It Takes A Village
We're winging our way eastward for the SXSW Film Festival in Austin. Everyone tells me that the festival is great but I'm leery because we're going to TEXAS. I'm not a big fan of Texas. Perhaps it's the George Bush factor but I find the whole concept of spending time in Texas to be revolting. God forbid that Dick Cheney should be in the state. All liberals will be running for cover.
This is, of course, the conundrum. Austin is the liberal bastion of Texas. A college town, I'm told, with an excellent filmmaking program. Since I teach film and animation for a living, I'd loved to take the time to go by the University and check it out. Who knows what I'll discover. Given the rough time that ASU has been giving us lately about transfer options for students, it seems wise to locate some other transfer opportunities (although ASU East continues to work well with us).
The Art Department has solidified transfer agreements with Columbus College of Art and Design, already. Laguna Beach is in the works. Why not the film program at Austin? Seems like a good connection.
The other thing that is exciting is that SXSW is rumored to be very technically inclined and receptive to Interactive Media. This could be very cool for me! I'm always looking for more interactive connections (since it seems to have the potential to employ so many more students than the film industry in Arizona). Since I haven't arrived yet, I don't really know.
The pilot just announced that it's 76° in Austin and windy. I don't think I brought an appropriate jacket for this weather! I think I thought it would be warmer! Oh-oh. I'm on the plane with Ian, a young fellow of about 12 who is en route to meet his Army father. Apparently his father had back surgery. He's got a few days off so his son is going to visit. We live in such a fragmented society. Ian tells me he has a step-father that he is close to in Phoenix. He's watching his portable DVD player, now. Earlier, he was listening to his portable CD player while snacking on Beef Jerky and Cheese Popcorn. I helped him stow his backpack and skateboard earlier. He is quite well-equipped.
I was 18 when I took my first airplane flight. I was not nearly as mature nor as well-traveled as this little fellow. I'd barely been out of the state of Wisconsin at his age. I'd certainly never been out of the state alone.
Working on this film with Jabbes, the filmmaker from Zambia, we end up discussing the differences between the American culture and the Zambian culture quite often. Jabbes tells me that he thinks the family values are missing in America. "There is no strong sense of family connection in your country," he said last week. "Everyone is just on their own." That certainly seems more true than false to me today. I watched three sets of parents deposit their children on this flight. The youngest is about five.
While there are many orphaned children in Zambia because of HIV/AIDs, the typical Zambian faily keeps their children close and their extended family even closer. They still practice the "village" concept of child rearing.
