The topic of the obvious correlation of how lack of education increases crime needed to be exposed. This problem is very well known by many criminologists when studying how to control the cause of crime rather than controlling the effects. Documentaries are well known for bringing light to an issue in society. William Shatner said, “I didn’t realize that, in doing a documentary, there is this process of discovery. It’s not like a film or a play with a set script. It sort of reveals itself.” The reasoning is to make society a better place to live in for all people. The reason as to why I used this medium rather then the other forms was because we as students at Penn State are not in the position of some of these inner city youths. That quote really resonated with this project and me.
We, Penn State students, are all onto higher education so dropping out of high school is not longer an issue. If I was a high school student in inner city New York or Philadelphia, I would do a social media campaign because it is something that I am and my fellow classmate are susceptible to. I didn’t write a research paper because I felt my documentary was more powerful with pictures and the faces of stakeholders. I didn’t used the deliberation method because while I mentioned solutions that wasn’t the purpose of my advocacy project. I want to expose this injustice and problem that is plaguing many youth that never got a head start in life. Lastly I didn’t feel that this matter would be very effective if I made it into a satire comedic art form. There are many issues that can be made funny tastefully but I don’t think this subject is one of those topics. Usually social issues that are overplayed and in the forefront of new stations like topics of homosexuality and race can be turned into humor to emphasize the ridiculousness of many bigoted people. My advocacy project was a topic that would be hard to communicate to an audience on the terms of humor because they wouldn’t know what part to laugh at. This documentary was used to uncover the hidden truth of a very dark epidemic that is ultimately hurting and changing children into future criminals.
With my advocacy project, I found urgency with show casing this issue that is very prevalent in society among inner city children. An issue that is the newest problem in society and covered twenty-four seven by the news and is what is occurring in Baltimore at this very moment. The background of what’s happening in Baltimore is on April 19, 2015, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American resident of the city of Baltimore, Maryland, died in police custody a week after being arrested. Apparently in good health at the time of his arrest one-week prior, Gray fell into a coma while in transport as the result of injuries to his neck and spine. On May 1, 2015, the death was ruled a homicide as a result of rough riding, and charges were issued against the six officers involved in the incident. This incident has peaceful protests that were organized after Gray’s death became public knowledge, and apparently spontaneous protests started after the funeral service, although several eventually included violent elements. Civil unrest continued and as of April 28, at least twenty police officers have been injured, at least 250 people have been arrested, thousands of police and Maryland Army National Guard troops have been deployed, and a state of emergency was declared in the city limits of Baltimore. Although it is a very large assumption to think that this is due to lack of education there is not doubt some connection correlate. The part of the city with the riots and issues is inner city Baltimore. Many of these people feel the strain of society and live in a subcultural society. They were never given the chance to get ahead in life. The vicious cycle of poverty is a generational situation. So when a racial community that has been historically oppressed through the use of laws and police force sees a reoccurrence, this brings on a sense of discrimination and it turns into civil unrest. The problem with Baltimore is not that they are lazy and that they just happen to be a large majority of black people. They have been stuck in this cycle since the Great Migration of African American in the United States. Without a proper education system this stepping-stone out of this plagued lifestyle will continue. Logan JM said, “part of me wants to call it Baltimore. Part of me knows it could be called Ferguson, New York, Philadelphia…America.” This problem should turn into a nation urgency rather then a sectional or region issue because it has now affected the general population, the community, and the black minorities in a country where we want to believe in the American Dream.
I enjoyed my project immensely because I think I have found a way to give back to the black community. It will be difficult to just to change everyone’s life but it will be a success to me to change one persons life that was originally doomed. I have found an urgency that has hurt my racial community and I would love to make it right. The documentary was very difficult to make not because of IMovie or the technology but the immense sadness I felt while doing it. I am glad I found this passion. This class and my criminology class helped with the welcoming of this heavy task. This project was very rewarding because it was the first documentary that I have ever done by myself and can call mine completely. I put in a lot of work and nights into this project with not only the content but also the editing process and voice-overs. If I could change anything about my project, I would have liked to be in the video to make it more personal. I was going to have a last minute cameo but then I unfortunately got sick and was unable to speak. This project has shown me that this is a great start to hopefully an amazing journey that may change many lives.
