The journey to finishing “Respectability Politics was tough. The idea is a complex, nontangible concept. Bringing a thought process to life can be very difficult. The first priority was finding characters that connected with my view of what respectability politics is and my conclusion that it is wrong. After the characters were solidified, I allowed the experiences we spoke about in all the interviews to mold the direction of the film. Second, the file footage I found was particularly important. I found compelling video that could carry the SOT-heavy production. Don Lemon and Bill Cosby, two prominent black figures in media, speaking at length about what is wrong in the black community stood out to me. Next I began scripting and setting up interviews. In order for the characters to understand my vision, I had them watch videos related to the topic and react. This way my way of obtaining powerful SOTs with some emotion attached. I knew that would be the only way to make the documentary a success. I also chose to attend all interviews so I could be an integral part of the process and not merely write a script. I believe that the production was a success. My partner and I worked together as much as possible, but we did have some schedule conflicts. All in all, the production process was difficult, but definitely worth it!

Journal #2

October 5, 2014 Today we met with Kyle to discuss in depth the documentary topic and what we are hoping to accomplish. 11:30a.m. We began filming primary shots of Kyle Chattam. We spoke about American culture to break the ice. I then asked him some questions about his look and why/when he began growing his hair. Briefly, he got into how natural hair became a movement as of late and how blacks are challenging stereotypes. He spoke about his part time job at a law firm. I thought this was particularly important to the documentary and ACT II – how others view him. He mentioned that his cowrkers (mostly white) do not judge him for the way that he looks but instead judge him by his work ethic. I think this SOT will come in handy. When we meet again I want to ask him about this more in depth and we have plans to set up a shoot at his workplace pending approval by his boss. We ended with a shot of Kyle walking back to his car which would have been great for the ending credits but after reviewing the shot it was much too light. I would like to reshoot this. October 9 I spoke with Dr. M via text and she confirmed that any day during her office hours is okay to shoot as well as weekends. October 12 We did not meet today as previously planned because of capstone preparation. October 13 The class checked out cameras but we already had ours. October 19 11:30 am We met with Kyle at a location he often works from – All Saints Café. I contacted the manager beforehand to get a greenlight for shooting. It was approved as long as we did not disturb customers. Kyle came in wearing an Africa emblem so I decided to start the interview by asking him the significance of the piece so that I could get a better feel for his afrocentrism. When probed he spoke openly about the social constructs of race and what being black means to him and how it defines who he is. 5pm We finally met with Chris for the first time. He was clean-shaven, neat and well mannered. I like the choice we made even though it appears as if he may not be reliable. We shot the interview in his dorm room, which is covered in posters mostly of black figures that he admired or thought contributed to the black cause: WEB DuBois, Malcolm X. He also had pictures of MLK who he said he actually didn’t want on the wall. We got good SOTs of him talking about the black struggle and these men as well as the idea of the Talented Tenth and how society is programmed to make black men feel less than adequate and how social status is debilitating to the back community. He spoke mainly about social inequality. October 23 2:15pm I spoke with Dr. M via text and she informed me that she would be speaking at a symposium tomorrow around 10:45 a.m. I have already scheduled an appointment with Prof. Jones for this time and I think Jehan is in class. 8:30pm We had a meeting scheduled with Chris today but instead of filming we discussed shooting him at a friends house so that we could get him in a setting with his peers. He told us that he is a barber and I suggested he set up appointments for that date to give it a barbershop atmosphere, a place where black men speak freely. We planned to meet Sunday around 11am. October 25 Kyle told me that he will be doing a photo shoot tomorrow so Jehan and I will be there to shoot B-Roll of him in his element and hopefully get our slow pan shot of his appearance that I want for the opening credits. Later that night Kyle informed me that the shoot would be in the morning. October 26 11am Jehan called Chris numerous times; he never answered. I personally saw him at Governor’s Square Mall that evening and he said he stayed up all night and forgot about the shoot. Jehan and I discussed finding another interviewee but honestly I like what he has to say. Maybe only shooting him during weekday evenings works best. 11:40am I arrived at the location of Kyle’s shoot and helped him with the shoot and had to wait on Jehan even though we agreed on 11:30 initially. 12:30pm Jehan finally arrived and began shooting BRoll. We got the slow pan shot we needed. I left early as I had arrived early and she stayed behind to get any other shots she needed. October 27 We have yet to get any SOTs or BRoll from Dr. M. My plate is very full and I have to find a way to fit it into my schedule. I am planning to attend her Thursday office hours to begin shooting. October 28 We meet briefly with Professor Jones to show him the footage we have gotten so far. Our main goal now is Broll. We need to get shots of different kinds of people- people with tattoos, people with short hair, people with long hair, etc.

