Staying Relevant

Now that the semester is wrapping up, it is time to start thinking about where we want to go from here with our documentary. We already know that we are going to have a composer do some work for the film before we start to submit it places. We definitely want to submit it to festivals, but my dad also just met someone who does some work with documentary distribution and wants to see our film. At the beginning of the semester we had considered looking into getting in contact with a distributor so we could screen the film at different colleges around the country so students could be informed about issues relating to the refugee crisis before they vote in November, but we kind of forgot about that until now. However, I think that could be a really good idea.

As of yesterday, one thing became extremely obvious: our documentary is not going to lose its relevance anytime soon. Now that Kasich and Cruz are out of the election, it's going to be all Trump all the time. While this news is extremely unsettling, it also makes it more important than ever that our documentary is seen by as many people as possible.

One of the feedbacks that we got on our documentary was that we should have shown more people who aren't Trump supporters that are opposed to refugees. While I think that would have been beneficial,  I also think that for a long time, we all assumed that Trump supporters were just crazy people. However, it's become more and more obvious that all different types of people support Trump. More people are backing him than ever expected, which means his views are actually the views of a lot more people in this country than most people would have thought.

After spending time getting to know the refugee community in Buffalo, I refuse to imagine a country where he is in charge. His ideas, and the ideas of his supporters, are filled with such hate toward people who deserve nothing but love. Now that it's inevitable that we'll be seeing him around until November, I hope our documentary can persuade at least a few people that voting for him is not a good idea.

A Clown's History of the United States

When writing the script for my thesis, I have to admit I went in blind. I had no real prior knowledge of clowns other than what was depicted in various forms of media. This was definitely a problem. I didn't want my clown to fall victim to these clichés. So I decided to give myself a little history lesson.

Clowns originated all the way back to Roman times. They performed as secondary figures in farces and mime, parodying the actions of more serious characters. Then, during the middle ages, Court jesters and fools emerged, entertaining figures of power and authority. And if they failed, they would be decapitated. But obviously, times have changed.

There are three types of clowns.

WHITE-FACE CLOWN

The White-face clown is the ‘classic’ clown, the oldest and most well-known of the clowns, and is typically the straight clown in skits. This is the oldest style of clown, dating back to Greek theatre. Whiteface is the court jester of the Middle Ages. The White-face is the most intelligent type of clown with the highest status - typically the ringleader.

AUGUSTE CLOWN

In the 1860s, or so the story goes, a low-comedy comic appeared under the name of Auguste, who had a big nose, baggy clothes, and large shoes. He worked with a White-face clown and always spoiled the tricks by appearing at the wrong time to mess things up. This then became a type of act – called the Auguste clown. The Auguste clown is the least intelligent, and zaniest of the clowns. The Auguste clown tends to be the silly clown in skits. 

CHARACTER CLOWN

The Hobo or Tramp clown is the most popular character clown, although character clowns can be police officers, women, babies or government officials. The Hobo usually has tattered clothes, a tattered hat, make-up which suggests he is unshaven, exaggerated features and a red nose. The generic Tramp character is 'down-on-his-luck'. The Tramp clown is an American creation. Charlie Chaplin as the silent 'Little Tramp' clown, brought laughter to millions worldwide through film.

Now, that I knew a little bit more about clowns, writing the script became easier. I knew exactly what type of clown I wanted to make my clown and how I wanted to depict him. It’s crazy what a little research can do!

SNL Breaks My Heart

This weekend Donald Trump will be hosting Saturday Night Live. A 40 year old institution Americans turn to for its take on the issues, SNL is known for its impact on elections. But in this case instead of going after the political agenda they're inviting one of the candidates to do it themselves. The reason they're doing this is hardly a questionable matter, ratings baby. People are going to watch Donald Trump on SNL. A trick that might be expected from any other show but from SNL? An institution that prides itself on its content and voice above cheap tricks, well so a seasoned comedy fan like myself would like to believe. But what's more upsetting is the lack of outrage surrounding his appearance. Donald Trump is known for his famous remarks, where he called illegal Mexican immigrants "rapists". Imagine instead of Mexican immigrants it was replaced with Jews or black people? Would NBC so quick to allow him onto one of their shows? Of course not. Because advertisers would be fleeing left and right. However because Trump's remarks were towards a group of people our country deems fitting to criticize without limit, there he will be on Saturday night, being as welcomed into our homes as Alec Baldwin or Steve Martin.




 

That's not to say there aren't some people taking a stand against his appearance. According to a report on the Huffington Post "Several dozen activists gathered Wednesday in front of NBC’s headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Center demanding the network rescind an invitation to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump to host “Saturday Night Live" on Nov. 7 and vowing to pressure the network's advertisers to join their cause." The activists have gained over 500,000 signatures on their petition to get him off the network but to no avail. SNL has never been one to bow to pressure and with the network and the anticipated ratings on their side they're not likely to start now. As SNL fan myself, I just hope they have a few tricks up their sleeves, and knowing SNL they're likely to as well.