History From Above Silent Film
OUR PROJECT
AS THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS WORSENED IN 2015, MANY HISTORIANS BEGAN COMPARING WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY IN SYRIA TO WHAT HAPPENED IN EUROPE DURING WORLD WAR II. IN OUR CLASS, WE DID THE SAME. WE ASKED, WHY ARE SIMILAR PROBLEMS OCCURRING TODAY AS THE PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED 80 YEARS AGO?
THIS LED TO FURTHER, MORE UNIVERSAL QUESTIONS: WHY DO PEOPLE PERSECUTE OTHERS? WHY DO PEOPLE FOLLOW CRUEL LEADERS? WHY DO PEOPLE SEE OTHERS IN NEED AND DO NOTHING? WHY ARE CIVILIANS TARGETED IN WAR?
WE CREATED BLACK AND WHITE SILENT FILMS TO EXPLORE THESE QUESTIONS AND TO DEVELOP EMPATHY FOR THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, BOTH FROM THE PAST AND THE PRESENT.
THE FACES OF THE FILMS ARE OURS. THE SITUATIONS ARE NOT, BUT THEY COULD BE.
SINCERELY,
THE KINGS AND QUEENS
AS THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS WORSENED IN 2015, MANY HISTORIANS BEGAN COMPARING WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY IN SYRIA TO WHAT HAPPENED IN EUROPE DURING WORLD WAR II. IN OUR CLASS, WE DID THE SAME. WE ASKED, WHY ARE SIMILAR PROBLEMS OCCURRING TODAY AS THE PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED 80 YEARS AGO?
THIS LED TO FURTHER, MORE UNIVERSAL QUESTIONS: WHY DO PEOPLE PERSECUTE OTHERS? WHY DO PEOPLE FOLLOW CRUEL LEADERS? WHY DO PEOPLE SEE OTHERS IN NEED AND DO NOTHING? WHY ARE CIVILIANS TARGETED IN WAR?
WE CREATED BLACK AND WHITE SILENT FILMS TO EXPLORE THESE QUESTIONS AND TO DEVELOP EMPATHY FOR THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, BOTH FROM THE PAST AND THE PRESENT.
THE FACES OF THE FILMS ARE OURS. THE SITUATIONS ARE NOT, BUT THEY COULD BE.
SINCERELY,
THE KINGS AND QUEENS
Link for for silent film: https://www.wevideo.com/view/631496722
Some countries do not recognize the danger refugees are facing in their own countries.
“But they do not take in refugees to their own countries: None of them officially recognize the legal concept of refugee hood.” Other groups believe that the risks of accepting refugees into their own countries outweighs the reward. “There is risk associated with bringing anybody in from the outside, but especially from a conflict zone like that” said FBI Director, James Comey. Many people are afraid of what would happen if there were to ever be another terror threat, a risk that many people associate with accepting anyone from a conflict zone. The administration emphasized that it would not relax the lengthy criminal and terrorist background checks demanded of refugee applicants. This current vetting process can take 24 to 36 months. Some countries don’t think their current screening processes are secure enough to keep out terrorists. The current process of background checks involves a registration process, an in-depth interview, home country reference checks, and biological screening such as a iris scans. |
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Link to Festival Del Sol Poster: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-IMdMziMIKRJJ6lwl7Xc3cd_q5reeEF7edHuVFPvQs8/edit?ts=571456f8
Distrusting Syrian Refugees
Group Question: Why do people see others in need and do nothing?
Political Scientist Question: Why aren’t countries letting Syrian refugees into their country?
In March, 2011 ISIS started a war. This civil war caused many people from Syria to flee their country because their lives are being put at risk. About 9 million refugees have nowhere to go, and 11 million refugees have been killed or forced to leave their home. Out of those 9 million refugees, only 135,000 have applied for aid. Only a few of them have had their visas accepted. (Mercy Corps.) Certain countries are refusing to let refugees into their countries because groups of very important people have many reasons. One reasons is because some countries do not recognize the danger refugees are facing in their own countries. Another reason is because some countries don’t think their screening processes are secure enough to keep out terrorists. The third reason is because some countries do not think the danger of accepting refugees outweighs the rewards of doing so.
