Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Martyrs | a video installation



Yesterday morning I gave my students the chance to make their first installation ever... so I went to class asked each girl to give me the first word that pops into her mind... then we started finding relations between the words and getting a concept for our installation... got the camera... shot the videos... some was doing the editing and some were setting up the space... finding a music and then stitching everything together...
and it was done... for audience two girls went outside and start gathering random students... and in less than two hours we managed to do a video installation...
Now what do you think of that? =)

UPDATE:
For those who like the 1.99$ stamped clearly on their burger wraps...
The above installation addresses issues of routine, monotone, systematized life,solitude and boredom. The title is a metaphorical notion of how we "sacrifice" ourselves to the modern standard of living while thinking we are doing a favor to others or humanity in general... how we kill our time for what we think is worth it...

11 comments:

programmer craig said...

The first word that pops into the head of Jordanian teenage girls is "martyrs"? Seriously? I'd laugh, but it's not funny.

super devojka said...

why do you take it in a literal political sense? no need to laugh... but you should lighten up... you messed the whole point and the irony intended from the title and the subject...

programmer craig said...

From a previous post of yours:

This afternoon I went for a coffee with a couple of American girls visiting Jordan on some cultural exchange program... I had a really good time... and very insightful too...
And now as I was reflecting upon the meeting... I remembered one of the girls was telling us a story happened with her family... and it is unbelievable how her story is similar to many stories we hear in our society... and it made me think about how similar we all are...
Half a way around the globe and yet we still share so much... same events... same needs... same life...
I can't understand what went wrong in the world... why do we have all these wars? these fights? why some people spend millions in one day while millions are suffering from hunger every day...?


A) we have all these wars because you teahc your students to worship "martyrs".

B) You are nothing like American women. No American thinks of the word "Martyr" when asked what the first word that pops into their head is.

C) You should stop taking advantage of naive Americans who actually believe somebody like you is opposed to war.

D) Peace can never exist until both sides want peace. Seek and you shall find. A good first step would be to stop poisoning the minds of Jordanian youth.

programmer craig said...

SD,

why do you take it in a literal political sense?

What other sense is there? I know enough to know "martyr" doesn't mean the same thing to Muslims that it does to Christians. Most Muslim Martyrs are murderers. I don't know what other "sense" I could have of the word?

no need to laugh... but you should lighten up... you messed the whole point and the irony intended from the title and the subject...

Maybe I just don't get it. I watched the video and I still didn't get it. Maybe you can explain it to me?

super devojka said...

A)I don't teach my students nothing about martyrdom... have you even seen the video? it talks about routine... about how we kill ourselves for nothing... [kill here not in the literal meaning]...
B)I didn't say that martyr is the word the girls picked... it was an irony...a mockery... a conceptual word... have you seen an art work in your life???
C)You should stop stereotyping us and labeling us in this way... I am against war... I have no reason to defend myself to you...
D)Define Poison? is it anything that goes against your own ideas?

Anonymous said...

1- we have all these wars because you teahc your students to worship "martyrs".

No we have them because of rich selfish people like you who want to control our oil. Martyrs are whats stopping you from achieving that and thats why you hate Islam so much.

2-You are nothing like American women. No American thinks of the word "Martyr" when asked what the first word that pops into their head is.

of coures not the first thing that pops into her head would be sex.

C) You should stop taking advantage of naive Americans who actually believe somebody like you is opposed to war.

Stop thinking you aren't naive and stupid when you are and you are being taken advantage of.

D) Peace can never exist until both sides want peace. Seek and you shall find

Good piece of advice. What have you been doing in the middle east for the past half century even before 9/11 ? you certainly weren't spreading justice .... now you know why there is no peace.

programmer craig said...

SD,

A)I don't teach my students nothing about martyrdom... have you even seen the video? it talks about routine... about how we kill ourselves for nothing... [kill here not in the literal meaning]...

I already said I watched the video, and I wasn't able to make out what the message was supposed to be. If you hadn't described it as "Martyrs" I would have never known. And of course you teach your students about your political views. All teachers do, whether they intend to or not. It seems clear from this video, that you kinda intend to... But i could have you all wrong! When the students come up with this kind of idea, maybe you talk to them about the importance of being open minded, and of trying to see things from all perspectives...

B)I didn't say that martyr is the word the girls picked... it was an irony...a mockery... a conceptual word... have you seen an art work in your life???

No, I never have! I've never had a teacher try to fill my head with her own political philosophy either. Even the hippy teachers I had in the 1970s, kept their views STRICTLY to themselves! (I'm being sarcastic btw)


C)You should stop stereotyping us and labeling us in this way...

See the previous anonymous comment and tell me how anything I said was a "stereotype" rather than an observation of reality as it looks from where I am sitting?

I am against war... I have no reason to defend myself to you...

You don't have to defend yourself to me. I don't care if you try to defend yourself to me, anyway. I know you will probably never change your attitude - it's the prevailing state of mind in the Arab world. You won't change your thinking, because it's the way things have been for your whole life and you think it is correct. Nothing I can do about that! But I can point out that people who desire victory cannot be said to also desire peace.

D)Define Poison? is it anything that goes against your own ideas?

Indoctrinating children with hate is one way to poison their minds. There are many others. How long of a list do I have to make to satisfy you?

Anonymous said...

maybe you talk to them about the importance of being open minded, and of trying to see things from all perspectives...

Says you ? the guy who thinks that all Arab Christians are fake and wants to launch a crusade against them ? When are you going to stop your hypocrisy and lies ?

"I said was a "stereotype" rather than an observation of reality as it looks from where I am sitting?"

What reality ? That oil prices are high and the chinese and russians are giving you too much competition to keep up with and the only way to get enough oil that you need at a good price for you is to invade the oil producing countries ? You mean to say that isn't true ? What a lying deviant prick you are .

"- it's the prevailing state of mind in the Arab world"

Says the redneck piece of American white trash who has never changed his mind at all and wants the whole world to change to fit his perspective. The only reason we don't change our perspective is because we have been around here longer than you and so far we have been right on everything from Iraq to the WMD's to everything you can name and the Americans aren't the first to come here and their propaganda and lie isn't different from anyone else's so we haven't seen anything new to change our minds, same death and destruction and lust for oil.

"But I can point out that people who desire victory cannot be said to also desire peace."

Thanks for pointing that out you idiot, you are of course forgetting that you are referring to all your government and the presidential candidates from Bush to Barak to McCain. They all want victory so they don't want peace.


"Indoctrinating children with hate is one way to poison their minds"

That's what fox news and your evangelists at Jesus camp do we just teach our children not to accept foreign occupation and to defend their country at whatever cost.

super devojka said...

check the update of the post.

Anonymous said...

P C:

If only u had the education of the 70's...

Anonymous said...

people, super dev... did u see his profile pic? an army tank and soliders...

well craig you know what they say about "those who live in houses of glass"