Taylor Branch: "Myth and Miracles from the King Years" #1

Taylor Branch

“Myth and Miracles from the King Years”

            On Wednesday September 25^th, the 2013 Baird Pulitzer Prize Lecture brought in author Taylor Branch to discuss his research and connect it to current day concepts. Mr. Branch did the majority of his work on the Civil Rights Movement and the action of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior during this time.

            He began with a quick overview of a turning point in the movement as a whole. In May 1963, the entire movement was on the verge of failure, until some unlikely supporters stepped up to the plate. Children, with a wide range of ages, marched and endured dogs and hoses being turned on them. This broke the emotional barrier between the public and the movement and awakened citizenship within the country. Looking back, I honestly don’t ever remember learning about this event in school, which makes me question what we as a country gloss over and how we handle similar situations. We should be addressing everything that happens, regardless if it puts someone or a group of people in a poor light.

            The main point of the talk was that we are still trying to define what democracy is and what citizenship truly means. We are still at a gridlock since democracy is a fragile and moral challenge. Since we all have a history, Branch argued that we all own a piece of the world and we have to take responsibility for what happens. This is such a big picture statement, and I am not sure as college students we fully understand the magnitude of what this is implying. If we can even try to implement half of what this claim says, I think, like in the Civil Rights Movement, young adults can make a noticeable difference in the world.

            Branch gave three examples of things that both Republicans and Democrats agree on. The first, lotteries, is something that has only been around since 1964. Republicans think lotteries are better than taxes, while Democrats view them as an avenue to get money for schools. Regardless, Branch reasoned the lottery is deceptive, addictive and an inefficient way to get funds. The second concept was college sports and the amateur status of these athletes. Democrats think students should be focused on getting an education, but the Republicans think it is the fair way to handle the situation, since they are part of a franchise system. Branch had written a piece on this topic, and he doesn’t believe that student athletes have any representation or equal rights. I have never thought of this as being an issue, but since I now know people who are college level athletes, I am going to bring it up with them and attempt to understand their side of the issue. The last issue is creating safe districts by gerrymandering. I agree with Branch’s idea to have computers draw better districts that will be fair and have a proper influence. This doesn’t allow individuals to be equally represented, which is a flaw in our system.

            Branch continued with his explanation of how King believed in the phrase “equal souls, equal votes.” King believed there were votes everywhere. People who were strong and confronted those who tried to oppress them set the landmarks for the ones who would follow them. Not only in regards to race, this civil rights movement allowed other groups progress, whether they were grouped by race, gender, or ethnicity. These solutions came from broad engagement and a strong commitment to rights. If these people had not stepped forward and faced down those who fought to bring them down, our country would be a far cry from a democracy. It is our duty, Branch argued, to find something that makes one uncomfortable, with a different group of people than our usual crowd, and just do it. We have to find the line that divides us and make the conscious effort to cross it. As we can learn from our past, leaving our comfort zones can result in some monumental changes.

            This overall prompt was extremely relevant to Elon and our students. We have been pushing for more diversity on campus, and this just highlighted a way we can make strides toward our goal. Also, with the recent offensive words scribbled on some whiteboards, this lecture served as a needed reminder than we should all have the same respect and rights, regardless of what group we identify with or what we feel defines us as a person. Going into the lecture, I had no idea that the discussion would even be applicable to our current situation on campus. It was interesting to hear how even in today’s world, we can still be learning from the actions of some brave children, who knew that they had to power to make a change in the world.

Event 1: Aquí y Allí Movie Presentation

This past Friday I attended a screening of a Latin-American movie by the name of "Aquí y Alla," which was the debut film of up and coming director Antonio Mendez Esparza. The film won top prize at the Critics’ Week section of the Cannes Film Festival. This film was shown as part of the Hispanic Film Series that is being presented over the course of the next several weeks by the Spanish Film Club, which is supported by the Department of World Languages and Cultures here at Elon. 

The movie was shot in a documentary style, although it was fictional and actors were used to portray the characters. The main plot of the movie was about a Mexican citizen's return to his home and village after years of working in the United States and sending money to his family. It attempted to capture the subtleties and hardships that he and his children endured on a day to day basis. It was extremely realistic. Because of this it fluctuated between capturing my sympathy and nearly boring me to tears. It was a slower-paced movie, and it used its realistic shooting style to address the main paradox of being a provider in a Mexican home, this being that the father must occasionally desert his family in order to provide for them.


