DILEMMAS OF DUALITY AND THE DOMINANT VOICE OF PROGRESS: A CRITICAL

PERFORMANCE AUTOETHNOGRAPHY BY MEANS OF DOCUMENTARY FILM

By

CHRISTOPHER JOHN GERTRIDGE

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS IN EDUCATION

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY College of Education

DECEMBER 2008

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To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the thesis of Christopher Gertridge find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ___________________________________ Chair ___________________________________ ___________________________________

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DILEMMAS OF DUALITY AND THE DOMINANT VOICE OF PROGRESS: A CRITICAL PERFORMANCE AUTOETHNOGRAPHY BY MEANS OF DOCUMENTARY FILM

Abstract

by Christopher John Gertridge Washington State University

December 2008

Chair: Paula Groves-Price

This thesis combines elements of action research and critical performance

autoethnography in producing a film that reveals the oppressive force of the dominant voice of

progress and through praxis commit to transformation. Progress is defined as a dual voiced

entity that drives humanity to alter its interaction with the environment and acts as the instigator

for the actions undertaken to achieve transformation, the actions themselves and the outcomes of

the transformation.

The film \prak-səs\ explores the complex dilemma of duality between the dominant and

passive voices of progress by interpreting the lessons of a ‘teacher’ no longer driven by the

dominant voice of progress. The film is set in the ‘classroom’ of the oppressed and ‘instructs’

the passive voice through the metaphorical experiences of the oppressed on a hill.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ......................................................................................................................... iii

Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1

Walking Up and Down Hills ............................................................................................ 3

Background .................................................................................................................... 4

Progress ...... .................................................................................................................... 5

Schooling.... .................................................................................................................... 6

Defining the Problem ....................................................................................................... 7

Oppression ...................................................................................................................10

Arts Based Inquiry Meets Action Research ...... .................................................................12

Storytelling and Film............ ..............................................................................................13

Revolution …………………………. ....... .........................................................................16

The Film………… .......... ...................................................................................................17

Distribution ...................................................................................................................22

Discussion…..... ........................................... .....................................................................23

Works Cited.. .............. ........................................................................................................26

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Dedication

This thesis is dedicated to my mother and father who have put up

with me much longer than the rest of you

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“Thus, the behavior of the oppressed is a prescribed behavior, following as it does the guidelines

of the oppressor. The oppressed, having internalized the image of the oppressor and adopted his

guidelines, are fearful of freedom. Freedom would require them to eject this image and replace

it with autonomy and responsibility.” (Freire, 2007, p. 47)

History is rich with examples of how progress has made significant changes in how we

live. The Hebrew, NISHREPHA - LISHREPHA (they made bricks and burned them

thoroughly) warns of the threat that progress carries (Old Testament, Genesis 11, verse 3). The

Israelites looked out east to the plains of Iraq and were worried about a new technology, namely

brick making. Instead of building walls with found stone, bricks with bitumen threatened the act

of leisurely communal wall building. Grandparents and children having community time stone

hunting, with potluck as a reward, was replaced with highly efficient individuals using

newfangled bricks to build a wall in an hour (personal communication, Rev. J. Gertridge, 2008).

These warnings about progress have existed for thousands of years. New technologies bring new

worries and I am worried.

Introduction

To understand the source of my concern it is important to understand one thing. I am a

math geek. I have always been good with number crunching. Well, almost always. There was a

time that I remember being only mildly interested in numbers until it occurred to me that being

good at math was important. It must be important because that is what my teachers told me. It is

what the schools told the teachers to say and what society told the schools to say. Math is the

gatekeeper for the higher sciences and the basic building block for modern technology. Math is

the means to gain meaningful employment in a modern technological society and the voice of

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progress. Progress is good and the gateway to a better life for all. At least that is the impression

that I was given.

I spent a significant portion of my life pursuing mathematics in the name of progress and

the security of knowing that by allying myself with progress, I would always be employable and

comfortable in life. Upon completing my undergraduate studies in math and sciences, I

embarked on a crusade to bring an understanding of math to all who would listen and all that

would pay for the secrets that I possessed. For the most part, the life I was leading seemed

magnificent and it provided not only a secure living for myself, but also a means for those less

mathematically inclined to pursue careers and lifestyles previously beyond their reach. Life was

grand. I was important because of the knowledge that I possessed and more importantly, I felt

useful. Then I stumbled upon the truth. I am a math geek and I am oppressed.

