This is for my Social Psychology class - for assessment and communication. I hope you find my thoughts interesting and please feel free to comment!

Monday, August 27, 2007

Amazing Grace Part Two

Now that Amazing Grace has been showing at the cinemas for a few weeks now, it is probably now okay to say a bit more. Although I do not have any new information surrounding Amazing Grace or William Wilberforce I wanted to briefly add that while researching for my blog 1 topic (prejudice, stereotyping and aggression) I managed to come across a reference to prejudice and the work of William Wilberforce (as well as others) in their efforts against the slave trade. This really indicated to me the extent of prejudice that is still evident within today's society, regardless of the amazing efforts of many people. Also that Wilberforce and his group had to work for their beliefs for so many years before anything was done. This shows that change is not an overnight fix and that dedication and determination are both key aspects. However, on a lighter note is it extremely empowering to think that one person really can make a difference with the right resources and support.

I really appreciated the comments regarding my first post on Amazing Grace, and I have taken into account James comment surrounding my original link to the film and consequently I have added the youtube version of the film's trailer.



Additionally I have found a youtube video for 'Ghosts of Rwanda' which shows a brief glimpse of the film.



I also found a website which shows the different parts of Jane Elliot's work. These videos are linked to her original work with young children. From this link you can skip through the different chapters and get a greater understanding of her work. In total the running time is quite long but very interesting to watch.

I hope you find this connection between Amazing Grace and prejudice and aggression as strong and as relevant as I did and still do. Having a visual display really helps to concrete the thoughts and beliefs surrounding these topics, and although they are sad to watch I feel they help me to understand the underlying themes on a different level.

I also found the confrontational aspects of both 'Ghosts of Rwanda' and 'Australian Eye' to elicit the same responses. I really appreciated watching all three of these films as for me reading only portrays things to a certain extent, and I think I need the visual aspect to really integrate everything.

If anyone has seen Amazing Grace and has anything extra to add that would be greatly appreciated. Alternatively any thoughts surrounding the concepts of prejudice would also be appreciated as my topic for blog 1 is prejudice, stereotyping and aggression. Your thoughts on the interconnectedness of these concepts would be very beneficial as every individual has their own opinions, thoughts and beliefs, and I would really like to take this into account when writing and submitting my blog.

Thanks

3 comments:

James Neill said...

Zoe,

A couple of thoughts:
1. Thanks for your blog posts around the place on other people's postings.
2. I think it makes sense for your blog to include samples from the three movies which are obviously providing meaningful contexts for understanding.
3. Checkout some notes I just added on How to embed a youtube video.

ZPeel said...

Thanks James, I have now added the youtube version into my post.

James Neill said...

Thanks for finding GOR on youtube!