The most powerful moments in the movie for me were as follows:

• A muted, low-key and affectionate young romance between the father's eldest daughter and a poor orphaned teenager recently moved in from out of town. In one scene the boy practices break dancing on his own and appears talented, although one never really shakes the underlying feeling of desperation shared by him and everyone in the town over the ever-present scarcity of resources. It was moving to see him express himself artistically against a backdrop of seemingly inescapable poverty. Later on in the movie a scene cuts into the middle of a conversation he shares with his girlfriend in which he asks her if she would ever wait for him. By inference it soon becomes clear that he is asking her if she would wait for him to return if he left for America to find work. The eldest daughter is obviously conflicted by his question; it is clear that she is thinking of her mother's similar dilemma as she considers his thoughts. Her answer is never shown. 

• Potentially the most moving sequence in the movie is when the mother of the family, pregnant after her husband's return, has to go to the hospital earlier than expected due to a complication. She gives birth and is in critical condition and under hospital care for days while her husband travels all over to get her the correct medicines. Only her husband's point of view is ever shown, waiting in the waiting room or out picking up medicines. The doctors' pragmatic concern and realistic acting made the scene more powerful than any television medical drama. It seemed to really showcase the mediocre medical care and stress of living, although eventually both the mother and premature daughter ended up alright.

I value the experience of seeing this movie; as uniquely boring as it sometimes was, it always managed to be simultaneously captivating and quality food for thought. It was also interesting lingually to compare what I heard to the subtitles. It was refreshing and, at times, disorienting to me to see a movie shot so realistically. Instead of using gimmicks and plot twists to communicate a concept, it utilized the emotion and subtlety of everyday life moments of the family as its main substance. I kept genuinely expecting for someone to get attacked or something either terrible or wonderful to happen. Nothing ever did though- and in this way the movie left me with the peculiar feeling of actually having viewed reality and having been forced to ponder the actual lives of this Mexican family. (I was reminded of its fictitious nature, however, when I laughed out loud after recognizing an elderly actress from the comedy Nacho Libre.) The movie ended abruptly when the father had to leave a second time, and this was frustrating as it left the viewer curious as to what happened to the characters we had invested our time in. In retrospect, I think this is what the director wanted though, to spark concern over the lives of others far away. 

Connor Grennan - Event 2

Conor Grennan - Common Reading Lecture                                           9/17/13


     On Tuesday evening I attended the common reading lecture by Conor Grennan, author of Little Princes. Although I have not yet read the book, I was excited to attend this lecture because I learned a lot about the book in my training to be an Orientation Leader and the topic (child trafficking in Nepal) was one of great interest to me. Based on the knowledge I obtained from my training and discussion with friends who had read the book, Conor Grennan, as a person, was not at all what I expected.
    Grennan began his lecture by explaining to the audience how he ended up in Nepal. While I expected Grennan to tell us that he embarked on the trip with specific intentions of performing service, he quickly admitted that he was traveling around the world for fun and only committed to volunteering at an orphanage in Nepal in order to impress friends back home. The fact that he volunteered for show instead of out of generosity for such an important cause rubbed me the wrong way. Then, when describing his first day at the orphanage, Grennan expressed that he disliked children and was not looking forward to actually completing the service that he had bragged about to his friends. After hearing this, I started to think that I had given Grennan way more credit than he deserved since he did not seem like the outstanding individual I had expected to hear from.
     However, as Grennan continued telling his story, he slowly began to gain back integrity in my mind.  I think Grennan approached his lecture the way he did so he would be more appealing to his young audience. While I did not necessarily appreciate his approach, many people I discussed the lecture with loved the fact that Grennan put himself on a level playing field with Elon students and came off as a very relatable person. Although I did not like his delivery as much as many of the other audience members, I think he successfully engaged us and I enjoyed listening to his story about the Nepali orphans.
     While I loved listening to the account of his adventures in Nepal, I think the real message I took away from his lecture was not about the book. Listening to Conor Grennan helped me understand how much a person can change. As I previously mentioned, the way Grennan originally portrayed himself made me question his character. This judgment, however, was premature on my part because throughout his story he explained how his service changed him as a person. Through his service in Nepal he developed a love for kids, he met his wife, he discovered his faith, and he started the nonprofit organization Next Generation Nepal. This idea that all people have the potential to change and are able to develop into a more upstanding character if they take advantage of their opportunities, allowed me to leave the lecture feeling excited for my future at Elon.

Chasing Ice - Event 1

Chasing Ice (film screening)                                                      9/16/2013

