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50 Documentaries to be obsessed with. (I am).

5/25/2016

I LOVE DOCUMENTARIES. There's just something about a real story that makes them better than movies, and something about watching the actual event, listening to the actual people, and seeing the actual places that makes them better than textbooks. I have two hopes for this blog-- my first hope is that you'll be as captured, moved, entertained, enlightened, and inspired by these films as I was. My second hope is that I haven't just ruined your life with 100+ hours of great film to watch... OOPS! :)

My Top 5
1. Every Little Step
A Chorus Line is one of my favorite musicals, but it doesn't have to be one of yours to enjoy this documentary. Following the process of creating the musical from gathering the true stories to casting the revival, Every Little Step gives an inside look into the life of an actor-- from desperately auditioning to working to tell a story and the impossible thought of the day when it all might disappear. Every time you step onto the stage, "it's opening, it's closing... it's everything." Love love love.

2. The Mask You Live In
The Mask You Live In examines the society, expectations, and stereotypes into which we raise our boys. A sequel to Miss Representation, the documentary looks at media, education, and culture, and the issues that America's narrow definition of masculinity can create. I think the work does a great job of creating understanding and provoking thought without being too cynical or critical.

Learn more about the Representation project here

3. Living on One Dollar
These guys are awesome. They travel to rural Guatemala and live on $1 a day, struggling with and learning about hunger, inconsistent income, parasites, and extreme poverty. The film started as little youtube videos and has since won many awards.

Learn more about the project and how to take action here

4. It's A Girl
I think the most accurate word I can use to describe this film is mind-boggling. That, or horrifying. All over the world, girls are aborted, killed and abandoned simply because of their sex. The United Nations estimates as many as 200 million girls are missing in the world today because of this so-called “gendercide”. This violence is rooted in tradition and culture, and accelerated by government policy.

Here's the film's campaign against gendercide

5. Winter On Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
I think what struck me most about this film was the currentness of it all-- and the fact that I wasn't even aware of the calamity and tribulation in Ukraine as I stressed over which song to sing at my auditions or how many pencils to bring to the SAT. Nominated for an Oscar in 2015, the documentary looks at the Euromaidan protests, demonstrations, and revolution, creating a portrait of terror, anger, desperation and resolve.

Honorable Mention: The Imposter
This is an incredible piece of art. An unconventional documentary, the film uses bits of real footage in combination with actors to recreate the unbelievable story of the 1997 case of the French confidence trickster Frédéric Bourdin, who successfully impersonated Nicholas Barclay, a Texas boy who disappeared at the age of 13 in 1994. As entranced as I was with the film making and the story, that didn't stop me from admiring the incredible acting-- so honest that at moments I forgot they weren't the actual people. I encourage you to read about more about the case before/as you are watching... seriously crazy.

Here's one article

Here are the rest of my favorites in approximate ranked order:
Categories (some fit in multiple):
Arts/Media
Health/Nature/Travel
Culture/Society/History
Education/Development
Crime/Justice/Conspiracy

In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams (workshopping and opening In the Heights)
Jonestown (Jim Jones' mass suicide cult)
Half the Sky (girls in 3rd world)
Miss Representation (Girls and portrayal of girls in society)
Hitler's GI death camp (American GIs in a concentration camp)
Propaganda game (North Korea)
Hitler's Children (Descendants of Nazis, one hugs an Auschwitz survivor... incredible)
Making a Murderer (Netflix series on justice system and innocent incarceration)
Inside North Korea (Eye doctor and reporter allowed in)
The Man in the Machine (Steve Jobs)
Ubuntu (Street theatre in Ghana)
Sweet dreams (Ice Cream Shop in Rwanda)
Waiting for Superman (American education)
Race to Nowhere (Modern education and stress)
Crossing borders (Moroccan student exchange)
E-Team (Human Rights Watch emergency)
Stuck (orphanages and adoption)
Maidentrip (14 sailing around the globe)
The Source Family (hippie cult)
Five Broken Cameras (war and protests on West Bank)
The Dark Matter of Love (adoption)
The Seventies (series: best ones on terrorism, crime and cult, there is also a Sixties series)
Playground (sex trafficking)
India's Daughter (Gang rape in India)
The Falling Man (9/11 suicide jumper)
Cropsy (Real life boogeyman)
The Hunting Ground (College campus sexual assault)
Escape from Alcatraz (He carved his decoy out of soap!)
Fame High (LA County High School for the Arts)
Hungry for change (Health and diet)
Happy (around the world)
Babies (4 from around the world)
Acceptance (Ivy League college admissions)
Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State (about the concentration camp)
Forgiving Dr. Mengele (Nazi doctor)
Ugly (taboo, modeling agency)
Myanmar (life in Myanmar)
The Dancing Boys (Afghanistan)
A Sloth Named Velcro (Uh, it's about sloths... what more could you ask for?)
Tiny (living in a Tiny House)
One day on Earth (footage from the same day around the earth)
Chicago Girl (Syrian rebellion & social media)
Nine at Little Rock (Education/desegregation story of Little Rock Nine)
The Great American West (Lots of beautiful images and video of America)

And here's the link to Netflix so you can get started. #sns. Happy watching!

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My first year at Notre Dame through 10 things I've learned

5/18/2016

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It’s been almost two weeks since I finished my freshman year of college, so I figure I can’t put off the “end of freshman year of college” post any longer. I think I avoided it so much because subconsciously there was something about writing it that would mean it was really over. I did a lot of things in my first year of college, met a lot of humans, wrote a lot of words, sang a lot of notes.
So, in order not to bore you, instead of an itemized list of everything I did this year, here's my first year though ten things that I learned:

1. To get connected
I dove in and I’m so glad I did. My favorite this year (and I predict for the next three years) has been PEMCo, the student musical theatre group on campus. I think it is so important to be able to find a small(er) group of people to create community and family with. I am so SO lucky to have something that makes me so sad to say goodbye to the seniors or even leave for the summer!