It may be difficult to frame a White, employed, university educated male from a good

home as oppressed, but rest assure that is the case. My oppression has yet to fall under ‘unjust

use of force’ but rather is under constant control of cultural authority and societal norms, most

specifically the influence of the concept of progress as a positive force in schooling. I began to

understand the source of my oppression when I realized that I was under the influence of two

opposing voices concerning the use of automobiles. The first voice said that I should drive a car

and the second said that I definitely should not be driving a car. The authority from the first

voice centered on the convenience and necessity of owning and driving a car to survive in a

modern industrial society. The influence from the second voice centered on the strain put on the

environment from warnings of global warming and the multitude of other environmental

problems associated with cars. To complicate matters I own a car and choose not to drive it.

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This predicament made me start to wonder if this dilemma of duality with automobiles did not

stem from something greater.

To remove myself from the situation I decided to park the car and walk. I walk up and

down the hills in the college town where I currently reside. I walk to school. I walk to the

grocery store. I walk just about everywhere that I need to get to. Walking provided not only the

time to observe the local environment and see and feel the predicament, but also began to

provide a plethora of other dilemmas of duality.

Walking Up and Down Hills

I walk to the community garden to plant and care for a few meager plants. The first

season that I planted, a colony of gophers lived adjacent to the garden. The garden sits just below

a hill that supports over a dozen gopher mounds. That first season the garden certainly suffered

some losses, but all in all the gophers were quiet, consistent neighbors. The next season, I

prepared for the gophers to feast again on my hard work and imagined their silhouettes’ on the

horizon, eagerly awaiting their next foray into the garden. To my surprise, and dismay, the

gophers were no longer neighbors but had been exterminated. These animals had not been

eradicated to save my garden, but rather to maintain the integrity of an irrigation pipe that

provided water to the irrigation system that fed the community garden and served to water the

grassy plateau that the gophers inhabited. It occurred to me that the poison used to eradicate the

gophers would run downhill into my ‘organic’ garden over time with rainfall. It was at this

moment that the dilemma of the duality of this situation reared itself. I was losing some

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productivity to the gophers, so perhaps the filthy vermin needed to be dealt with, but I certainly

did not want the integrity of my garden to be compromised by some toxic poison.

After finding myself face to face with the environmental destruction that progress creates,

I started to think about how the world had come to such a sorry state of affairs. It is one thing to

read in the newspaper about an environmental disaster and it is quite another to see firsthand the

magnitude of the problems. Witnessing the immediate effects of pollution in pristine places, far

removed from industrial centers, is much different than seeing a twenty-second news clip on the

situation. In addition, as this type of personal data collection starts to mount, it becomes

frustrating to hear how progress can save humanity from itself. The next great scientific advance

will somehow right all of the previous scientific wrongs. In plain terms, it is like saying that a

leaky boat can be mended by putting more holes in the hull. It is not only that progress has taken

humanity to the brink, but also that the future views of progress as a savior simply compound the

problem.

“Within the word we find two dimensions, reflection and action, in such radical interaction that

if one is sacrificed-even in part- the other immediately suffers. There is no true word that is not

the same time praxis. Thus to speak a word is to transform the world” (Freire, 2007, p.87)

Background

The following sections will define progress and schooling in terms based on my

observations and experiences and facilitate an understanding of the environmental issues at hand

and how schooling proliferates problems of this nature.

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Progress

Progress is a complex entity that is far reaching in definition and action. Common

definitions of progress relate the word to advancement, development, and, movement towards

goal (Sykes, 1982). These definitions when used to describe technology, science, and social

structures fail to take into account the active component of the word. Progress is not simply a

label describing a reason for a procedure that it is associated with, but also the act and outcome.

This act bears the transformative power of progress and as with all transformations something is

lost and gained.

For the purposes of this inquiry, progress will be defined as the entity that drives

humanity to change its current course of survival. I assert that this entity acts as the instigator for

the actions undertaken to achieve transformation, the actions themselves and the outcomes of the

transformation. Progress has two voices, dominant and passive. The dominant voice relies upon

truths propagated in the desire for control of an environment. The passive voice lies parallel and

relies upon the truths founded by the dominant voice within the environment.

For example, it is plausible that hunter-gatherers faced a dilemma of duality that progress

offers. The beginnings of agriculture, with humans becoming more dependent on the cultivation

of land as well as the herding of livestock, is regarded as an enormous leap forward in human

progress (Barker, 2006). Jared Diamond (1997) speculates that “What actually happened was

not a discovery of food production or an invention…food production evolved as a by-product of

decisions made without awareness to their consequences”(p. 105). It is conceivable that

concerned members of society at the time issued warnings about the danger of moving away

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from what was known to the unknown, as others moved towards agriculture as a means for

survival.