     Chasing Ice, an environmental awareness documentary was screened for Elon students by the National Geographic Channel. The movie followed photographer James Balog, originally a climate change skeptic, through his efforts to transform the world's view on climate change. The film chronicled the journey of Balog's photography team as they planted time-lapse cameras in the Arctic.
     Photography is a hobby of mine, so I particularly enjoyed this documentary. I think often visual elements make written or oral arguments more compelling, so in this sense I think the film was extremely successful. Even skeptics would have a hard time disputing climate change after viewing Balog's photographs which captured multi-year time-lapse photographs of rapidly melting glaciers in the Arctic.
     The technology required for this kind of experiment was intriguing. Skilled engineers were hired to build solar panels to power the cameras, and countless protective gear had to be developed to protect the cameras from frigid Arctic winters and wind. I especially appreciated the fact that the documentary showed us the many failed attempts of the engineers, because I think this is a concept that applies to any discipline. Perseverance is key, and even if you are not successful the first time, it is important to not give up until you reach your goal.
     Though Balog and his team struggled at first, his final project was a hauntingly beautiful depiction of the Earth's changing climate. Because of my appreciation of photography, I think the movie had an even more profound impact on me. Time lapse photographs showed the glaciers rapidly melting due to climate change, and when looking at the before/after pictures, it would be almost impossible to claim that climate change is not real. Not only did Balog's photographs do a good job proving that climate change is real, but they were also beautifully composed photographs, making them more appealing to the viewer.
     The only aspect of the film that I disliked was that it did not present enough hope for the future. While it did an excellent job educating viewers and depicting the reality of climate change, I left the viewing feeling disheartened. In my opinion, there was not an adequate call to action. While I will definitely share the documentary with family and friends to help spread awareness of climate change, I wish the documentary had presented me with more impactful ways to join the cause.

One Day Play Review

            From 7:30 PM September 6^th to 8:00 PM September 7^th, six plays were conceived, cast, directed, rehearsed, and performed.  This was part of Elon’s One Day Play Festival, sponsored by Alpha Psi Omega (the theater honor society).  Writers were given the task of incorporating the line “I can’t do anything with this duck in the room!” into an original ten-minute play.  To make things more difficult ach writer was given a different genre and two random photographs to shape the play.  In a way, the writing process of these plays reminded me of the research I am currently doing to find my Fellows project.

            As expected, the plays were extremely different even though they all shared a common line of dialogue.  One play was a fantasy about a gender role-reversed land where girls read comic books and saved princes in castles.  The next one was about a recently diseased man who gets one more night on Earth to lose his virginity.  Another play told the story of a man who wants revenge on the man who killed his one true love.  Some plays relied on the plot while others relied more on pop culture gags and sexual humor; both were generally well received by the audience.  It was intriguing to see the different results stemming from a common element.  Whether the line was said completely out of context or at the height of a climax, the audiences' reactions deemed it a success.

            While I enjoyed myself at the event, I wonder how people outside of the Department of Performing Arts would have liked it; Yeager’s seats were primarily filled with students in the department.  This could be because they wanted to support their friends’ work.  I, however, would attribute it to its advertising strategies.  Last year, I only found out about the event because my roommate’s sophomore friend forwarded her a departmental email about it.   This alienates members of the Elon community who enjoy theater but are not members of the Department of Performing Arts. 

Ultimately, I would love to expand the One Day Plays into a bigger event for the Department.  Its success has been shown with a packed house and rousing applause; with more advertising, there could be an even bigger audience.  Maybe Alpha Psi Omega could charge $3 a ticket and donate the proceeds to after-school arts programs.  There is a lot of potential for this event and I think this would benefit the community, the performers (because bigger audiences are more fun than smaller ones), and the department.  

Juno Díaz: Purpose and Prose

Arts and Humanities Event #1                                                                                               9/10/2013

It wasn’t Juno Díaz’s published work that surprised me, it was his spoken words and the way he said them. His lecture began similarly to other famous author talks: with a reading from his published works and a few comments about his writing process and how he finds inspiration. I was dutifully taking notes, expecting to write words that I’ve heard before about being a writer. But by the end, I found myself frantically trying to record the words that were making my head buzz.

“We are trying to see and live in a world that takes out our tongues and spikes out our eyes because we can’t say what we feel or see what’s really there because we’re not rewarded for it.”

At these words I stopped my casual scribbling and blinked a few times. I could have sworn a few moments prior Díaz had been discussing his use of second person and gracefully covering the topic of diversity. But suddenly the comfortable veil that most speakers use to keep from getting too deep or for staying politically correct was torn right in half and he began to speak about authenticity and the culture of respectability. People are lying all the time, he told us, for the sake of politeness, and it is an artist’s job to see beneath all the superficiality. The way he said these things, it was as if he was simply speaking his mind and the words flowed out like prose. He told us that our generation was born into a unique societal movement and that we’ve been told to stay down and keep quiet. We’re so pressured by adult concerns and issues that we get bogged down and grow up too quickly. We’re expected to submit to society as soon as possible. But if we wanted, we could cause more ruckus than all the generations before us.

It was an odd direction for the lecture to take, but in the end, I found myself inspired and really excited about the way he spoke in prose.

 Díaz left me thinking about how communication really can move people and how what we create can make incredible changes. His thoughts changed the way I see my world, even if it was just a little bit. And isn’t that the greatest reason to write?

-Miranda Romano