Good Samaritans in Our Time
A Field Study Proposal
Introduction
A shared belief in charity and compassion has the power to bring different cultures and people together. This is what I hope to show through the documentary film I will be making while in India. The film will focus on the relationships between Indians and Tibetan refugees living in Dharam Sala and McLeod Ganj, India. It will show their struggles in living side by side, but also and more importantly, it will show the ways in which they have helped one another. By using film to explore the kindness and charity shared between Tibetans and Indians I hope to inspire people in America to follow the example and be “good Samaritans”.
This project also functions as my own personal and spiritual goal to become more charitable and service oriented. I believe that by immersing myself in the theme of charity, studying it, finding people who exemplify it, and practicing it myself, I will become a more charitable person.
In addition, this project will be a chance for me to get field experience in my major. While the film program offers a lot of great classes, it is rare to get a chance like this, to focus all efforts on one project out in the field. Not only will it be a great learning experience, but the final product will be a valuable addition to my portfolio.
Significance
The significance of this project will be more in the message of the film than in any field research or factual value. Still, as far as I can tell (and I need to do more digging) there has been very little said or studied about the relationship between Tibetans and Indians, and what studies have been made seem to deal with it more from a political point of view. This of course plays a large role in the relationship, but my film will mostly be looking at individuals, not in political positions, and how and why they have found ways to help one another.
While this topic could be studied in many other parts of the world, I feel that Dharam Sala will be a prime example because of what’s going on their now. There is conflict still, but also much love and compassion. BYU’s history in Dharam Sala will also make it easier for me to make this film because many students before me have already been to the area and the people living there have seen these students conducting research in their towns. So when I come into the area, I will not be a complete alien to the people living there.
Also, because of BYU’s history with this area, I will be fortunate to live with a Tibetan host family in McLeod Ganj during my time in the field. I will do some contacting work before entering the field, to get in touch with a Tibetan charitable organization set up in Dharam Sala, but a lot of the work in finding people for my project will have to come once I have arrived in the field.
Methodology
I will be working with a few Tibetan individuals as well as a few Indian individuals, preferably all people who may know or be connected to each other in some way. It will be important to see and represent the Tibetans and Indians equally, and to find common ground between them despite their different cultural backgrounds. I plan to find Tibetans first, starting with the charitable organization, and then finding Indians that have benefitted from the services of this organization, as well any Indians who inspired the Tibetan monks to start the organization.
Before entering the field I will have a base or an outline of the story of my film and what I suspect may happen while I am there. Once in the field, I will spend at least the first week or two just getting to know the area and the people I will be working with. When I feel that I have established good relationships with these people and they have agreed to be filmed I will start to shoot footage. Filming will include sit down interviews with these individuals as well as watching them in their day to day lives and how they interact with others. It will also follow the events or projects conducted by the Tibetan charitable organization. In addition, I will want to get some footage of the general area to establish to the audience where the film is taking place.
Ethics and Approval
To make sure my project is ethical, I will be sure to give the participants some idea of what the project is and what I am making it for. Participants will be required to give consent before I use any footage of them in the final film, and if they refuse, the footage will not be used. Also, even when consent is given, I will be careful when choosing my footage to be respectful to those being filmed and will discard any footage that could be seen as harmful to them. I will also be getting IRB approval before going into the field, which application and approval will help to ensure that my project is ethical.
Post-field Application
Upon returning from the field I will finish editing the film and then begin looking for places to show it. I will work with my mentor to secure showings of the film possibly on campus, on BYU-TV or through various film festivals.
Qualifications and Limitations
I feel that I am qualified to do this project as a filmmaker because I have been studying film for over a year now and this semester I have been specifically studying documentary film and practicing techniques. I have also been working as a documentary filmmaker for BYU’s center for service and learning for the past six months. The center for service and learning has also helped me to get more involved in and take interest in service and charity, which is the theme of my film. As for qualifications for the location, I served a full-time mission in Mexico, and learned how to adapt to another culture. I am also currently enrolled in Tibetan and Hindi language classes to learn a little of the native languages before going to the field.
Limitations to my project may include the amount and quality of film equipment I can take into the field, financial funding, and a basic ignorance of things such as the culture and language (though I am trying to learn as much I can beforehand, there is no possible way of knowing everything there is to know).
Qualifications of Primary Faculty Member
My mentor Jeff Parkin has written, produced, and directed three feature films, worked for production companies like CBS, Miramax, United Artists, and Fox, and has won numerous awards for his work. He has now been a film professor at BYU for six and a half years. In that time he has worked on many projects, including two documentaries which he shot in south India. He has an amazing grasp on the art of storytelling and will undoubtedly make tremendous contributions to this project.
Justification of In-field Coursework and Faculty
(I am still working to figure out what courses I will be taking in the field)
Schedule
I will be conducting further reading and research from now through April, 2011. On May 9th I will travel to Mcleod Ganj, India where I will be until mid-August. During this time I will conduct research and shoot my film. I will return in August and edit the film over the following six weeks. During this time I will also start researching where the film can be screened so that I can start showing it almost immediately after it is finished. After completing the film I will work on my final paper for the field study class and have it ready to turn in by the deadline of December 15, 2011.
Budget
This is something I need to evaluate further. I am still planning to apply for several grants and financial aid, and don’t know how much I will have yet. How much I spend on equipment will depend on how much I am able to get from grants. Besides film equipment, I will need to look at the normal field study expenses and figure out how much each thing will cost.
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