In the preceding, progress is the force that drives humans to find a more efficient means

of food acquisition, the steps taken to acquire the means to cultivate land, and resulting outcome

on their environment. One consequence of agriculture was that humans had an increase of time

to do things that hunter and gatherers could not (Barker, 2006). The dominant voice results in an

increase in food acquisition and free time to pursue interests. Along with a significant increase

in food acquisition there was also a radical shift in the interaction between humans and the

environment. An example of a shift of this nature is an oceanic dead zone. Dead zones are areas

where low to no levels of oxygen occur in a coastal ocean due to run off from fertilizers from

large-scale industrial agriculture. (Diaz and Rosenberg, 2008). Oceanic dead zones have been

monitored and reported on since the 1960's, and measurements of dissolved oxygen began in the

1930's. (Randall, 2003) The passive voice over time is heard in the need to resist change and is

carried in resulting data like the aforementioned oceanic dead zones and forewarns of the

dangers of hyper-agriculture.

Schooling

For the purposes of this inquiry schooling should not be regarded only as learning which

takes place under the guidance of teachers in traditional school settings, but must also encompass

the real life experience that ‘students’ are subject to outside of their schools. Ivan Illich (1970)

views learning as that which happens in everyday situations outside of school without intrusion

from teachers and schools. He comments, “Everyone learns how to live outside of school. We

learn to speak, to think, to feel, to play, to curse, to politick and to work without interference

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from a teacher”(p. 28). If learning is also what happens in non-school situations, the content of

everyday experiences are invaluable learning experiences. This broader view of schooling

allows ‘students’ lives to become complete learning experiences rather than two separate and

inconsistent events.

Defining the Problem

The human race is the first species on earth with the potential to limit its population and a

capacity to make decisions about how to live in equitable ways with its environment (Naess,

1989). The fact that most societies have chosen, or been coerced, to pursue lifestyles that

compound the stress put on the environment only complicates the matter. Naess (1989) defines

the problem as, ”An exponentially increasing, and partially or totally irreversible environmental

deterioration or devastation perpetuated through firmly established ways of production and

consumption and a lack of adequate policies regarding human population increase” (p. 23). It

does not take a genius to understand that the paths that modern societies presently are traversing

will eventually lead to the demise of every living thing on earth. Jared Diamond (2005) has

taken a close look at how and why some societies have failed. How certain societies have either

succeeded or failed has hinged on several factors ranging from relationships with immediate

neighbors to how resources management with or without long-term thinking. He is very direct in

expressing that managing the environment has always been an extremely difficult part of human

existence and that the fundamental aspect of successful societies is the long-term understanding

of how resources must be used with extreme caution (Diamond, 2005). The issue at hand

necessitates that individuals take time out from their daily struggles and step back and

contemplate how each of us has become complicit to the dilemma.

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Upon taking up environmental educational literature one starts to feel as though the same

story is being told over and over again, ‘If we don’t change our ways we are destined to be

overwhelmed by the mess that we have made for ourselves’ (Diamond, 2005;Jackson, 1987;

Naess, 1989; Orr & Soroos, 1979). Authors of environmental literature use many different

vehicles to address the problem including, but not limited to, population, industrialization,

colonization, agriculture, education, animal rights, and the ever increasingly popular issue of

atmospheric pollution. Authors such as David Orr, C.A. Bowers, and Wes Jackson have all

made significant contributions to the discussion and definition of the environmental problem at

hand, but have had little impact on the overall situation as their ideologies have had a hard time

breaking into mainstream consciousness. Orr (2004) puts it nicely when he states, “We don’t

much like prophets because they make us uneasy” (p.97). This sums up the environmental

dilemma nicely. Why would anyone want to listen to someone telling them that the seemingly

luxurious lifestyles that they are leading are unsustainable, environmentally unfriendly and in

many cases genocidal? Never in recorded history, has the world seen such an enormous human

population with such astronomical unnatural desires (Naess, 1989). In my experience, these

desires are linked directly to the overpowering nature of the dominant voice of progress

schooling transfers to students.

Bigelow (1996) speaks of how his schooling affected his view of the environment, “Our

teachers and the school’s culture constantly imparted messages about our relationship to the

earth, but in tacit, unacknowledged ways” (p.11). In my schools, the world was never described

as a diverse, dynamic place of intricate and subtle interactions that make life possible, but rather

as a resource to be shaped, molded and coerced into useful means for production and

manipulation. A mountain was not something to cherish, as much as it was something to

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conquer. C.A. Bowers (1995) points out that, “How children experience meaning and choices,

interpret the nature of relationships, and make moral judgments reflect the deep and generally

unconscious influence of culture” (p. 75). Students in today’s society are subject to the

dominant voice of progress both in and out of schools. It is becoming common practice to offer

some form of environmental education in many school systems. Many of these practices take a

