Friday, 23 May 2008

Post filming blues

Well done everybody - after a very stimulating and enjoying day and thank you for your participation. How can I sum up, perhaps around some of the themes that emerged and came out of your creativity.
Some people focused on thinking about older people they knew and perceptions of them as sexual beings or being sexual. One group talked about the rape of an older people's identity that can happen in institutionalised care arrangements and settings, for example, the importance of clothing and appearance. There was some reflection on whether it was appropriate to use public funding to meet older people's sexual needs and how this sits within government policy. And many others.
Have a look at the feedback below (in no particular order):

What people said they enjoyed
The filming - sound and setting frames
The imediacy of it. Very raw material, no sense of it being 'scripted' or rehearsed
People's stories - really interesting
Working with a diverse group. Being creative - writing something original and working with actors/directors.
Everybody co-operated well - staff, students, actors, guests.
Getting a new perspective on things from the actors and watching them in action - very impressive.
The atmosphere - very calm and hardworking but we laughed quite a lot. We did tackle some interesting angles on the main topics too.
Enjoyed listening to personal experiences from different cultures.
I enjoyed the idea of sharing emotional feelings together. It was therapy to me because some of these things being bad memories and the sad thing about it is we cannot change the past. If our individual contributions can change other people's lives in a more positive way, then it will be great.
Being comfortable with being as open/bold in revealing stuff to do with sexuality.
I enjoyed being taken out of my comfort zone.

What people said suprised them:
How open people are on the whole
So many stereotypes about older age
The depth to which people opened up
How passionate I felt about this topic
The chap in the film about running a cafe was considered 'old' at 55!
I was surprised how eery it was to get the ideas flowing
That each group only concentrated on one area.
Small discussion groups were very informative and educational. No suprises at how hard to recognise older people thoughts and preferences about sexuality.
The interaction with students and actors suport.
Enjoyed the group I worked with - suprise the way we were filming, the slots and how we acted.
Why is it so difficult to talk about still in this day and age when we are all doing it and it's so natural.

What people said made them feel uncomfortable
None - I was comfortable talking about the issue.
My emotions almost overwhelmed me. However I had a good interview where prompting helped me stay in control.
Next week I'd like to get opinions of other groups and ideas/ suggestions before we start filming our piece.
Nothing, I felt really comfortable - very welcoming group, good sense of humour but also calm and not pressurised - perfect!
No everyone in the group were relaxed.
Speaking about family's sex life on camera, knowing that they would be uncomfortable about it (i.e the ethics of it).
Uncertainty about visualisation
Not used to talking about sexuality.
Using some sexual terms, I couldn't even say it which might be part of my cultural upbringing..

Ideas /Thoughts for next week
Ideas/ Role play
A visual dictionary (e.g, film of peoples mouths) saying multicultural 'rude' words and euphamisms for rumpty - tumpty/goolies.
Gestures and words to express sexuality (gentle) in outdoor environment, for filming
Next week I'd like to get opinions of other groups and ideas/suggestions before we start filming our piece.
Explore more of the ideas using cultural differences.

No comments: