Ideology

Since the photoshoot that I’ll be filming isn’t until this Saturday, I have planned to start working on the website for my documentary until then. The marketing for this project is going to be so exciting for me to plan and execute, because the pitch is one that would appeal directly to myself. This is because I fall directly into the target audience of my piece - something that I forgot to consider while originally putting together my ideas for the project. That was until I sat down with a group of my peers also putting together their own projects, and realized that a lot of their decisions were influenced by who their target audience is. That’s not to say this hasn’t applied to me as well; in my head, I’ve had a certain grouping of people with a particular mentality in mind when structuring the idea for the documentary. However, it wasn’t until my reintroduction to the idea of a target audience that I was reminded that I should probably concisely define who exactly I’m attempting to appeal to - particularly to help me with the marketing process.

The primary grouping of people that this film will appeal to, without second thought or an attempt to cater to them, is younger (Gen Z - Millenials) individuals who are more liberal/left leaning in their mentality and ideology. This is because liberal/leftist ideas are the antithesis of conservatism; based on traditionalism, the concept of trashing gender roles/conventions and breaking/changing “the norm” goes against what they believe in. It goes without saying that the liberal side of the conversations - the ones interested in breaking roles/norms and changing conventions - are the individuals who will seek out this piece and adhere to it and enjoy it. This is likely due to our innate addiction to confirmation bias; the idea that we seek out and consume/validate information based off of what we already believe. Humans are prideful beings, and we don’t like to be told that we’re incorrect; we don’t like challenging our ingrained belief systems (which is kind of paradoxical and contradictory that this applies to liberals as well, considering their entire belief system is based on change and adaptation of ideas).

Now, don’t get me wrong: my criticism of (part of) my target audience is entirely hypocritical. As I said, I fall directly into the target audience of the piece - I, too, fall into the confines of confirmation bias more often than I’d be happy to admit. However, there’s a point to my criticism: if you’re making a piece that’s constructed through education and a call to arms, what’s the point of making it if the people you’re attempting to appeal to already know the information you’re telling them and are already a part of the community/movement you’re insinuating they join? The answer: there is none - at least not from an activist standpoint. And, if we’re being completely frank here, the documentary I’m creating is almost solely a product of activism. So, for this reason, the real target audience of the piece isn’t so specific - I’m not primarily selling to liberals. I’m selling to all people, although mainly Gen Z and Millennials (the groups of people that tend to be either more liberal or moderate, that will be more open to viewing a documentary such as mine).

Succeeding in this endeavor is tricky. It would be much simpler to just appeal to the people that already agree with me, but trying to include everyone in the voice and in the movement can be tricky. On one hand, I can’t be too radical about it: if I am, I’ll alienate the moderates/conservatives that are much more skeptical of viewing the piece. However, if I’m too middle-ground, I can also risk alienating the liberals that want a strong conviction of ideas. Essentially, to sell this piece I need to sell an idea: the idea of individual expression. To express yourself not inside of the roles given to you; or even against the roles given to you; but in the way that makes you. The way that makes you the most comfortable and you the most empowered and you the most happy. To do this, I’ll need to walk a thin line between challenging norms, and doing it in a "normal" way; feeding people “radical” ideas in a socially acceptable, snackable way.

I may or may not be putting too much thought into this, but either way: wish me luck.

A sea of questions

One of the most important aspects of a documentary is, of course, the documentarian's ability to come up with and conduct thoughtful and engaging interview questions: How do you get someone to say what you want them to? How do you guarantee that the way in which they express their ideas will be interesting and enrapturing for audiences? There's no conclusive, sure way to guarantee that your interviewee will say exactly what you want them to in the most enthralling of ways; however, coming up with quality, probing interview questions is the best way to get the odds in your favor. I started jotting and playing around with some ideas:

• Whats your gender identity?
• Whats your age?
• What are your favorite clothing stores?
• Do you consider yourself feminine, masculine, or androgynous?
• Why do you dress the way that you do?
• Why do you express yourself the way that you do?
• What inspires your taste in clothing?
• What inspires your sense os expression?
• What does your clothing say about you?
• What does your sense of expression say about you?
• Other than clothing, what else encompasses your sense of expression?
• Would you say youre nonconforming in the way you dress?
• Are you ever hesitant or scared to dress the way that you do?
• Do you ever feel pressured to dress a certain way because of the way you identify?
• Are you comfortable with the way you dress?
• The way you express yourself?
• Ideally, how would you describe your sense of style?
• Sense of expression?
• Do you find that your friends dress similarly to you, or do you stand out among your friends?
• Do you feel that you dress differently than the majority, or similar to it?

