SEEKING SOCIAL JUSTICE THROUGH DOCUMENTARY FILM
In the course “Seeking Social Justice through Documentary Film,” the focus was on critical understanding of how nonfiction media can generate transformative social impact across the globe. Students analyzed documentaries, social media, and multimedia platforms to identify and examine, visual/narrative strategies, target audiences, producing agencies and the ethics around their persuasion methods. One of the highlights of the course was the emphasis on intersectionality and reflexivity in our approach. Learners analyzed topics including pro-refugee media campaigns, protests against anti-authoritarian governments, algorithmic justice, deepfake technology, and LGBTQ rights. They also explored how the evolution of media technologies and changing ideological discourses are transforming the production, distribution, exhibition, and reception of documentaries in the last century.
Throughout the semester, Dr. Etem aimed to create a supportive environment that challenged students to think critically about issues of social justice. She encouraged students to share their perspectives, and she worked to foster a sense of community within the classroom. In addition to written assignments, students also produced nonfiction media projects to support a social justice movement. She is proud of the work my students produced, which included short films about various diversity, equity, and inclusion related subjects. Students aimed to raise awareness about subjects such as mental health, hazing, gentrification, sustainability, transgender youth, abortion, fast fashion and the criminal justice system. The projects mostly focused on the UVA and Charlottesville community, featuring members of the Virginia Collegiate Queer Collective, Innocence Project at the UVA School of Law, Inter-Sorority/Fraternity Council, and more.
Here are brief descriptions of the student projects:
Breaking the Status Quo (Andi Sink, 2022) is about the Virginia Collegiate Queer Collective (VCQC), a newly formed organization that seeks to unite queer student organizations at the University of Virginia to combat threats to Virginia’s queer communities. The proposed model policies by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin were a major catalyst in the VCQC’s formation. The filmmaker focuses on the work of activists to show how these policies would redefine gender as one’s biological sex and remove the rights of students to self-identify as transgender, among other changes that undo progress made in the past two years for the rights of transgender students. The documentary aims to function as a political project with the express purpose of motivating and mobilizing viewers to take on activist roles in their communities by aligning the viewer with a cause, challenging normative ways of looking at issues of civil rights, and creating intimacies between the documentary subject and the audience.
A Collateral Nation (Hanna Lynch, 2022) aims to educate the public about the damaging effects of environmental racism on the health and well-being of black and indigenous groups in America, and offer insight on how to initiate change on a local level. The documentary features interviews with members of the Lakota Sioux and Ogalala Sioux tribes in South Dakota, as well as other activists, and explores how discriminatory policies and unequal relationships with individuals who establish national policies contribute to environmental discrimination. The documentary also highlights the spiritual connection indigenous people have with their land and the disconnect between colonialist policy makers and the religious and interpersonal relationships indigenous people have with their land. The documentary argues that agencies at all levels struggle to protect people of color from these discriminatory practices.
Criminal Injustice (Maggie Laird, 2022) highlights the issue of wrongful convictions and the work of the Innocence Project, a non-profit organization founded by lawyers Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld. The documentary investigates the factors and effects of wrongful convictions and includes interviews with members of the project and a law professor. The project aims to create policy changes and prevent wrongful convictions from happening, while also bringing attention to the racial and class disparities in the American prison system.
Hazing on Grounds (Ingrid Benkovitz and Susanna Plageman, 2022) seeks to understand why hazing persists across the American universities and what resources are available at UVA to combat it. The film features representatives from the Gordie Center and Hoos Against Hazing. The student filmmakers focus on the anti-hazing bill, Senate Bill 439, also called “Adam’s Law,” which was brought to Virginia’s General Assembly session after the death of Adam Oakes from hazing-related alcohol poisoning while pledging a fraternity at Virginia Commonwealth University. The filmmakers explain how the bill proposes to require Virginia colleges and universities to publicly post hazing incidents, grant medical amnesty to students who seek medical assistance in a hazing incident and require hazing prevention and training to students.
The Truth about Critical Race Theory (Anoosha Murtaza, 2022) debunks common misconceptions and conservative rhetoric surrounding the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in K-12 schools. Through archival footage, photographs, and interviews, my student exposed audiences to how this controversy has taken place in southern states and states with a recent liberal history and is centered around parents and politicians claiming that the education system is teaching “racist” and anti-American notions about African Americans in the country. As Murtaza demonstrates in her film, scholars have shown that CRT is mainly taught in graduate schools and is not taught in elementary, middle, or high schools. The film starts by explaining the recent controversies surrounding CRT, then transitions to uncover the truth that it is not taught in K-12 schools and the conservative backlash is unwarranted. The film is based on her individual research, personal experiences, conversations with peers, and interviews with African American professors across different departments at UVA. Throughout the production like her other peers in the class, Murtaza followed feminist practices and ethical principles; she informed her interviewees about how she would conduct the interviews, where the film would go, and who would see it.
No More Roe: Where Do We Go from Here? (Amelia Faison & Caroline Sloan, 2022) explores the potential consequences of the Supreme Court of the United States overturning Roe v. Wade. Through interviews with activists, the filmmakers show that this situation could allow individual states to limit or ban access to abortion. The filmmakers argue that such restrictions will not prevent abortions but will instead lead to unsafe practices or force women to travel long distances to access healthcare. The film focuses on Virginia, which currently provides safe and legal abortions up until the end of the second trimester. Yet, the filmmakers also indicate that the new Governor Glenn Youngkin is attempting to impose a 15-week ban on abortions. The film highlights the importance of protecting women’s reproductive rights, the role of the government in regulating women’s bodies, and the impact of such decisions on marginalized communities, including those affected by structural racism and poverty.
Hoos Gentrifying (Meghan Gilmer and Deemah Alharthi, 2022) sheds light on gentrification in Charlottesville and its resulting displacement and environmental injustice. The focus is on the University of Virginia and the impact it has had on the surrounding areas. The film highlights discriminatory real estate practices, problematic expansion, and increased environmental threats. Student-producers aim to educate UVA students and Charlottesville residents on the history of gentrification and encourage action to address it as an environmental injustice. Through voice-over and interviews, the film pinpoints to the role of institutions perpetuating environmental racism, inaccessibility to healthcare, and unequal access to a healthy physical environment. Yet, the filmmakers also indicate the efforts to create a more welcoming, equitable, and inclusive environment in Charlottesville, such as “Cville Plans Together” and the reconstruction plan for “Friendship Court.”
The Silent Struggle: Mental Health in College (Gigi McLeod, 2022), aims to challenge stereotypical representations of mental illness in media and raise awareness about the mental health crisis among college students, specifically focusing on the University of Virginia. The documentary features personal testimonies from students and expert insight from David Yost at UVA’s Crisis and Psychological Services to communicate the severity of the issue and provide resources for those struggling. The goal of the project is to inform, educate, and inspire individuals to seek help if they need it and to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about mental illness.
Inspiring Consumer Action to Combat Fast Fashion (Emma Spence, 2022) delves into the fast fashion industry as a significant factor for causing global pollution and unethical workplace treatment. The filmmaker offers statistical data about major corporations such as H&M, Zara, Old Navy, Topshop, Primark, Princess Polly, Shein, and the URBN portfolio and explains how they produce 92 million tons of textile waste every year. The filmmaker invites audiences to make a pledge to increase consumer awareness and select sustainable and ethical products. Furthermore, to combat the fast fashion crisis, the filmmaker encourages audiences to purchase second-hand products like those interviewed in the film at the event “Fashion for a Cause at UVA.”