Due Date: Thursday, January 22 2009.
The Human Rights Issue Trailer Project was intended to motivate you to research a modern or historical international human rights violation while simultaneously learning new creative tools for expressing your ideas. Because this course emphasized government and politics, it is important that your final reflection and presentation illustrate the acquisition of knowledge about your nation of focus and it’s government. For your presentation, each member of your production team must write an individual reflection including responses to ALL of these questions. They may be posted on the blog, but you are responsible for being prepared to answer any of them directly during your presentation on the day of our final. This portion of the project must be completed independently from the rest of your group. It will count as a 100 point exam. Notes for EACH of the questions should be a minimum of 150 words and may not exceed 250 words. (This paragraph is 157 words.)
REFLECTION QUESTIONS/ TALKING POINTS (20 points each):
1. Sunmarize the human rights issue selected for your project. Why did your group select this issue/ event? Explain why it is particularly important in the nation(s) your group emphasized in the trailer.
2. Describe the current political system and structure of government in your nation(s) of study. Compare the government of your nation with that of the United States and at least one other nation that we have studied in class this term (India, Great Britain, Ireland, Iran, Nigeria.)
3. What are some major issues in this nation that contribute to the problem profiled in your trailer? Reference cultural, economic, political and geo-political factors in your response.
4. How does the current administration in your nation of study feel about the problem you profiled in the trailer? What are they doing to alleviate, resolve or escalate/ reinforce this problem?
5. What do you think will be the state of affairs regarding this issue five years from now in your nation(s) of study? What would it take to drastically alleviate or eliminate this problem by 2014? Who should be responsible for these improvements? (Consider funding, resources, education, technology and leadership in your response.)
Additional questions for consideration – may be asked of the group during presentation (no points, but oral responses will be evaluated on day of presentation):
Overall, what did you learn through completing this project? What questions do you still have about the topic and/ or nation that you studied.
Evaluate the finished product. What do you think worked? What could be improved? If given a “do over” what would you change about the project?
How does the finished product compare with the vision for the project your group had when planning the story board? Evaluate your effectiveness in achieving your creative vision.
If this film were produced in full, who would be your target audience? What would they learn and/ or be inclined to do as a result of seeing your film?
Discuss the creative elements of your project (visual, text, “found footage”, audio). What were your sources and inspirations for selecting these pieces. How do you think they contributed to the overall effect of the trailer?
If you saw this trailer, would you go see the film? Why or why not.
What advice would you give to students who take on this assignment in the future?
