Refining the Structure

After a bit of a struggle, I think I finally have a more refined version of the structure for the documentary.

    Like I mentioned a couple posts ago, I made a basic structure on a whiteboard around 4 AM one night because I could not sleep and had the sudden urge to think the documentary through. For those of you that can't remember what it looked like, here is the image:

    Despite my gratitude for being able to get the gears turning (especially after a while of feeling stumped), I still wanted to refine things in order to ensure that it was comprehensible and doable. This was especially true since this version consisted of poorly-written, ambiguous bullet points that I had to do mental gymnastics to link to one another. 

    During class, I made a new document and placed it inside Kim and I's Google Drive folder for the project. I pasted a picture of the whiteboard version, wrote down what it said, and then carefully went through and made a more detailed version. Here is a picture:

    Since the writing in the image is extremely small and hard to read, I'll copy and paste everything below:

STRUCTURE

INTRO - ORIGIN OF MALE GAZE

• Art shows personal vision/experiences/thoughts

• Creating through careful, meticulous choices that creates a very specific version of reality

• Unconscious viewers are so consumed by content that tend to deem the information presented as the complete truth (don’t question information)

EFFECTS ON SOCIETY

• Gender norms are created and constantly enforced (social, romantic, sexual roles)

• Women are portrayed in a specific way

• Shots, character traits, costuming, etc. and the messages it sends

• People (especially those that have not experienced the actual truth/are uneducated) treat others based off of this information (base their behavior based on what they see)

EFFECTS ON SELF

• Women feel as if they have to act a certain way, if they defy the metanarrative, they risk being unwanted/”weird”/etc and do not gain benefits associated with being accepted (ex: social/romantic security)

• Often deviate from their “true selves,” causes both inner and outside conflict

• Present themselves differently to fit what is expected of a woman (change style, emphasize/omit certain personality traits, etc.)

• Performative femininity, even when alone (ultra focused on not just self-image, but others’ perception of themselves

• Change social behavior

• Internal misogyny (view women as less)

• Put down other women (view women as competition), all stems from jealousy and wanted to be accepted (sl*t-shaming)

• Sexuality/gender: “Am I even attracted to men?” “Am I even a woman?

• Led astray, often leads to untraceable dissatisfaction/failure 

SELF-DISCOVERY LEADS TO ACCEPTANCE/GROWTH/SUCCESS

• It all starts with awareness (realizing it is an issue in the first place)

• Maybe how interviewees found out about male gaze, or maybe how they're realizing importance 

• Starting the conversation

• Male gaze awareness on social media (YouTube, TikTok, etc.) - a lot but more is needed

• Importance of awareness: So hard to detect, so integrated into society that not many question it

• Realizing it is an issue, coming back to oneself and no longer allowing media to have an influence 

• Analyze, observe, and consume critically (male gaze is in media but its effects are everywhere)

• DO WHAT YOU WANT! BE HAPPY. Fight the narrative

• Fight for proper representation, start the conversation.

    I am still somewhat struggling with the end. This is because the last part is supposed to be about how someone can break out of this "male gaze" cycle and begin to view things critically, see where the male gaze has impacted them in their lives, and reclaim their confidence. This is done by realizing that it is an issue in itself, which of course would smoothly transition into the entire "spread awareness" part of things. However, I was expecting to end it with the awareness part, so I'm not sure if I should mention it twice, mention it in the beginning, or only mention it at the end. I will definitely keep working on this in order to figure it out. Thankfully, I will be writing my questions next (among other things), so that will definitely allow me to get a better idea of how I want to approach things. Kim is a great writer, so as we write the questions, finalize everything and prepare for filming, I'm sure we will have everything ready to go.

    Last thing before I end off this post: I talked to my AICE Media teacher outside of class one day (mainly about our struggle to find a location), and I mentioned that this project is definitely not coming as naturally as the last. She said that this is not necessarily a bad thing; and after some thought, I agree with that statement.

    I don't think "harder" is bad. I think it is just a sign that I am pushing my limits and challenging myself not just in terms of the content and the topic we are discussing, but also the production and the creative design of things. I think that in the end, all of this hard work will be worth it, so I am going to keep pushing through this and working toward the end goal. 

Stay tuned for more posts! I'll be talking about interview questions and updates regarding the location and props. Talk to you guys then.