‘get closer to nature’ approach and teach about environment in ways that address the positive

aspects of the ecosystem. Eagles and Demare (1999) looked at how Van Matre’s Sunship Earth

outdoor education program affected students’ environmental attitudes. The Earth Education

weeklong camp program consists of students interacting in natural environments in hopes that

they come away with a better understanding of the relationships that exist in an ecosystem

(Eagles & Demare, 1999). While the participants in their study did show an increase in their

understanding of the environment, they did not show any statistically relevant change in their

ecologistic or moralistic attitudes. Including environmental education as a supplementary aspect

of an overall education does not induce lifelong allegiance to the environment when the rest of

the curricula push students towards an understanding of control of the environment. A two-week

trip to nature cannot compete with the technologically saturated curricula that students are

overwhelmed with over the course of their schooling.

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Oppression

Oppression describes how a certain group exercises unjust use of force, authority, or

societal norms on another group or individual (Sykes, 1982). The oppression that I have come to

understand is founded within the refusal of individuals and modern societies to submit to the

passive voice of progress with the same urgency as the dominant voice. For example, progress

provides humankind with the ability to travel great distances in a short period of time. The

automobile over time becomes a dominant force of progress. It becomes ingrained in the very

fabric of modern life. The passive voice becomes much more difficult to accept because of the

propagating nature of the dominant voice. It is very difficult for an individual to give up the use

of their automobile as job security and the ability to support oneself is linked so closely with the

use of the automobile. Orr (2004) describes our modern environmental predicament as an

anomaly in human history concerning our heavy dependence on technology and fossil fuels for

survival. I assert that this is not so much an anomaly, but rather society is experiencing the

effects of an exponential growth in the dominant voice of progress. As each outcome of the

dominant voice becomes more commonplace in society, it becomes much more difficult to listen

to the passive voice (i.e. the concept and use of motorized transport vs. fossil fuels lead to

pollution).

If progress is the tool to discover more about the universe, an assumption is made that we

can either discover technologies to clean up the environmental dilemma that the dominant voice

creates or manipulate resources in such a way as to leave our home in search of more clean

resources and relocate. In an open ended, ever-expanding universe, overflowing with a never-

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ending supply of resource this could be considered true. Jackson (1987) writes, “Colonizers

always live under powerful illusions and an inescapable ignorance. It is a peculiar sort of

ignorance that causes us to forget that we have always lived in a space age” (p. 47). Framing our

discovery-oriented view of finding new resources and technologies to fix the environmental

problems at hand reinforces the underlying problem of societies basing their existence on the

dominant voice of progress. The dominant voice of progress makes believing this outcome as a

possibility. The propagation of the dominant voice allows populations to be caught in dreamy

computer generated graphics and the ensuing belief that relocating to other stars is not only

probable but also likely.

The earth rotates around the sun at approximately 11 000 kilometers per hour and the

speeds at which our solar system moves through the known universe increase exponentially as

you look further into the heavens. (Jackson, 1987) This reliance on technological advancement

results in the pursuit of speed, a defining “bigger, better, faster” element of the dominant voice.

If the world is just a launching pad to the stars, a gigantic leap forward in speed must be attained.

The resulting local technologies that produce faster cars, planes, and rockets do not take into

account the gigantic leap forward in speed needed to attain the stars, nor does it take into account

the environmental devastation associated with this pursuit of speed. In this sense, the dominant

voice looks and feels good for the moment as a byproduct of technological advancement but fails

to recognize the true pitfalls of pursuing this technology. It does not take a genius to

understand that the possibility of humans ever attaining this lofty goal of reaching out to other

sources of resource in the stars is not only unrealistic, but also does not take into account the

environmental degradation that occurs as the quest pushes forward.

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It is one thing to reflect on how wonderful a technotopic world may be, but quite another

to think about the long term difficulties associated with this ideology. This type of ideology is

apparent in Western modes of education, and is carried in words like advance, invention, forward

thinking, growth, and improvement. These expressions are situated in the dominant voice of

progress, and do not cover the holes in such plans other than providing a ‘we can fix this later’

attitude concerning the environmental impact associated with a technotopic society.

Arts Based Inquiry Meets Action Research

This project combines elements of action research and critical performance

autoethnography. Action research is a non-experimental research methodology that traditionally

focuses on specific, localized solutions to everyday situations (Stringer, 2007). This project uses

my everyday experiences to give voice to issues that have remained silent in the process of

schooling for too long.

The short film accompanying this document has been produced as a form of political

resistance against my oppressor. The film constitutes a type of critical performance auto-

ethnography. Susan Finley (2005), commenting on Friere, describes what I consider the reason

for undertaking telling this story and what I hope that the film achieves, “Critical performance

ethnography should enable oppressed persons to ‘unveil the world of oppression and through

praxis commit themselves to its transformation’ (p. 688).” Arts based inquiry looks to tap into

the very fabric of people’s lives using mediums that look to actively engage audiences into

questioning the validity of social structures.

