Reality by detour of Identity and Truth

We have arrived at the topic of reality – again. As a doc filmmaker reality has always been the ethically most relevant topic, but what IS reality? Take it a step further: what is reality and what is fiction and where do they become a lie?

As I’m thinking about Identity a lot these days such banal questions as: “Who am I?” or “What is my reality?” pop up all the time. “Which me is real?” Is it the Facebook profile, my adventurous and sexy Avatar on Second Life, the somewhat overbearing producer, or the sloppy me in the lobby sneaking to the mailbox hoping to remain unseen? My nephew announces he has the best score in the world (!) on Nintendo, because Nintendo tells him so. In the world? Yes, in HIS world.

If I don’t know any better, am I lying? I think you are lying if you are claiming to have done something you have not done. Run the marathon? Sure, but actually I didn’t sing up I just entered the race at mile 2 and left just before the finish line as I can’t cross it without an official bib. To me, with my Swiss background that is an outright lie to say that you ran "the Marathon" under those circumstances, to my Latin friend that’s a minor detail no one is going to lose sleep over. Is my friend lying, or is he well within the ethical boundaries of his culture and not lying? It’s a question I cannot decide, because emotional me decides differently than pragmatic me.

There is no absolute Identity, there is no absolute Reality and there is no absolute Truth. What do you think?

Identity and the Other ll

As I’ve been digging a bit deeper into “Identity and the Other” (ITO) I have come across some interesting, thought provoking and then hair-raising theories.
Eugenics for one – [from Wikipedia: Eugenics is the "applied science or the biosocial movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population," usually referring to human populations.] It seems beyond preposterous and you might have guessed right, after WWll the whole idea of Eugenics much supported by the Nazis found a well-deserved and immediate death knell.
But think about where in your life you have witnessed or been involved with the ‘thought value’ of Eugenics. Has your best friend been in an interracial relationship to the horror of her family? In theory we are all very open minded and very generous with whom we befriend – how open are we when it comes to inviting an “Other” into our families and have them be part of our off-spring? What if your daughter showed up with a young man (or woman for that matter) of a totally different background – culturally, ethnically, socially?

2011

Happy New Year to all of you. May it be a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011. Thank you for reading my blog.   You can also check out my film's website at: http://www.abrahamschildrendoc.com/ and my companies at: http://www.clockwiseproductions.com/.  

Identity and the Other

It just occurred to me after rereading Ryszard Kapuscinski’s “The Other” – that the fear of the other is fear of looking at oneself. Without the Other the self would need no defining and the more we expose ourselves to the Other the more multifaceted and interesting and vibrant we become. What a great way of looking at it.

Or put it this way: our own identity only exists through the existence of “other” – otherwise there is no reason to define yourself if there is no ‘setting apart FROM’.

Happiness

I love when John Tierney of the New York Times writes and his newest Science Section article of November 16th, 2010 is no exception. My favorite sentence in reference to happiness from the article is: “[...] the location of the body is much less important than the location of the mind [...]!”

How very true is that and still we love to travel and love to have ourselves transported, physically to places that ought to make us happy; and I'm the first to agree that there's nothing like standing IN nature and experiencing it - some might feel that way about art, a city or a restaurant.

But on the long run and on a much more practical level - the mind travels for free and can go where the body can't - we should all book more regular braincations.

I'll start right now by STOPPING to write...

"Abraham's Children" Post Screening Discussion

@ Intersections International, September 2010, New York City

Social Studies - Moving Forward and Onward!

Last night I found myself in a room full of Social Studies teachers, Museum educators and assorted other people, all passionate about teaching young people K – 12 about the world around them and preparing them for responsibilities in the real word as engaged, educated and civic minded members of their communities. It was an eye opener for me as I have not gone through the New York (or American for that matter) school and I have no kids.

The ATSS/UFT Center for the Study and Practice of Social Studies is putting together a task force to move the social studies programs across New York into the 21st century, streamlining them and giving weight to issues long neglected. In particular Asian studies.

For those of you, who like me have no clue of the acronyms: ATTS: The Association of Teachers of Social Studies and the UFT is the United Federation of Teachers.

The undertaking to address these major issues is epic and I hope they will succeed – from the energy in the room and the passion from the organizers I have little doubt.

So: if you are a social studies teacher, principal, educator, filmmaker, activist or someone with any kind of fundraising and grant writing experience…. give them a shout! They will need your help.

Rozella Kirchgaessner, president of the ATSS: atssuftnyc@gmail.com.