Everyone has a story to tell, here's mine sprinkled with some creative projects along the way.
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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Documenting Documentaries

About two weeks ago we had to let go of Netflix. Although it was a sad time for me as I was in the middle of a new found series and have enjoyed the show tremendously, I had to find "entertainment" somewhere else. So off I went to our local library. We've been borrowing our movies there but this time I spent sometime going through the libraries collection of documentaries. I've come across three. They were all great and so I felt I needed to share my thoughts on them to my blog readers.
 
If you've never liked documentaries, please try these three and if you are on the opposite side of the spectrum where you just absolutely crave documentaries then maybe here's three that are worth catching.
 
(click on the titles to learn more)
 
 
I am a big "Devil Wears Prada" movie fan. I loved Merryl Streep and all the fashion that was in that movie. This documentary is the real deal. It featured the editor of Vogue and how she and her team put together the biggest issue of the year for American Vogue...the September Issue. I found it fascinating, inspiring and intriguing. The fashion was outstanding and seeing how a fashion magazine gets put together was educational. As someone who is creative, this was a good eye opener for me on how creative people make a living doing what they do best. Another lesson I learned from this one is that everything is subjective. It doesn't matter if I think what I make is good enough, if the editors of the magazine doesn't think so, it'll never be seen in any publication. It would never be about the creator but the creation! A thought I always try to think about especially when a project of mine doesn't get picked up by the scrapbook magazines.  
 
 
This documentary was an eye opener to me. Most of you know that I have a son who was diagnosed with ADHD earlier this year. One of the things that we have tried to maintain for him is the decision of not giving him medication. This is a personal choice and I am not judging those that have chosen otherwise for themselves or their love ones. Anyway, This documentary which was years in the making because the Frontline crew were following kids that started medication at 5 years old and at the end of the film, the same kids were being interviewed at 16. After watching it,  I had an overwhelming fear on what medications can do to my child. I knew before watching it that I was not going to go the medication route if I can possibly can, but after seeing the film I knew that medication is definitely not an option. It's just scary crazy of what the side effects can be for my dear child. I would never want to put him in harms way and risk him getting side effects that would affect him for the rest of his life. Like I said, I'm mentioning this not because I judge people that do have their loved ones on medication. I'm sharing this because this documentary had made an impact on how I view medication for children and maybe this might help someone out there trying to get answers like me.
 
 
Wow, another fantastic film! This one is all about  the American Public School System and how it's needing some major reforms. I was touched by the stories of families putting their children's education and future in the hands of a lottery system because their home school's won't be able to give their kids the education they so need and deserve. I cried a few times when parents that have sacrificed everything heard the sad news that their kids didn't make it to the charter or preparatory school that they've applied for. It reminded me of the time when, back in California, I went in front of my school district's board and pleaded my case to let my, then kindergarten, son to go to another school in a different district because of it being a magnet school. They denied me and I felt so defeated. I cried all the way home. At that time I felt like as a parent, I didn't have any choice on where I can take my child for his/her education. I was brought up in the Philippines where education was a choice. Yes you have to pay money for private schools and might have to travel hours to get to a public school that had better ratings....but you still had a choice! I found this documentary to be PROFOUND, a definite must-see, especially if you are a parent with school age children.
If you're wondering whatever happened to my son's case...I took it all the way to the Los Angeles School board and I won! It was by some kind of miracle of course but I was able to show to the school board that I would not let them choose this for me. I would fight to give my children the best education that I can offer them.
 
If you've read all the way through....THANK YOU....for reading my thoughts and if you have any comments please don't hesitate to leave them in the comment section. I would love to hear what kind of documentaries you've seen recently so I can borrow them from our local library and try it for myself. If you disagree with my points here, I'd like you to share your thoughts as well BUT please be considerate of your words.
 
Thanks.
 
Till next time,
Grace
 

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