HEY…

It’s Jasmine

Asset Framed Introduction: I collaborate with others to create culturally competent spaces that encourage healing through activism and art… (Your Winning Story Workshop)

Welcome!

It’s a pleasure to be here, and to nerd out with you about film…

Environment

Oakland, California (94604, 94607, 94601, 94602) | (510)533 1458

It was at this big age when it dawned on me that I experience “my city” as if I’m still a child.

The memories that circulate aren’t the best associations, derivatives, and residue.

I see a lot of things now I’ve seen before and some things I never thought I’d see… Most of the time I can’t distinguish whether what I’m seeing is:

the past,

the present,

the future,

all of the above.

LIVED EXPERIENCE

Film is a portal for me, always has been…

One of my favorite film terms is, the suspension of disbelief: to allow oneself to believe that something is true even though it seems impossible. The plot is ridiculous, but if you can suspend disbelief, it's an enjoyable movie. [Merriam Webster Dictionary]

Reads like the definition of life…

Predisposed

MY LOVE FOR:

Why?

Idioms/Figures of Speech

Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Dreams

Counterculture

People Watching (making up stories about them)

Coded Speech/Code Switching

Recipes

Accents

Differences

Inside Jokes

Glass Half Full/Empty

2 Sides to Every Story and the Truth/Contradiction (in moderation)

Researching/Googling/ Rabbit Hole

My Opinion (lol)

Photo/Composition

Conspiracy Theories

Movie References

Documentaries/Mysteries/Black Cult Classics (Mom made sure)

Hegemony ; he·gem·o·ny

definition: the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group [Merriam Webster Dictionary]

Around the age that I learned about the concept of Hegemony. Miss Boy’s Social Studies Class at Saint Elizabeth High School, Oakland. Age 15/16???

What’s your major?

African American Studies with an emphasis in Film and Television.(University of California, Los Angeles)

This is where the plot thickens.

The powers that be paired a girl from Oakland with a girl from the OC.

When I spoke to my lived experience they didn’t believe me. My major taught me the terms and gave me the tools to research and “convey” life’s happenings… (politically correct way to put it)

Visual Literacy

definition: the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image, extending the meaning of literacy…

I aspire to capture fragments of what we see and how it affects our navigation in the world. I am in search of who I am, who you are, and why our universes decided to collide.

Thank you for being here, and thank you to spirit for moving in this space.

Built Environment

I’ve always wanted to travel around with an architect and botanist. Now I have you all :)

The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human activity and were created to fulfill human desires and needs.

Conspiracy

In my humble opinion, everyone here could be classified as a conspiracy theorist, simply due to the nature of the work that we do, and what we say we believe.

con·spir·a·cy the·o·ry

/kənˈspirəsē ˈTHiərē,ˈTHirē/

noun

a belief that some secret but influential organization is responsible for an event or phenomenon.

Rabbit Holes

Maybe I should keep some of them to myself, but if you’re interested I have a long list… This film will open the dialogue into some of them

Dedication

I want to dedicate this presentation to my Dear friend Jorge Sanchez, an Ethnographer. We met in Sydney Australia, he lived in SF and kept his word to keep in touch. He transitioned during the pandemic…

Jorge would invite me to all sorts of things. One of my favorite things was the film club he supported. He’d say, “Come on Miss Brown we’re going to see…” We’d get there, watch some obscure film at the SF Art Institute with a bunch of students, parents, and patrons, then discuss what we’d seen…He was a hoot and such a joy to be around.

Those were the days and I miss him dearly, my heart is filled with joy and a lot of pain. I still ain’t right… I stopped watching movies for a good while after finding out he passed away.

Thank you for indulging me this evening…

We have dinner plans with his partner Miguel on Saturday. What a blessing…

FILM CRITICS IN THE ROOM?

Watch films of all genres, often several times… make notes about scripts, music, storylines, and influences. look at technical details like camera angles, lighting, and editing. submit reviews by strict deadlines.

BY THE END OF THE NIGHT

The goal is to turn you into a mini conspiracy theorist and film critics. Let’s analyze this filmscape through the lens of the built environment. Hone into how the filmmaker uses the environment to create conditions that interfere with or guide the character’s free will. Look to the elements of light, shelter, access to food, etc. I encourage you to apply some of your lived experience to the mix. If you can or can’t relate, ask yourself, “why?”

Answer the following questions from the vantage point of the built environment. Answer as many or as few as you’d like…