Let's make time and space to discuss Alanis Obomsawin!
Week 3 | Discussion Forum --> DUE Monday Week 4
Let's make time and space to discuss Alanis Obomsawin! I keep saying she is a powerhouse... but what do I mean by that statement? What do you know about Obomsawin and her legacy (Christmas in Moose Factory was her first film)? Do a bit of research to learn about what Obomsawin has accomplished and how her work has achieved "Indigenous conscious-raising" around the world. ALL of her films are made available by the National Film Board of Canada free of charge via their website! Why is this of value to consider? She just turned 90 years old and SHE IS STILL MAKING FILMS!
I'll let you decide how you want to respond to this query (the collages look awesome!). Please tie back your response to at least one of the ethical guiding principles. Christmas in Moose Factory can be included, but expand your knowledge on Obomsawin's work, please. <3
My response:
"Alanis Obomsawin, is tied to the stars of our stories. Her heart is children- this is her drive, the education of love. She grew up hearing her village, bustling and working together- and documents that this lifestyle she was born into is one she does not see in her village now. She describes the serenity and goodness of that community and how it is promptly juxtaposed by the razor wire attitudes of colonial violence once she moves into a Canadian storied turf. Born during an eclipse (that will cycle again in the hemisphere that she was born in next year in 2024), her life acts like a lens. A birds eye listening, that then becomes the view of the camera.
I get a sense of Holism in Obomsawin's work. I am brought into the textures and sounds that are filled with motion of doing (things we remember in our blood even if we haven't yet lived it) but I am filled with a peace of what is to be gained and preserved: accents, practices, ways of eating and nurturing and being together, gifts that are made in love and lots of patience/skill. In the disruptions of colonization, I saw people keeping traditional education going with the refrain, "war is really annoying huh?" as helicopters flew over their language table in the bush (Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance).
I am learning so much about survival and love from her work.
Miigwetth, Alanis Obomsawin✨✨✨✨"
Online Forum Response for Cinematic Sovereignty & Indigenous Storywork
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