Creative project with an Anthropology disciplinary focus, mentored by an Anthropology professor
Oregon Swing Dance Culture Documentary
Narrative
Unfortunately, the swing community in Salem is if not dead, comatose. Our unofficial practices in Sparks are my only regular access to dance. In our neighboring cities of Portland and Eugene, this is far from the case. Swing thrives, it jumps and jives. So what makes a city or space conducive of fostering swing culture? This is the information I want to find out, so I that in fall of 2015, this knowledge can be applied to start a swing dance club on campus. Our overarching research question is: “What builds a community?”
The creative result of the 8 weeks would be a short 15-20 minute documentary about swing culture across Portland and Eugene. This would be a compilation of interviews with dance hall owners, both serious and casual swing dancers, as well as asking questions to people completely separate from swing dance to gain their perspective. These interviews would explore just how these thriving communities were constructed. Abstract ideas like space, energy, and social interaction would all be touched on. Abstract ideas give us the space to explore story. The documentary would also chronicle, as a sub-plot, our own growth as dancers, which is imperative to eventually be able to teach new club members how to dance. We would be able to do a dance demonstration.
What I think is interesting about our project is that the research question is geared more towards humanities than the arts. I believe it’s important to integrate all parts of Willamette into the art community, and I think our project does just that. It is not only locally focused, but the creation of a swing dance club on campus would be a way for students who aren’t taking art or dance classes to get involved in those things. This is also our challenge however. While we do need to look at our research through an anthropological lens, it will be equally important to look at it through an artistic one. We cannot favor one over the other.
Preparation
The nature of our documentary is highly anthropological. Anthropological methods such as interview and participant observation will be our main mode of material collection. I am an intended anthropology major and have taken relevant courses, including Introduction to Anthropology, Anthropology of the Middle East, and Language and Culture. In Language and Culture, we conduct our own research. Because of this I feel capable of my skills in gathering appropriate and meaningful material to shape into our film. While anthropology is on the border between the social sciences and humanities, it has helped me think about people holistically and deeply in the same way a great novel would. Understanding people in this way allows space to develop a story around strong characters, which is important in a documentary. Furthermore, I have done minor filming and video editing in the past, and while I am not an expert in either of these areas, I have enough of a handle on them to create a documentary that is not simply informative, but artistic.
Timeline
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Pre-Summer: |
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Week 1 |
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Week 2 |
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Week 3 |
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Continue:
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Week 4 |
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Week 5 |
Documentary Focused Material Assembling
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Week 6 |
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Week 7 |
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Week 8 |
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Budget
Housing |
$800 |
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Food/Groceries |
$250 |
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Film equipment** |
$1,915 |
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Editing software** |
$60 |
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Cover costs for entrance to social dances |
$260 |
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Total: |
$3,285 |