The processes involved in pursuing this research closely follow a circular ‘look, think,

act’ methodology that is common to action research (Stringer, 2007). This reflexive

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methodology incorporates the expertise of the ordinary individual. The ‘look’ element of the

inquiry stems from my personal experiences and observations coming to terms with the

complicit nature of my existence in an oppressive environment. The ‘think’ component focuses

on defining the source of the oppression and reflecting on how to appropriately meet the needs of

the oppressed to break free of the oppression. The active portion of the inquiry constitutes the

production of a film that represents the emotional response to my struggle with the duality

inherent in the concept of progress. Finley (2005) sees arts based inquiry as a means to promote

understanding and social critique through the use of alternative mediums, “This connection

among political resistance, pedagogy, and performance has emerged as a way of understanding,

and it represents an arts-based methodological approach for interpreting and taking action” (p.

687).

This film’s purposes are twofold. First, I see the film as an alternative format to tell a

personal story. In many ways, film, as opposed to writing, has become a significant tool for

making knowledge available to the public. Hayes (2008) comments that, “In today’s society film

is, much more so than writing, considered public” and I feel that I have a significant story to tell.

Second, I understand the process of writing, producing and distributing the film to be an act of

revolution against my oppressor.

Storytelling and Film

Throughout history, stories have provided a natural basis for the passing on of

information and ideas. Storytelling is embedded into the structure of human life. Societies use

these oral traditions to educate, entertain, and preserve historical records of the past. Stories

have the ability to captivate an audience and take them to places that they have not been and/or

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cannot go. Often after hearing one person’s story, it becomes obvious that your own stories are

quite similar. In this sense, storytelling is also important as a catalyst for the audience to make

connections to their own lives and reinterpret stories that have made an impact on the way that

they live. Susan Chase (2005) notes that, “Audiences whose members identify with the

narrator’s story might be moved by the researcher’s interpretation to understand their stories in

new ways and to imagine how they might tell their stories differently. (p. 668)” In the telling of

my story an understanding is made that most people understand the efforts made to climb a hill,

enjoy the view, and feel the ease of descent. By connecting views to situations that they are

familiar with enhances reader’s/listener’s ability to feel the metaphor and gain a basic

appreciation for the story’s overiding message. To this end, the power of a story is twofold, and

the intrinsic and extrinsic qualities of the story have a potential value-doubling effect on the

audience (Harris, 2007). Oral histories are especially important because they allow audiences to

participate in times past and make intergenerational connections that provide a context for the

social and cultural meanings within the story (Chase, 2005). It is not only the story presented to

them that they have access to, but also the stories that they have lived that come into play and

add value to their experience.

Two key elements of storytelling are tellership and tellability. Tellership refers to how

much independence a speaker has during the narration of an event while tellability refers to the

interest level a story may possess for others (Ware, 2006). A story told by a single narrator,

single tellership, incorporates the use of an authentic voice to guide the listeners through a verbal

landscape that often touches universal chords and provide deeper meanings for the audience.

The words of the story may resonate with the listeners to help them recall instances in their lives

that share contexts with the story being told to connect the listeners (Harris, 2007). The use of

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single tellership in describing this experience provides the background for undertaking this act of

revolution.

In modern times, the use of video or film to tell stories has to a certain extent surpassed

the personalized oral-storytelling tradition of the past, and has in turn made stories available to a

wider audience. Atkinson and Delamont (2005) speak to the present day use of film as a means

to tell stories, “During recent years, the development of digital camcorders, and the development

of digital photography have created an enormous range of possibilities for ethnographers in the

field.” (p. 825) Film allows storytellers to enhance the tellability of their stories beyond that of

the traditional oral method. The use of film allows researchers to paint vivid pictures and tell

stories in ways that are not possible using traditional methods. In this study, the ability to

witness the metaphoric Hill and feel the trails of ascent and decsent allows viewers options

unavailable to them hearing a story in a tradtional fashion. Elliot Eisner (1997) comments, “Film

and video have much to recommend them. They contain dialogue and plot, they display image,

and they can use sound, particularly music, to augment image and word. Put another way, film

can teach” (p. 6). Ethnographic film has become an important teaching tool as well as a

significant research tool. It has the ability to tell several layers of story simultaneously (Harper,

2005). This film’s message looks to connect personal experiences on a Hill with the metaphor

speaking to the modern environmental predicament that a progress-laden society presses on

humanity.