Some countries don’t recognize the danger refugees are facing in their own countries. Monarchies in the Gulf Countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are not helping refugees by taking them in and offering safety. Instead, they are donating money to countries that do take refugees in. Kuwait has donated $800 million and the UAE donated $364 billion. (Jane Kinninmont.) The article, “Why Aren’t Gulf Countries Taking in Syrian Refugees,” states, “But they do not take in refugees to their own countries: None of them officially recognize the legal concept of refugeehood.” (Jane Kinninmont.) This quote shows that they don’t actually acknowledge the fact that there are people who are in danger and need to flee to safety.
Other countries are hesitant to let refugees into their countries because they don’t think their current screening processes are secure enough to keep out terrorists. In the article, “Syrian Refugees Not Welcome, states, “Republican Nathan Deal, he said Georgia will not accept Syrian refugees until the federal government and Congress conducts a thorough review of current screening procedures and background checks.” (Fantz and Brumfield.) This quote shows how republicans want the refugees to be checked and that they have enough information about each individual, so that they are sure that they aren’t dangerous. The registration process includes refugee interviews, home country reference checks and biological screening such as iris scans. Only 50% of these refugees pass the screening process. This process takes about 18-24 months. (Alex Altman.)
Other groups of people believe that the risk of accepting refugees into their country outweighs the rewards that this can bring. In the article, “Can Terrorists Really Infiltrate the Syrian Refugee Program?,” Berman states, “There is risk associated with bringing anybody in from the outside, but especially from a conflict zone like that. (Berman.) This quote is saying that there is a huge risk when they accept refugees that come from Syria and they do not want to take the chance of risking people’s lives.
Many people are not comfortable with taking in Syrian refugees into their country because of many reasons. Three of those reasons are that countries do not recognize the danger that refugees are in, they don’t think their current background checks on refugees are secure enough to keep out terrorists, and they do not think that the danger of accepting refugees outweighs the rewards of doing so. We can change this by making every state accept in Syrian refugees. The countries with more money and a bigger military can take a bigger amount of refugees. With more money and a bigger military the country will be able to provide more and their security will be bigger, therefore a less chance of a terrorists infiltrate the Syrian Refugee program.
Works Cited
Altman, Alex. "This Is How the Syrian Refugee Screening Process Works." Time. Time, 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
Berman, Russel. “Can Terrorists Really Infiltrate the Syrian Refugee Program?” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 18 Nov. 18. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Fantz, Ashley. “Refugees Not Welcome.” N.p., 19 Nov. 2015. Web
Ian. "There Are Serious, Unbigoted Reasons to Be Wary of a Flood of Syrian Refugees." There Are Serious, Unbigoted Reasons to Be Wary of a Flood of Syrian Refugees. N.p., 18 Nov. 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
Kinninmont, Jane. “Why Aren’t Gulf Countries Taking in Syrian Refugees?” N.p., 9 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2016
Mercy Corp. "Quick Facts: What You Need to Know about the Syria Crisis." Mercy Corps. N.p., 05 Feb. 2016. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
History From Above: My experience as a Group Member
One step was to write a research paper based on our question. After editing and critiquing our research papers it was time to write the script for our silent films. We wrote the script using facts from our research paper. My group member Alexandra said, "We were all responsible for finish our research papers and finishing our part of the poster." After our script was perfect we started to film. After our film was finished we started to work on our poster. The poster included the answers to the question and the evidence. I think that everyone was responsible enough to finish our tasks, but Sydney took the leader role and helped us all to finish our project.
Sydney's super power would be super speed because she would finish her tasks fast and then help the rest of us to finish our task. Vanessa's super power would be teletransportation because if one of us was confused she would come when ever we were and helped us. Alexandra's super power would be mind control because she can make people listen to her. My super power would be super writing skills according to Alexandra because, " whenever we're stuck on writing something, Melissa can write it fast and nicely."
