Strong Response....or not so much

I didn't really respond strongly to anyones yet...there is another session of fear projects though. I of course responded to mine, but I think i always will no matter how many times I see it.

Fear Project - The experimental part

So my project was a video about missing children set to music. Primarily about my fear of my son going missing. Here is the link to the video..

http://www.cs.iupui.edu/~sz2/n385/

I figured it would be a downer and I generally assumed most people wouldn't react at all. I was right. I didn't figure I was one of TWO parents in the room though. I felt a little old lol. I asked how people felt after viewing it and a few (only a few answered) said they felt either desensatized, sad, one said angry. Beth said it didn't "hit home" until I said that the kids used in the missing posters were real kids and from around IN. I did this on purpose. It sparked a discussion but it sort of turned away from missing kids to rape, losing a loved one etc.

People did ask me if I had anything happen that would cause me to think about this. A little girl I knew when I was about 15 was raped and murdered two blocks behind where I lived. She was 8 and riding her bike in front of her house when she was taken. There were a few other things that have happened to me that let me know at an early age that bad things can happen to little kids. Then watching SVU didn't help either.

I am paranoid a little more than I like to admit, but it doesn't come into play much. I am just extra aware of where my kids are at any given time. I hear all too often that "I just turned my back for a second" and I don't want to be one of those parents. I don't want to hover and be helicopter mom either though so I find a balance that keeps me at a distance so the kids can have a life and be independant, but close enough to be safe too.

If I had to do this again, I would adjust sound for sure lol, but I think i would have had to make a picture or video either showing or implying that it was MY son's body that was found to get a real reaction out of people while watching. I couldn't do that, even for a film...I barely made it through the missing poster but I knew it was necessary for the point and for my fear.

Fear Class take 1!

So today's class was entertaining...mostly. I think the blog one went on for too long and turned into a "how to one up the last guy" contest, but some bits were amusing. I think my project was kind of a downer, which I expected, but it brought interesting discussion. That is for another blog post though.

I think my favorite project that I saw today was a tie between the first one with the cricket and mealworm cookies and the fear of tests one. The first was a genuine fear and one that most people don't get to try. I always said I would try some stuff on Andrew Zimmern's show Bizarre Foods and I got to today...Chocolate covered cricket was ok but I don't recommend the mealworm cookies lol.

The test one was BRILLIANTLY done and was also a genuine fear. I don't have either, but I understand them both.

I enjoyed the Zelda, fear of deadline huge project one as well, but I LOVE Zelda games and that was the creepiest one =D.

Fear part 1

Fear is a tricky thing...I used to be afraid of certain things and it used to prevent me from pretty much living or enjoying life. There was one moment in my life where fear prevented me from doing something that would have made a difference...I didn't realize that at the time, I was a scared kid. Later, when I did, I vowed not to let fear prevent me from doing anything ever again. So far I haven't. In fact, I wasn't afraid of anything really until 2 years ago. Stuff makes me nervous, I have a slight fear of heights, but love roller coasters and things anyway. I don't let it stop me anymore.

Two years ago my son was born. The definition of FEAR changed for me the day I found out I was pregnant. Suddenly, it wasn't about me anymore....

I think my project will cause people to cry or be angry. That is, if I do it right, otherwise I might just get a few people to wonder why and thats it. Let's hope I do it right...