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Revolution

“The Proletarians of Paris, amidst the failures and treasons of the ruling classes, have

understood that the hour has struck for them to save the situation by taking into their own hands

the direction of public affairs…” (McLellan, 2000, p. 584)

It is my argument that we all are suffering under the same oppressive force --the dominant

voice of progress. I believe that in producing and distributing the film, the audience will make

connections to how they are living and feel compelled to rise up and make change. Stringer

(2007) views one aspect of action research to be providing a tonic to a situation that needs to be

addressed, “Your role is not to impose but to stimulate people to change. This is done by

addressing issues that concern them now” (p. 25). In this sense, the Film’s revolutionary aspect

addresses the anticipated need to reinterpret progress for the greater good by taking action. This

act of producing subversive underground media to change public opinion serves as an

empowering voice of the revolution.

In the spirit of historical pamphleteers, the production and distribution of this film is

intended to be a type of ‘modern underground’ media pamphlet to provide information to a

public audience. Revolution inherently has a voice and a message relayed to others under the

same blanket of oppression. In earlier revolutions, the political pamphlet was used as a primary

source for catching and changing public opinion. Margerison (1998) comments on the politics of

the late eighteenth century,

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The weapon of choice in this battle for public opinion was the ubiquitous

political pamphlet. Produced in various lengths and quantities, these

publications could be churned out rapidly and sold inexpensively. Since the

press was highly restrictive, however, most pamphlets had to be produced

clandestinely, and their writers remained anonymous. Hawked on the

street, distributed in the Palais de Justice, commented upon in manuscript

news sheets and the foreign press, these brochures quickly came to public

attention, and if interesting or compelling enough, they soon formed part of

public opinion. (p. 1)

It is my contention that the final edit of the film will be reproduced and distributed to public to

complete the ‘act of revolution against my oppressor’ component of the inquiry.

The Film

The film \prak-səs\ explores the intricate dilemma of duality between the dominant and

parallel passive voice of progress by interpreting the lessons of an ambiguous–oriented ‘teacher’.

The film is set in the ‘classroom’ of the oppressed and ‘instructs’ the passive through the

metaphor of the experiences of the oppressed on a hill. The following section will address the

style, and form of the film and will also provide examples of how images and audio have been

chosen to represent the researcher’s story.

As a short documentary film, \prak-səs\ draws its story line from the lived experiences

of the protagonist and explores the relationship that develops with the antagonist, namely the

oppressor. Over the course of the film, the audience is presented with the protagonist’s

18

experience in understanding the basis of his oppression. The film plays on the complicit nature

of the oppression as the ‘math’ teacher transforms into the teacher of the oppressed.

One of the main purposes for producing a documentary film is to provide an outlet for

‘pleasurable learning’ (Renov,1993). \prak-səs\ endeavors to provide not only a pleasurable

visual experience, but also to evoke an emotional response by providing imagery and story lines

that challenge the audience to reflect on their own experiences. The film, shot over the course of

a year, includes imagery from four distinct local seasons. This seasonal change provides the

audience with a deeper sense of the time involved in the reflective processes involved to achieve

praxis, as well as a picturesque backdrop for the story lines to unfold.

The four fundamental tendencies of documentary state that documentary should: reveal,

promote, analyze and express (Renov, 1993). \prak-səs\ ’s instructional themes in conjunction

with the subjects’ lived experiences, attempts to reveal the source of the protagonist’s

oppression. The film promotes the idea that perhaps rethinking progress may be a prudent

course of action through the imagery of a day spent pursuing the ‘bigger, better, faster’ on a cold

winter day. The film analyzes the environmental problem through a series of references to the

plight of the protagonist and his garden at the top of a hill. And finally, the film expresses the

need for change in the way that society accepts the modern dominant voice of progress through

the call for a stoppage in action.

\prak-səs\ contains elements from two modes of documentary film, namely:

performative and poetic. Performative documentaries accentuate the expressive aspect of a

filmmakers engagement with the subject (Nichols, 2001). \prak-səs\ relies on the protagonist’s

‘lessons on a hill’ to carry forward the story. Nichols (2001) notes that, “Performative

documentary underscores the complexity of our knowledge of the world by emphasizing its

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subjective and affective dimensions” (p. 131). In this sense, the film is less about explaining the

story but rather used as a vehicle to evoke ideas and emotions in the audience. Poetic

documentaries draw on the historical world to transform the material in distinct ways to reveal

truths (Nichols, 2001). \prak-səs\ explores the possibility of alternative forms of knowledge and

ways of thinking using ambiguous lessons from the protagonist.