Journal #1

Journal Entry 1 POSSIBLE DOCUMENTARY SUBJECTS 1. AUTHORITY ON RESPECTABILITY POLITICS a) Dr. Muwakkill 2. Normal Black Male who refuses to live by societal standards a) Jared McSayles b) Frederick Wilkerson c) Christopher Davis 3. Black Male who lives by respectability politics a) Erron? b) SBI student (must locate) 4. Black Female who has natural hair a) classmate in Dr. Muwakkill’s class http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/04/race-relations.aspx - Nevertheless, attitudes toward blacks as a whole will not change overnight simply because of the election of a black president. Attitudes, particularly racial prejudice, which serves a number of psychological and material functions, often have a basic core that is resistant to change—but people are able to incorporate new information and change their attitudes with new experiences. Obama's election offers America unique and profound new racial experiences. What are the key psychological factors that shape racial attitudes, and how ingrained are those attitudes? Can people with deep-seated racial prejudice ever completely change those attitudes? Attitudes develop with the accumulation of experience and associations over time. They are inherently functional—they help us orient ourselves to others and the environment in ways perceived to benefit us. The world would be chaos if we changed our attitudes toward people and objects too easily. Thus, attitudes typically evolve slowly, often becoming more complex and nuanced over time; rapid, wholesale change in attitudes is rare. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119148/ferguson-renews-debate-among-blacks-politics-respectability _ Respectability, in essence, is about policing the behavior in your community to make sure people are behaving “properly,” so as to not attract unwelcome attention from whites—“with ‘properly’ being a normatively white middle class presentation,” says Dawson. - The idea has found one expression or another for well over a century. During the Jim Crow period, according to Dawson, black children were taught by their elders that one had to act a certain way to avoid harassment and lynchings at the hands of whites. “Du Bois wrote about double consciousness, about looking at yourself through the eyes of the other who treats you with contempt,” says Carla Shedd, a sociologist at Columbia. Self flagellation - extreme criticism of oneself

First Things First

My outline is due in three days and I am no where near as far along as I had hoped.

Although I have a pretty good idea as to what "respectability politics" means, I am not finding as much reputable, journalistic information regarding the topic. The top hits on Google are mostly blogs and opinions pieces. I am looking for research that can give me concrete evidence of occurrences of this phenomenon in history. I would use this information to move my story line forward and concurrently deliver the background information I feel the audience needs to know in order to draw their own conclusions and possibly give them a new perspective on the topic.

ACT I – How others view us In Act I, the definition of “respectability politics” will be discussed. The title will be illustrated this way (with the term respectability politics coming into view and its definition following.) The documentary will open with footage of a conflict between black youth in a popular movie. (May use archival footage from the movie “Coolie High”). The expert will be a professor (preferably Afrocentric) whose courses include racial topics. This person will act as the authority of the piece. The expert will discuss self- flagellation and its place in popular culture. Major characters will be introduced. Subject I will be a young male, between the ages of 21 and 26. Subject II will be a young female with relaxed hair, between the ages of 21 and 26. Their stories will interweave. The documentary will open with a close up of the male. Then there will be a pan down of his attire to fully show the way that he is presenting himself to others. Next, the young female will be introduced in the same manner. I am searching for a subject who may view natural hair negatively. She will explain her look and how she chooses to wear her hair. [ Footage from a cypher (explanation at the bottom of page) to link the two acts] ACT II – How we view ourselves – ACT II will take us through a day in the life of both subjects and how they interact with their peers. Focus will be on how they speak, dress and are treated by others. Subject II will discuss how people on the streets treat him when he walks by, and maybe how potential employers treat him. 1. Subject II will discuss her decision not to go natural in a time where it is all the rage, especially at an HBCU. Hopefully her decision was based off of her own ideals. Subject I will discuss her own experience and pick a side – yes or no to respectability politics. (filming will she is doing her hair or in a hair store/ salon would be ideal) 2. Subject I will speak of his own experience and pick a side – yes or no to respectability politics and to what degree. He will speak of his college experience and what role “RP” has played in his daily life. 3. Subject III will discuss preference vs. prejudice in the black community. He or she will also tackle issues in his life relating to social stratification and how the black community, through his eyes, tear one another down. [ Footage from a cypher (explanation at the bottom of page) to link the two acts] ACT III – What we can do to change Subject II will have the opportunity to speak at length about his social inequality campaign. Subject III (The expert) will give her take on what we can do to change the way we view ourselves in the black community. I would also like to include footage from a cypher, an event I plan to host that will invite artists, musicians, rappers, singers, and poets to come together to showcase their own views of respectability politics and what we can do to change/ alter / or amend the behavior. [ Footage from a cypher (explanation at the bottom of page) will play as the closing credits are displayed]

Documentary Pitch

Topic 1: Respectability Politics “Maybe if I look like this I’ll be more tolerable.” “If I dress this way (professionally) or wear my hair straight, it’ll make me a less likely target of racism.” Or, “people who act ‘ghetto’ should be treated poorly. They are presenting themselves in an undesirable light. I don’t like them either, I don’t blame white people.” Respectability politics can refer to the idea that making oneself more like what society deems culturally appropriate, or shying away from being noticeably “black” in order to fit a stereotypically description of what is right or good or acceptable. My documentary will dive deep into the depths of racism in America: where it came from and why it still exists and also the possible roots of respectability politics and popular examples. It will also spotlight those who choose to paint themselves in a different light and fashion their views, demeanor, and persona around being more respectable in the eyes of those of a more dominant culture i.e. white Americans. I will also give the opposing view a platform to speak on why they do not buy into respectability politics and chose to stick to their roots. A possible subject would be Dr. Muwwakkil, Race-Religion and Personality professor who regularly dons ethnic clothing and head wraps and up until recently wore her hair in dreadlocks.