One way that that I could improve is by getting my work done on time and put more effort in my work. At first I didn't really work as hard on my research paper, but then I started understanding the topic more. Therefore I knew what the problem was, and who was against Syrian refugees. After that I was able to write more and put more thought into it.
As a group I think that we worked really well on our scrips for the film. We all had similar ideas as to how we wanted the film to look like, so putting our evidence and quotes together to make three scenes wasn't difficult. My group member Sydney said, "We could improve by taking in the importance of our tasks, that way we could finish everything with less stress."
If I had to do this project all over again that I would change how we only left one person in charge of editing the movie. Also how we tried working on at least three tasks at once, when we should've worked on one and finish it. What I would not change is how we put the scenes together. I thought the film looked pretty well.
Sydney's super power would be super speed because she would finish her tasks fast and then help the rest of us to finish our task. Vanessa's super power would be teletransportation because if one of us was confused she would come when ever we were and helped us. Alexandra's super power would be mind control because she can make people listen to her. My super power would be super writing skills according to Alexandra because, " whenever we're stuck on writing something, Melissa can write it fast and nicely."
One way that that I could improve is by getting my work done on time and put more effort in my work. At first I didn't really work as hard on my research paper, but then I started understanding the topic more. Therefore I knew what the problem was, and who was against Syrian refugees. After that I was able to write more and put more thought into it.
As a group I think that we worked really well on our scrips for the film. We all had similar ideas as to how we wanted the film to look like, so putting our evidence and quotes together to make three scenes wasn't difficult. My group member Sydney said, "We could improve by taking in the importance of our tasks, that way we could finish everything with less stress."
If I had to do this project all over again that I would change how we only left one person in charge of editing the movie. Also how we tried working on at least three tasks at once, when we should've worked on one and finish it. What I would not change is how we put the scenes together. I thought the film looked pretty well.
Reflection
Exhibition
Our exhibition was simple and clean. About 20 tables with all of our work displayed and four projectors that were displaying our silent films. There was also music playing in the background. I mostly talked to my mom and my friends from my old school. They were listening very carefully to what I would say, because they were really curious as to what the answer to my big question was. I talked about why people do not help others in need and explained what the bystander effect is.
I was really proud of how I was able to explain our work. I was really nervous because I thought that I wouldn't be able to explain our process since beginning to end, but I did really well on doing so. I was also proud of how our table set up looked like. It was very simple and clean. Displaying our work and screenshots of our film. I'm really proud of this because I thought that everything was going to look terrible and unprofessional, but it looked great.
If there were a re-do I would have added at least the introduction of all of our research papers. I feel like that would have showed where we got the ideas to create our films and the posters.
I was really proud of how I was able to explain our work. I was really nervous because I thought that I wouldn't be able to explain our process since beginning to end, but I did really well on doing so. I was also proud of how our table set up looked like. It was very simple and clean. Displaying our work and screenshots of our film. I'm really proud of this because I thought that everything was going to look terrible and unprofessional, but it looked great.
If there were a re-do I would have added at least the introduction of all of our research papers. I feel like that would have showed where we got the ideas to create our films and the posters.
Learning
At first, I thought that Syrian refugees were being accepted into all countries. By doing research for my paper I found that only a small amount of countries are letting them in. Also I thought that there weren't a lot of refugees, at least 500, but now I know that there are millions.
What was good about using this type of film is that we didn't need to buy any props or worry about learning what we had to say. We were able to finish these films faster because we didn't have to practice dialogue. If we would've needed to learn dialogue it would've taken more time and the films possibly wouldn't have been finished by exhibition. How we were able to communicate the
What was good about using this type of film is that we didn't need to buy any props or worry about learning what we had to say. We were able to finish these films faster because we didn't have to practice dialogue. If we would've needed to learn dialogue it would've taken more time and the films possibly wouldn't have been finished by exhibition. How we were able to communicate the