\prak-səs\ uses evidentiary editing to emphasize the narrative and provide a strong

enough pace to the film to draw the audience further into the storylines. The film primarily

focuses on the use of evidentiary editing that supports the running narrative. The narration,

constructed from individual ‘sound bites’ initiate a static pace to the film. This technique aims to

maintain the audiences’ focus on the ambiguity of the narration. Numerous quick cuts employed

to support the narrative give the filmmaker the opportunity to impress upon the audience a need

to question their own experiences as a way to find ‘truth’ in the narrative. Nichols (1993)

commenting on authenticity and choice, “A conventional notion of authenticity is commonly

invoked that implies ‘These images are historical (old), therefore they are authentic (true).’ This

functions as the equivalent of a default value with historical material: Unless we are given reason

to think otherwise, we will accept them as authentic signs of their times” (p.177). \prak-səs\

illustrates elements of this perceived authenticity with imagery that the audience can connect to

easily. It is assumed that the authentic images provoke lived memories from the audience to

make immediate connections to their lived experiences such as going up and down hills or

viewing the scenery from the top of a hill.

The interviews in \prak-səs\ were shot to place the subject further into the context of the

film. Medium shots of the interviews serve to give the protagonist a ‘casual’ authority. \prak-

səs\ closely follows Campbell’s Universal Cultural Code for dominance (Hayes, 2008). The

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protagonist is initially positioned on the right side of the frame to emphasize the authority of the

dominant voice of progress that the ‘math’ teacher possesses. As the protagonist speaks from the

passive voice, he is positioned at varying levels on the left to accentuate the varying degrees of

passive voice. For example, the ‘weakest’ voice is that of the protagonist speaking on change, as

change might be regarded as more difficult to attain than defining or reflecting.

The film itself is a comedy of sorts with the protagonist going from hardship to affluence

and from anonymity to prominence. The protagonist in \prak-səs\, realizing the complicit role he

has played in the propagation of progress, breaks free of the oppression through actively

changing his approach in the ‘classroom’. The antagonist, in this case the dominant voice of

progress, begins to lose control as the ‘teacher’ begins to find freedom.

Renov (1993) remarks that, “…artwork should encourage inquiry, offer space for

judgement, and provide tools for evaluation and further action—in short, encourage an active

response” (p. 31). This film attempts to involve the audience in the film by combining images,

narrative and sound in ways that draw the audience deeper into the storyline.

In the opening sequence, viewers are introduced to the protagonist as he begins to

undergo a transformation from a math teacher discovering his oppressor to that of ‘evil canuck’

fighting against his oppressor. The film foreshadows what is to come as the protagonist surveys

the luge hill and is seen standing at attention in front of an observatory. The observatory is a

symbol of the dominant voice of progress juxtaposed against the protagonist walking on the ‘old

roads’. This ‘old roads’ roads metaphor enhances the concept of the dilemma of duality when put

side by side against the modern automobile introduced later in the film. The film opens with a

rendition of ‘No Me Llores Mas’. The song as performed, adds an element of sorrow to

accentuate the proposed oppression in the opening sequence.

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The first section of the film, ‘rethinking progress’, serves as the first ‘lesson’ from the

evil canuck. The dominant voice of progress is described as the ‘bigger, better, faster’ and is

shown through the production of a luge (naturbahn) track. In this sequence, the audience is

directed towards the passive voice’s cautionary flags as decoration rather than an immediate

danger to imply society’s lack of respect for the danger associated with the dominant voice of

progress. This feeling is also provided in the sequence’s final scene as the protagonist races to

the bottom without the use of his safety glasses. The music chosen for this section, ‘Blue Moon’

enhances the questions of validity of the evil canuck’s ‘lesson’. Just as a blue moon almost

never occurs, the protagonist’s reoccurring response of “what do you mean what do I mean?!?!”

insinuates that his ‘lesson’ is almost never accepted nor understood.

The intermission statement is taken from Friere’s (1968), Pedagogy of the Oppressed,

and serves to introduce the audience to the concept of a praxis. The image of the protagonist,

caught in contemplation between the dominant voice and the passive voice, serves to accentuate

the dilemma of duality seen in modern life. The passive voice is represented by a stationary

skeleton of an old automobile juxtaposed against the dominant voice characterized by the

movement of the modern world. This scene foreshadows the next two scenes’ contemplative and

active components.

‘Contemplation’, ties together several components of the film. First, the contemplative

aspect of a praxis is illustrated by providing picturesque images from the top of a hill. The

protagonist’s dilemma of duality, which serves as the instigator for his understanding of his

oppression, is seen more clearly as the story of the Great Gopher Massacre of 2008 and brings

light to the alternate voices of progress. The dominant voice is seen through the convenience of

the gopher bomb and the passive voice is heard in the evil canuck’s lesson on the dangerous

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exponential nature of the hill as the audience sees the pile of toxic waste transform into the hill.

