Published April 3, 2008
by iris_author
On May 10, the first ever Pangea Day is being organized in communities around the world to screen films made by ordinary people for ordinary people. The event aims to build compassion and tolerance by bridging once formidable human borders through the power of visual media.
There is no doubt that the campaign includes some slick and affective outreach, perhaps a given since talented filmmakers, big thinkers, and even movie stars are at the helm of this ambitious project (Jehane Noujaim, director of the critically acclaimed documentary Control Room donated her TED prize money to this event). The use and deployment of new media is also impressive, as seen in their geo-assisted "meet-up" strategy of both decentralizing and propagating the event to hosted house parties.
Moreover, with the ubiquity and relative affordability of sophisticated electronic devices and internet access in all corners of the globe, this project has a real potential to leapfrog technological limitations that have diminished the effectiveness of such UN/MTV-type campaigns in the past. Here's one of their slick ads:
However, the potential downsides of these technologies, which Pangea Day indirectly promotes as democratization tools, should also be considered. In addition to the mountains of toxic waste produced by the high turnover of consumer electronics (check in with the Basel Action Network), the new networked society that Pangea Day celebrates may have dangerous unintended consequences. The possible rise of an "attention deficit disorder"-like approach to issues that sees a rush of enormous immediate interest but an evaporation of long-term commitment has been raised by some, although also disputed by others. The same is true of the notion of balkanization of the internet community, where group polarization tends to occur in highly politicized and rambunctious web forums and blogs (this would entirely upend the Pangea Day concept). Whether this has an impact on day-to-day behaviour or whether this only further reflects the democratizing potential of the web, has yet to be studied.
Regardless, the fact that Pangea Day sparks these thoughts is a step forward. And hopefully we'll be seeing some challenging works that break new ground rather than rehashing a very hokey and very cloying "We are the World/Live Aid" style event.
Posted in: Blogs
I distinctly remember watching the 1985 Live Aid concert held in Wembley stadium (UK), when I was a PhD student. It WAS actually pretty amazing – probably because it was the first of its kind. And, if you like satire, I thoroughly recommend Helen Fielding’s (of Bridget Jone’s Diary fame) first novel, Cause Celeb (1994), which “orchestrates the tragicomic clash between do-gooders with global consciences and artists whose commitment to social justice lasts as long as a height-of-fashion hairdo or a Live Aid benefit.” (M. Galehouse, NY Times book review, 2001)
I think George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh was the first benefit concert way back in 1971, although Bob Geldof really did kick it up a notch with Live Aid (which also spawned Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp’s Farm Aid).
My experience with this kind of rock star celebrity do-gooding comes from U2, and their support of debt relief. I was an organizer for Jubilee 2000 (later Network) back in 2000-2001, and helped manage the tables outside the Elevation Tour in Boston. Here’s the front page article from USA Today where I am quoted, trying to be diplomatic!
Anyways, the Pangea Day is a bit different as it will be decentralized to screens in rooms across the world. Four hours of viewing documentaries, yeah!
OK – on the documentary viewing angle – I just want to add that when we are at our wonderful, local video store, The Film Buff, and it is my turn to choose the movie for family viewing, the kids always groan and say “please don’t get another documentary”. I can only hope that one day they will become much more discerning and critical in their choice of tv and film viewing, which does include really good programming, but unfortunately means that I sometimes have to watch “America’s Next Top Model”.