Writing (Filming) A Senior Thesis

Most apologies for not posting as frequently this semester as usual! I am currently working with my friend Amanda on finishing our thesis which is due in a little under two weeks...Both relieving and frightening all in one. You intital assumption of someone finishing their college thesis is probably a nice long research paper or a presentation. Ours on the other hand takes thesis to the next level, and to a creative one mind you.

As media studies, digital arts majors we are given the option to convey an "untold" and "unheard" topic in either a book or a documentary film. Yep, our thesis is becoming a published author or a film producer. Casual right? That is how we all feel. The project began last semester in our Senior Proposal class where we looked at different examples and researched our topic to narrow it down. We handed the proposal before Christmas break and have begun filming this semester.

Our film is called 

Behind the Distance: Long Distance Interpersonal Communication in the Digital Age

 

Pretty cool right?! We originally came up with the topic discussing how mail had become a long lost form of communication and writing letters is somewhat of a nostalgic thought to many now with email, texting and social media. From here we decided to narrow the film to focus on the development of social norms that are involved with interpersonal and distance communications. To do this we broke it up into three compartments of everyone's lives: the work, family and love.

The mediums of communication such as texting, smartphones, social media and video-chatting have made interpersonal relations much different than in the past. Our home run point we are hoping to make is that at this day in age, everyone in their lives will most likely experience a long distance part of their life in some way whether it is a long distance relationship, working from location or having aspects of their family life be held together for a time based on these mediums of communication.

To be honest, this is the most time commitment I have ever had working on a project and it is also the most fun I have had on an assignment. Amanda and I are walking out with a finished and completed documentary film, and we are pretty pumped to be able to have the finished product! We got to interview some pretty awesome people from family friends, to family (Amanda's brother and one of my dogs are featured in the film!) to others who had incredible insight in what we were hoping to learn in talking with them! Keep your eyes out for more from Behind the Distance! 

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#FeelTheBern

In comparison to the first time I was able to vote, this election I personally feel hits much more at home and is more of a discussion topic than any other between my friends and I. Maybe because four years older, we have a stronger perspective on who runs our country and the fact that we have made more of an effort to become more educated since our first round with voting. This particular election is also different from many because technology and social media, as seen in the last election, has become a huge part of how voters see news and follow their favored politicians.

Election and political campaigns have changed so much that to our generation, as we are getting older we are trying to feel even more connected and involved. Regardless of who you are hoping to or are favoring to vote for, all candidates have been portrayed in the media and have also taken advantage of the social media in many ways within their campaigns. Living in Vermont, you can't necessarily help but feel the Bern. Whether you side with his policies and what he is hoping to pursue in running for office, he has made an incredible impact on the state of Vermont.

On a quick decision, my friends Keri and I were able to attend his rally on Town Meeting Day, a national holiday essentially in the state of Vermont where towns hold their meetings to discuss issues and changes while opening the voting booths. Bernie came to not only vote in the polls, but to speak to those in the area. The rally was held at the local Champlain Valley Expo and was nothing short of an event. Keri and I noticed a few things that stood out among all the Bernie fans.The first being that this group of people were following both a person and a movement, which differs Bernie from many politicians. We see candidates in every race who have a strong experience in American government and who in their own right have policies that make them strong candidates in a presidential race. The difference with Bernie is that it is a movement, not just a person that is running for office.

The other thing we noticed was how many people were there, cheering for Bernie, who were not even eligible to vote yet. Teens, young adults and families were there is support. I take that as an incredible thing because it means more and more people are realizing the value and importance in learning about the country's leaders and educating themselves in that. A take away from the event that I had was the amount of love and pride that Vermont has, which you don't need to go to a Bernie Sander's rally to only see, but in a big way it was absolutely present there. Vermont is an amazing state (going to school here I am little bias but its the truth!) and its awesome to see someone who ten months ago was at his house over on Lake Champlain and is now a front runner for the presidency of the United States, pretty crazy!

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