The protagonist highlights his complicit nature in the cycle of oppression as he attempts to find a

use for all of the empty gopher pods via renting family housing with a ‘Short Term Lease’. The

music, ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’, serves to highlight the urgency for a voice of reason,

namely the evil canuck, as an instigator for the revolution ‘lessons’.

The final section of the film, ‘change as necessity’, provides the active component of the

praxis as the protagonist attempts to transform through action. Images of the evil canuck’s

struggle to climb the hill reveal the dominant voices’ overpowering nature as the audience is

drawn to the ease at which an automobile is ascending the hill. The passive voice of progress is

brought to the forefront as the protagonist resists the urge to drive up the imposing hill and

continue to lose until he reaches the summit a winner. This section’s music, ‘Blue Bossa’,

highlights the struggle to educate the general populace about the oppression provided by the

dominant voice of progress. The bossa nova style became prominent as a vehicle to teach an

uneducated populace in Brazil in the 1960’s (personal communication, Peter Davison, 2008).

Distribution

The film is meant to be distributed in three forms to complete the act of revolution.

Renov (1993) commenting on Brecht, “…art’s real success could be measured by its ability to

activate its audience” (p. 31). By distributing the film in several distinct methods the film has

the greatest opportunity to be viewed by a diverse audience and bring attention to the source of

this oppression.

First, copies of the film will be distributed by hand randomly in a public place to be

chosen at a later date. A minimum of twenty copies will be handed out in this fashion. Second,

23

the film will be made available to educators, chosen by the researcher, who are sympathetic to

the oppression. And lastly, the film will be entered in a minimum of three international short

film festivals when the proper application dates are made available.

The three short film festivals that \prak-səs\ will be entered in are The Manhatton Short,

CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival and the Amnesty International Film Festival (Movies that

Matter in 2009). By entering three large multi-screening festivals, it is the researchers hope to

reach a diverse and wide ranging audience.

The Manhatton Short is an international short film festival that screens films across

Europe, North and South America, and Australia. The 2007 festival screened films in 99 cities

in 19 countries across 4 continents. The festival’s overall mission is to, “unite audiences around

the world via the most creative short films in the world.” The second festival, CFC Worldwide

Short Film Festival, is regarded as one of the largest short film events in North America. Lastly,

the Amnesty International Film Festival provides a platform for film committed to human rights

and human dignity.

Discussion

Could attempting to reframe how progress is defined provide a starting point for the

revolution? Perhaps shifting from the dominant voice to the passive voice and changing the

transformations of progress from ‘bigger, better faster (and in more recent times smaller)’ to that

of ‘attaining environmental harmony at all costs’ would alter the present course of environmental

degradation and present a more harmonious way for societies to interact with the environment.

Bowers (1993) thinks so, “Suggesting changes in our language may sound naive in the face of

the immediate environmental challenge we face. But if we consider how the feminist movement

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focused attention on the importance of realigning the language with analogues that now seem

more appropriate, we can see that long-term solutions involve changes in consciousness, which

means changing language ” (p. 166). Conceivably if more people understood the dynamics of

how redefining our current dependence on the dominant voice of progress might lead us away

from the environmental crisis that is upon us, humanity as a whole could feel hope instead of

despair. Learning and accepting the passive voice of progress might set a standard for ‘doing

good’ in our environment.

Bowers (1993) envisions a society where humans overcome their dependence on the

dominant voice, “The challenge is to see through the illusions of a consumer oriented,

technologically based existence, the belief system of the dominant culture and to retain the past

cultural achievements that are compatible with the cultural equilibrium with the carrying

capacity of the natural systems that make up our biosphere” (p.10). This world certainly sounds

better than the alternative that the dominant voice of progress is currently offering but will take a

radical revolutionary stand against the dominant voice that continues to propagate, expand and

control mainstream thinking. The curriculum and lifestyle that families, neighbors, educators,

policy makers, and corporations should be emulating and implementing is one that stems from

the passive voice of progress and must include an intensive focus on our ecosystem and our place

in it, rather than pursuing dominant actions that inherently counteract the long term plausibility

of human survival. To quote Bowers (1993), “The challenge for educators will be to assess

whether the curricula they teach contribute to the myth of progress and an anthropocentric

universe or to a sustainable balanced living” (p. 190). This also serves as a call for educators to

change not only what they are teaching but also how they are teaching. It is difficult to preach

25

sustainability when the educator’s own livelihood is caught in the dominant voice of progress’s

grasp.

By illustrating the oppressive force of progress, it is this researchers hope that others will

become aware of the situation at hand and pursue the passive voice of progress in their lifestyle

to promote a harmonious existence within the environment.

26

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