2. To ask for help and advice
College builds a sort of humility because you are no longer top dog like you were in high school. But the cool thing is that everyone is going through the same realization, and it was cool to figure that out with my friends. I learned to GO to the spanish tutoring center, GO to the writing center, just ASK your professor for help. But I think the most valuable thing that came from this lesson was asking the current seniors for advice. Talking to upperclassmen opened my eyes to so many things, gave me clarity on others, and essentially made me change my major. (Lesson 2.5: make friends with upperclassmen and force them to share their wisdom muahahah)

3. To be open to new experiences (and take risks and study what you love!)
Speaking of changing majors… be open to it. Be open to trying new things, living new ways, and thinking new thoughts. My major switching story is loooooong, so I won’t share it all (ask me if you want to hear it!), but basically I applied to college as a psychology major, and that’s just how it was. I never even really considered studying something else, because, duh, I was a psych major. But through a lot of thinking and midnight crises and meetings and praying, I knew that I had to switch to American Studies (I know you want to ask what the heck American Studies is so I have put a description at the bottom). I only have three more years at this incredible university to learn from some of the best and brightest professors in the nation-- so I have to take advantage and study something I'm truly passionate about.

4. To relax
Okay so this is one I’m still working on. But I have gotten so much better than I was in high school! In the past year I have learned that grades definitely aren’t everything, and not getting something you wanted is not the end of the world. Everything happens for a reason, and you just have to go where life takes you-- most often it will lead somewhere great!

5. Open communication rocks
Seriously-- it’s the best thing ever and makes life so much easier. Yes I learned this in the random roommate situation, but also with my professors, cast mates, and friends. JUST SAY IT (if it’s kind and appropriate hah). Apologize, forgive, thank, love, ask, tell. Say the things that are important, like how much your friendship means or what you are grateful for.

6. About people who are different than me
I've met people who have never been in public school and people who've lived through China's one child policy. I've sat down to dinner with people who have a passion for engineering and with people whose families have gone to Notre Dame for generations. I've studied theology with people who don't believe in God and performed with people who had never been on the stage. I still have yet to find someone at the university who knows the Sleep Country USA jingle (WHY). On the other side of this, some of these people are also scarily similar to me-- they love theatre and sloths and documentaries, they want to talk about politics and religion and life until 3am in the hallway, they agree with my core values and beliefs. I also found my soul doppleganger (@Róisín) but that’s a blog for another time.

7. Of my love/appreciation/obsession for Washington and the PNW
I love it where people ask me where I’m from because I love the answer. South Bend is great, but I also have missed hiking and trees and the west coast. I listen to rain sounds when I study and my room is full of pictures of the Pacific Northwest. And the Starbucks in La Fun didn’t even know how to make my drink.

8. How to think like Thomas Aquinas and how to tap dance and how to nap
I put these three all on the same item number because I think they are more or less of equal importance ;). I’ve learned so many intellectual, fun, health, and life skills. For example, napping. I have become a serious professional napper-- lay down and set the timer for 23 minutes, fall asleep within one or two, and wake up as soon as the alarm rings, refreshed and ready for anything. It's a valuable life skill.

9. Of things I need to work on
I’ve realized that I still have much to improve on, like listening, going to bed at a good time, and making time for important things like reflection and yoga. I don’t think there is any place in the world better for working on yourself than in college, though, and I’m excited to grow even more as a human being.

10. That I made the right college decision
When I got my acceptance letter to Notre Dame, I came in the door and said, (I kidd you not-- these were my exact words) “Mom I got into Notre Dame! Wow that’s cool. I’m not going to go there, but it’s still cool”. And then I proceeded to throw my full acceptance envelope/letter on the couch and went upstairs to do homework.
It’s safe to say that my position on the university has adequately changed. There’s no way to express what an amazing place this school is, so I’m not even going to try. I will just say that I feel so INCREDIBLY blessed to have made this freak decision to go to a school I knew so very little about, because it is the perfect university for me.
I have already made friends that I know I will keep for life and learned so many invaluable life lessons. In the less than two weeks that I’ve been home, I have already had three dreams about moving back in.

And all this in just one year. I’m so grateful for the past 10 months, and I cannot wait to see what the next three years will bring.
Happy summer, and GO IRISH!

What is American Studies?

American Studies focuses on one big question: what does it mean to be an American? This is not an easy question to answer and the stakes are high. As a nation of natives and immigrants, the United States has always encompassed diverse racial and ethnic groups. Throughout rapidly changing historical and global contexts, Americans have forged various cultures expressing the diversity of American experience as well as an ideological heritage shaped by the ideals of democracy and equality. American Studies examines those cultures, societies, and politics from multiple critical perspectives. How do we express, institutionalize, celebrate, and contest American identities?
One of the signature strengths of the department of American Studies at Notre Dame is transnational American Studies, which explores the movement of people, products, and ideas across nation-state borders and studies the cultural and political impact of such shifts. Our research and courses focus on key issues in transnational American Studies, including immigration, imperialism, globalization, and the image of the United States abroad.
Like all majors in the College of Arts and Letters, we emphasize research, analysis, writing, and communication skills. Because American Studies is inherently interdisciplinary, we employ the tools of history, literature, political science, journalism, media studies, visual and material culture studies, and more to answer these questions.

More about AMST!

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50 Documentaries to be obsessed with. (I am).

My first year at Notre Dame through 10 things I've learned

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