Lauren M. Paterson – Week 6 – Community

I am intrigued by Austin, though I have never been there. Localore seems like a very 21st century way to discover the music scene of a city. It seemed well organized, as you could virtually explore the map, jumping from venue to venue with local insight into the history or current happenings of the music scene, footage from the venues, and of course, the option to listen to a song of your choice. It was refreshing to learn that Texas wasn’t so stereotypically…Texan, at least when it came to Austin, with jazz clubs popping up all over the map and a retro take on country music rather than the almost expected honky-tonk sound.

Next I went to LA, where a beautiful map organized stories of migrants and their journey to Southern California. Nico Mendez details his story of being bullied in eighth grade and contemplation of joining a gang to overcome his mistreatment. Other stories such as Elisa Gonzalez detail her attempt to continue her career as an artisan, making one of a kind clay pieces. It was interesting how they organized each story to pinpoint visually where each person was from before making the move to the Golden State, and with both the visuals and audio helped showcase the rich diversity of Los Angeles County. Overall, Localore was an interactive blend of how to explore different movements in our country in how people are shaping the culture of places.

I had never heard of the Triangle Fire until this week. It seems like a unique and thought-provoking project in that their archive is still collecting objects, text, images, audio and video for the Open Archive. It provided an interactive way for people to learn about such a tragic event in our country’s labor history. I was even more horrified that “Many of the fire safety laws that protect us to this day were created in response to this tragic event.” It’s great that we now have laws, but sometimes I just think, really America? Is this the kind of stuff that has to happen before we decide, “Gee okay, I guess we could make our workplaces safer…”

It was great t know that the Triangle Fire organizes speaker events where the discussions shape around unsafe working conditions that are still happening today, through pieces such as “The Fire That Ignited a Movement of Women Workers.” I love that Professor Rupal Oza, Director of the Women & Gender Studies Program at Hunter College said: “We need to be part of movements and possibilities that fundamentally challenge the ways we think and live our lives.” How else can we as a society change the way we function in the workplace without first examining how we think about these issues? It was interesting to read the comments on many of the items, such as the sprinkler head from the early 1900s, since many people had something to say. I saw people arguing that it wasn’t “required” that sprinklers were put in regardless of the fact that they were available, so it wasn’t “breaking any safety regulations.” Others argued that because the Triangle’s owners did not own the Asch Building, they were not required to upkeep of the fire escape or sprinklers. At least this site provides a forum for discussion about these issues, regardless of how many people seem to miss the point.

I was completely hooked by Bear 71 from the moment the audio started playing. The multimedia interactive map was so interesting to look at, and upon learning you could move your mouse or arrow keys to explore the map, I was wandering the digital forest as the narrator told her story. I thought the music was very complimentary to the piece, and seeing the forest footage felt as if we were seeing a secret part of the forest many people don’t see. I loved that the documentary enlightened the audience to the ways in which our outdoor recreational activities are changing the sounds, sites and smells of the environment for the animals, as it’s something I didn’t really think about while camping in the Nez Perce – Clearwater National Forest this summer. I always think, “Oh we picked up all the trash and made sure the fire was out, so it’s almost like we were never here.” While it’s easy to assume that, this documentary from the animal’s point of view was extremely helpful in seeing the other side of how that is not quite the case, no matter how small the impression you assume you’ve left behind.

In the article about the making of Bear 71, I noted that they hired a Canadian actress and social activist to voice the bear. I thought it was slightly ironic that in order to help us feel more attached to the story of this animal, we had to humanize it, giving it a narrative voice and personality. This led me to my questions about this week’s materials:

• Would Bear 71 have the same affect on viewers had the bear’s story not had a human narration?

• In a society that values profit above all else, do we collectively need to challenge what we value as a society in order to make our country a better place for humans, animals, and the environment?

• Is interactive multimedia a good way to introduce these concepts to the communities of our nation to explore and discover in their own way?