotions there wouldn't be no point of them if they were not meant to be shown. The way how I had reached an audience was by first posting it on YouTube, and then sending the video to friends and family for feedback on how the video turned out. Everyone who I sent the video to had nothing but positive feedback about the video, one of my friends even texted me and told me that she had cried because she felt that the video hit home and it was powerful. The audience engaged by sending the video to their fellow peers who may need that kind of motivation because they can relate to the topic that I am presenting about. This project fits into my professional aspirations and my portfolio because I am a Photography major, but I do videography as well, so if someone asks me to make a video for them and wants to see work, I have done then I can send them this video along with the positive feedback so they can see that I provide good quality work to increase my chances on being hired. One of artists that inspired me to do this project was Shaun Leonardo, the way how he performed his feelings in front of thousands of people while showing his true emotions really motivated me to do the same because I have seen the impact that he has made. He states before his performances what the name of the performance is and then he gets right into it and goes all out, he really makes sure that the audience feels the same emotions he is feeling and does a really good job at telling the message that he is trying to showcase. Another artist is Frida Kahlo, this artist creates art that is filled with symbolism and shows her personal experiences and her emotions. Instead of talking about what she had went through or what she is feeling at the moment, she creates art expressing her feelings. Her work reminded me of myself because I do not like to express my feelings out loud, but I would create things that symbolizes what I am feeling at the moment. Marina Abramovic is a good and powerful artist that inspired me, I say this because she literally performs where she invites strangers to sit right across from her and just stare into her eyes for as long as they want. It might sound kind of weird, but this performance often leads to people crying and becoming overwhelmed. This is very powerful because sometimes you can tell how a person is feeling or know that they are going through something by looking into their eyes, you can see the bags underneath the eye with teary eyeballs that look like they are weary. This is another form of art showing how people are showing their emotions without saying a word but just by thinking and reminiscing about all of their hard times. The last artist that inspired me to make this project goes by the name of Tracey Emins. Tracey performed an amazing show that showcased her bed with many objects around it that was expressing her feelings. She used objects to allow them to speak for her to help the audience understand exactly what she was trying to express without using her words. Some clues she gave was a messed-up bed where sheets were everywhere and a bottle of vodka at the floor of the bed. Having those objects being included into your show already gets the audience attention that you are going through something. "There have been Black people since the beginning of time, but I was not seeing any of their art in the first place," This is What I Know About Art pg. 8. This quote is really what motivated me to create a short film about my topic. The quote basically speaks for itself because I am a black male and videography is a form of art, not many Black people showcase they talents that they have, or I should say they don't get the amount of attention that they need. So as a Black male I will not repeat this cycle and showcase my talent so it can get the attention it needs. Sometimes not wanting to express the way you feel won't be the problem, sometimes you just don't know how to explain what you are going through with words, so you have to show it, and this is how I am. So, with that reasoning this is why this quote caught my attention and hit home, it says "Art allows us to say things that can't be said, to give form to abstract feelings and ideas and present them in such ways that can be communicated with others." The Art of Activism pg.25. "In order to be heard and understood, an activist needs to learn how to use popular culture, but they also need to know how to transform it so that it speaks to and for their own cause." The Art of Activism pg.93. You can talk all you want to whoever you want but that doesn't automatically mean that something is going to change, most of the time what you say to people anyway go through one ear and out the other. Therefore, you have to find different alternatives in order to be heard and to demand a change. In conclusion, doing this final intervention helped me realized that it is multiple ways and different forms you can use to make a certain message be heard and understood to lead to actions being made about the problem.
References
1. https://youtu.be/OD8yjJZdEOw?si=mCvDd0iQVCZHfTxg
2.The Two Fridas, 1939 by Frida Kahlo
3.https://art21.org/watch/new-york-close-up/shaun-leonardo-the-freedom-to-move/
4.The Art of Activism - Your guide to making the impossible possible (artofactivismbook.com)
5.This Is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew | Goodreads
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