Hey Everyone! I'm going to be sharing:
A link to my personal essay that I sent to colleges
A description of what I want to do
Some recent events and extramurals
What I want to do:
I’m studying Africana Studies, International Relations and Film (Storytelling). I’m specifically interested in using the potential of media as an economic and cross-cultural tool for social change. My goal is to eventually become the minister of arts and culture in South Africa, and before that to create a multimedia storytelling company focused on highlighting marginalized stories on a global scale and forming greater amounts of international publishing houses, co-productions and film opportunities. Additionally I would introduce an international standard for diversity quotas for each national industry to aim towards - either through importing more international cinema, funding more international art residencies, film festivals, film school scholarships and exchange programs, working closely with African Union to facilitate more cross-cultural, resource and opportunity exchanges - like flights being slightly cheaper if you are traveling for business purposes within the continent and having standards to check cinema that promote bad stereotypes. I also want to take some things I learn about the entertainment industry in Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, and incorporate what works and what doesn’t to fuel South Africa’s economy and soft power influence on the world stage (in a more positive light, sort of like how Japan has been successful with anime and the USA has been successful with Hollywood and more non-English industries are becoming recognized in the West). All the while encouraging indie productions, fringe festivals and alternative spaces where people can continually be encouraged to fight oppressive systems at large on the ground. I want to find multiple different ways to work within and outside the international system and use media to conscientize and educate the public (and the private elite) on both obvious/niche and mainstream/subconscious levels.
I am personally mainly interested in analyzing South African society and using media as a tool for activism and social discussion. Ultimately my goal is to improve the South African society by untangling various forms of inequality and offering solutions through fiction and non-fiction forms. I plan to do this by creating films and novels geared towards activism (particularly against racism and gender based violence) and by writing theory, research and analysis. Then once I have a South African mass media parent company, I'll be able to make sure that I'm giving a greater platform to voices around the world and that I'm offering more opportunities for others to do the same. I want to envision a company that serves what the writers' and actors' guilds are rightfully looking for, a company founded on radical fair trade and that's sustainablility and growth is not measured on its sole market share but on its ability to equip whoever works with and for the company to start their own companies, to set more equitable industry standards and to ultimately diversify the industry and stop cultural monopolies forming in our increasingly globalized state. I hope to spend multiple decades advocating rights and equality through the arts and the media.
My current idea for my Div 3 is a document on "A plan for South Africa - how to significantly increase South Africa's GDP per capita, employment rate and sustainable economic index growth through the media industry and department of arts, sports and culture, while supporting trade and growth on the African continent". As a part of the showcase, I can display in a gallery Div 2 and previous work that I hope to complete - at least one research paper, two films (The "Why Didn't You? short film and another, longer one", and a novella (possibly an independent study). I know this sounds like a lot of work but that is why summers exist and I have completed some of the work already and I plan to integrate completing the rest of the work throughout my coursework, assignments, extracurriculars and independent studies.
For recent events and extramurals
I work as the Communications and Marketing Manager of the Student Advocacy Board and as a Communications and Marketing intern at Hampshire College.
I attended the BRICS 2023 Youth Summit in Durban, South Africa and I shared my thoughts for a live recording. I currently can not find the link but here is proof.
I attended the Durban International Film Festival and the corresponding Durban FilmMart Workshops.
I am a signer for Infinity Productions which means that I work closely with John Bruner and the other signers down in the library basement media labs to correct a variety of content for infinity hour (an hour long program filled with a variety of student created segments - sort of like SNL but a more varied showcase).
I have a podcast - RadioSA-Y by YSA
The success of my first short film, "Why Didn't You?"
