video
Dark Girls
One of the most moving videos I’ve seen in a while, Dark Girls: Preview is from an upcoming documentary exploring deep-seated attitudes about skin color and women in the U.S.
2 June 2011 | The End of Print
Few visuals capture the spirit of regime change as much as toppling the monuments of the previous regime. In the case of Libya, revolutionary protesters on YouTube topple a monument to Muammar al-Qaddafi’s revolutionary Green Book.
The future is unwritten!
I heard the design process was quite contentious at the FTC before settling on the familiar motif. The yellow EnergyGuide label has been used since the 1970’s for washing machines, refrigerators, and other large appliances sold in the US but never before for electronics. By making long term costs visible at the point of purchase, this humble bit of information design has saved an enormous amount of resources over the last 30+ years. It’s also a nice nudge to manufacturers who know the information will be public.
My Stories
In July 2009, I noted a study concluding that Brazil’s telenovelas have inspired both a drop in birth rate and rise in divorce. Via the Communication Initiative Network, I found a a few other items on soap operas and public health:
- A German report looks at TV soap operas in Kyrgyzstan, the Dominican Republic, and Côte d’Ivoire as vehicles for HIV/AIDS education.
- A radio soap opera in Vietnam reached millions of farmers changing their attitudes and practices managing rice pests, fertilisers, and seeds.
- Authors of a 2006 paper on a radio soap opera in Bihar, India document how it spurred fundamental, sustainable shifts in people’s values and beliefs.
- A May 2008 Master’s thesis looks at the effect of two Ethiopian radio dramas on attitutde towards reproductive health and spousal abuse.
- Fans of a radio drama in Sudan learned about, or were reinforced in, the importance of abandoning female circumcision, giving girls more control of their reproductive health, having a small family, and staying away from drugs and alcohol.
And though I couldn’t find a study on its impact, straphangers in New York City may remember Julio and Marisol: Decision, an episodic comic strip soap opera dealing with AIDS that ran in English and Spanish in NYC subway cars from 1989 through 2001.
Choose a Different Ending
“Take the knife” or “don’t take the knife?” One of the more interesting uses of YouTube I’ve seen, this video is the first in a narrative that unfolds as you decide what the main character will do. Each decision affects the outcome of the next 30 second clip, which then prompts you to make another choice. Ultimately, however, it’s the initial decision that determines the conclusion. The videos are shot handy-cam style from the point of view of the main character, which works well here.
The project was produced by AMV BBDO for an anti-violence campaign site droptheweapons.org run by London’s Metropolitan Police Service.
The video was Osocio’s 2009 Campaign of the Year.
The News Aesthetic
Very funny meta-newscast breaking down the style of truth in TV journalism:
With nearly a million and a half views, you may have already seen it. But it’s news to me so I thought I’d share.
“Where does the food in your bodega come from? Who decides whether to stock tortilla chips or salad greens, and how much they’ll cost? How come it’s easier to find fresh fruits and vegetables in Brooklyn Heights than in the South Bronx? What’s the connection between the incidence of diabetes and the food market supply chain?” Bodega Down Bronx is a 30-minute video produced by Jonathan Bogarín, a group of Bronx students and the Center for Urban Pedagogy. Interviewing residents, bodega owners, distributors, politicians, and health professionals, it’s a fantastic, holistic breakdown of the day-to-day realities that flow from public policy, and what you can do about it.
