La Via UCR…
The life a college student is an experience that many can relate to and in many ways connect to despite location and time. In many ways one could argue that in itself the experience that a person has in college is a poetic one on its own. Although we all have our own stories rooted in the school we went to and the people that we surrounded ourselves with, we connect on the simple fact that n college we face the test of being on our own and defining who we become. In the same sense, when coming up with the form in which I wanted to create the film, the idea a poetic style documentary seemed ironic in the best way possible. It also contributed to the fact that the issue I choose to depict in my film is not one of poetic proportions but rather of an expository sense and yet the poetic style of documentary film making, in my defense, became the clear way in which this issue would be showcased to have an impact on the audience that I intend would watch it.
When connecting the college experience to the issue of food insecurity my film developed into a poetic documentary. I looked at the research I had conducted and every concept I came up with, one after the other was rooted in creating a sense of connection and feeling between my audience and the film. My audience is specifically the UCR student body, which is why this connection is so important. In my time here as a student I have begun to realize that despite we all very different backgrounds on how we got to this institution of higher learning, over time we all begin to see the flaws in system and we have very similar ideas about how college, in particular our school, should treat its students. Multiple times in my 5 years here I have seen students gather in protest against the administration over how it goes about treating its student body.
My goal with my film is to instill the same bond of unity over the issue of food insecurity amongst our students. In my opinion my film would be nothing it did not create some form reaction on which action would be taken. The power that this style of film has over people is that it creates this sense of action within them. As I had stated in class, our papers and projects would be nothing more than writing if we don’t plan for our work to be read and seen so that others may also be aware of the issues we face. This also explains my reasoning as to why I pushed the concept of Medium. I bring this up because I believe that the form the poetic style of film making that I choose may have been directed to the audience that I had of the UCR student body. But with Medium I would be able to expand my audience to so many out there that may be in similar situations to simply for them to be aware of what is happening in different parts of the world. Many times we as students are never told how powerful a voice we have to influence people from all over the world. We can fight the injustice and of the world with the strongest weapons which is our voice and knowledge.
In my documentary, I connect the global movement of “La Via Campesina” to the very issue of food insecurity at UCR. My attempt was to prove that the work that many staff members here at UCR, as well as students, are in fact contributing to this grand movement even if they don’t know they are doing it. The goals of this organization are to ensure the rights of people to their land as well as the food that grows in their land. On top of that it also works towards ensuring equal access to nutritious and affordable food to all people. Food is right that all people in world should have and yet many, such as the student body at UCR, don’t have access to food simply because it is too expensive and inaccessible. The work that Fortino Morales has done with the garden is one example of how some staff members at this institution are working towards finding ways in which we can solve this problem. By attempting to promote sustainability and agricultural plans that not only thrive in Riverside but also benefit the school and its students, he is working towards achieving many of the goals that “La Via Campesina” hopes to accomplish one day for all people of the world that suffer from similar obstacles. Like many of the farm workers, Fortino faces opposition form a greater power that seeks economical benefits rather than sustainable methods. In this case UCR and its lack of consideration for the work that Fortino puts into this program.
Another example of the global movement present on our campus was the work of former student and now alumni, Melina Reyes. When the topic of food insecurity was first brought up at UCR it didn’t seem to get much attention. In fact the majority of the student population wasn’t even aware that it was an issue. Melina Reyes, who was part of ASUCR while at her time here at UCR, took it upon herself to bring attention to the issue. After no form of solution was presented she decided to work in a nonviolent manner towards achieving a a solution for an issue that impacted 60% of our student body. She decided to participate in a hunger strike in her own for five days until the ASUCR board came up with a solution to fight food insecurity and demand that the UCR administration pull through on it. Because of her efforts we gained what we know as the R’ Pantry. Although not many students are aware of the work she didn’t, it still had a major impact on the school. The solution may not have been the best but it stands proof that the students have the power to create change. My documentary seek to provide the students with the knowledge of these people who work towards all of us having better access to the things we need and have a right to. Melina’s work also proves that the work being done her contributes strongly to that of “La Via Campesina”. This movement strives on nonviolent methods of protest and resistance to push towards the advancement of all just like our students do here on our own campus.
All this contributes to the reasons why I choose this style of documentary. I wish to create a film that impacts my audience with a feeling of power. The power to see that we can change anything if we work together. As humans emotions connect us together to understand each other and through my film that is exactly the impact I wish to have.
Site Visit Reports:
UCR Campus (Main Sections of Campus):
For this location there will be several shots that include different sections of the campus. When referring to the script/storyboard the main intention in including these sections of campus to highlight the attention to detail on how the campus is made to look like a very environmentally conscious institution when in reality it uses this image to overshadow the issues that this film attempts to confront. When we think about the location in which UCR is built, it raises questions as to how many of the plants, and agriculture that we see on our campus is sustained. Taking into consideration that they city itself has very specific climate and ecosystem that could be described as dry, with limited moisture. In this case, it being pretty much a desert state, why is it that UCR’s campus has a very green, bright and vivid plant life?
In this site report it is important than to take note the amount of water needed to sustain such plant life on campus. This would also include discussing the fact that recently there was an issue brought up to UCR in which students complained that many of the water irrigation systems on campus wasted tons of water without even truly being used to water the plants.
As stated earlier the report for, I wish to use the shots taken of this site to bring attention to the juxtaposition between how the campus looks and the location in which its built. While also expressing these issues through shots of this section of campus, they will also serve a critical transitioning shots because it will provide a sense of continuity and reflection on the campus after different sections of the film. This will also contribute to the understanding of the R’ Garden and the vegetation that can be found there.
R’ Garden:
The R’ Garden is going to be a very crucial site in my documentary because it directly affects the issues that I will be discussing. First, I would like to take shots with a hand held camera/device. The reason is because I would like to give the affect that one is physically walking through the garden. This should create a sense of connection to the garden as well as give a clear observation so as to create the sense of belonging even if the viewer has never been to the garden. Aside from this walking shot through the garden I would also like to take a few aerial shots of the garden. First is because this shot could come in handy when referring back to the garden as well as contribute to the poetic style ending to the film (Refer to Storyboard). Another shot, and this would be potential pending agreements with Fortino Morales, to shot the actual R’ Garden team mending to the garden and the vegetation in the garden. This would allow me to showcase the team that is working towards this idea of sustainability to UCR. This shot could be very crucial in create credibility for the film itself.
Using these shots, this film will be able to connect the issue of food insecurity amongst the students with the fact that UCR is not only not providing nutritious affordable food but isn’t even using its own land to grow sufficient natural locally grown vegetation. On top of that (this point would also create a well structured segue into the next location) the lack of vegetation grown by UCR and is creating higher spending costs for the food the school provides to students. This means that since the dinning halls and the restaurants that are on campus do not use the local grown products that we could be growing they uses genetically modified fruits and vegetables for the food they prepare. This is not only unhealthy. This shots from this site will be crucial in portraying these issues on a clear level with the audience.
UCR Dinning Halls/Restaurants:
This site will be used in relation to the discussion of the ways in which UCR Is using locally grown vegetation, if any, in the food that it provides for its students. Getting access to some these locations may be difficult because of that fact that many times they are restricted to staff only and even some locations are only allowed for managers. The biggest help will come from the student workers themselves. Mostly shots that I would need are those from food preparations, procedures for food prep, storage of produce, and most importantly delivery of produce. This shot may be the most important from this location because it would bring attention to where the produce is coming from. Like stated before when UCR buys from private vendors the price for food goes up meaning that even less of the student body is able to afford the food that the school is providing.
Using the hand held device/camera as used in the R’ Garden, I would like to attempt a walk through of the back kitchens and storage facilities for the dinning halls and restaurants. Again this type of shot will hopefully give the audience a sense of familiarity with the location but will also create a sense of relationship between the student workers and the students they serve that primarily is the audience.
UCR Green Houses (Plant Bio Development):
This site may be the most difficult to get access to so it is a definite potential site considering in many cases you need to have clearance through the graduate department in order to access these locations. However, in the case that we do get access to this location, I would like to film a few shots, mostly high angle looking down camera shots that show the plant diversity that UCR is developing through the CAFÉ program. The reason I pick this type of angle shot is because I want to the audience the idea that the amount of plant life is vast. This contributes to the argument that the film will make in relation to the fact that UCR spends tons of money on this department that is creating new types of plants for major corporations, such as Monsanto. So why is it that we have so much access to plant bio development but the department of sustainability is being closed down and the R’ Garden that is supposed to provide for our local community, specifically our students, isn’t getting any help from the administration.
Although some may argue that filming this location through a high angle shot may only give the appearance, I still believe that for the sake of the films argument, this shot would make the biggest statement despite what the department may say.
Script:
Below you find a sample script of my project. Please I encourage all and any to provide feed back on how I should go about creating this film. Also if anyone would like to participate I am open to having a creative team created for this.