(I took these questions from a Google Doc that I compiled, and will continue to update it as I formulate more questions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwsEwJknZbwsJEBEgLdVa-R154pqxyc8g6sSCrLizK0/edit?usp=sharing)

Ideas abound!

First off: I came up with the perfect idea for the excerpt! And by “I” I mean my good friend Chris. The two of us were talking about our portfolio projects, and in the midst of me telling him about my documentary, he offered me a brilliant idea. At my school, I’m the Co-President of a club called Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA), and my good friend Chris is Vice President. While explaining my documentary concept to him, he interjected with a reminder: GSA is in the midst of putting together a photoshoot for its members. The purpose of the photoshoot is to allow our members to express themselves in the way they feel most comfortable - and often the way in which they can’t normally express themselves on a regular day-to-day basis, because of either restrictive parents or the fear of going against "the norm." So, essentially, the absolute perfect opportunity for me to provide a glimpse into the lives and personalities of the expressive non-conforming.

The photoshoot will be taking place this Saturday, and I plan on filming as much content as humanly possible (and have some of my friends/officers help me out with filming as well). In addition, I'll have an area in which i pull people aside to interview. I would prefer to constantly film and conduct all of my interviews after everyone has finished getting their pictures taken - however, I understand that not everyone will be staying until the very end, so it might be necessary to cease filming for people who I believe will make good interviewees if they’re departing early. Overall, I’m insanely excited, and genuinely believe that the footage will turn out fantastic.

Drawing a battle plan

Now that I have a foundation of research behind me and a general plan for the production portion of the project, I’m now attempting to construct an outline for my overarching course of action. First and foremost I need to focus on the production, because that component will take the most time to plan and complete - and there’s the highest chance that, if (or when, likely) there’s a bump in the road during this process, it will be during this portion; so I’d like to have an ample amount of time to smooth over bumps before the finish line approaches.

Of course, the first step is pre-production. For this, I’m first going to need to concoct an idea in my head of what I want the excerpt’s content to contain - and then tentatively plan it out, either with a shot list or barebones storyboard. However, I’m torn here, because while part of me wants to have a plan, and knows that I should have at least a general plan of action, another part of me wants the plot of the excerpt to birth organically. That is, for me to purely conduct interviews with subjects first, and let the answers and pool of thoughts/ideas/consensus to be the driving force in where the plot of that portion of the documentary goes.

For example, the first and second portions have a clear message: the clothing industry perpetuates gender roles, and gender roles are toxic. However, the third portion is entirely subject; it’s nothing more than a profile, a glimpse into the world of the non-conforming. Without questioning these individuals, there’s no way for me to control where their answers fall or the message being told - without it being artificial. Of course, manipulation exists and delivering questions can easily be done in a way that leads towards the answers I’m looking for. However, I would like to avoid this as much as is feasible. That’s not to say I don’t have ideas: one of them, I would need a friend that identifies as a cisgender male; he’s very passionate about dressing femininely, and I would love to play with the idea of him strutting his stuff in a blouse or dress with high heels in a public sphere and attempt to document the reactions of people around him. In any case, I feel as though the first course of action is to start coming up with interviewees and interview questions for them.

Formulating a structure

Upon doing my due diligent research, I formulated a tentative outline/structure that I want the entirety of my documentary to follow. Of course, the excerpt that I inevitably produce will be only a small fraction of the entire story that the big picture is willing to tell, but understanding the arch of the narrative I’m trying to sell will help me pinpoint what excerpt I want to do exactly, as well as help me concoct a core marketing strategy for the other elements of the project.

The basic structure of the piece will be:

• Firstly, outlining the clothing industry in generalities, in addition to zeroing in on the ways in which the industry as an entirety perpetuates gender stereotypes/conventions; including their own marketing/advertising, in-store layouts, behind-the-scenes designers, etc.
• Secondly, the psychological element, or, essentially, my argument of the piece (in other words, my creator bias); why does the clothing industry do this, why are gender stereotypes/conventions harmful, how are they harmful, why is this topic important, why does it matter, etc.; the process of probing, questioning, answering, and persuading.
• Lastly, the pushback to this structure and ideology of society, how the movement is growing, examples and interviews with people who identify as gender non-conforming, etc.; the proof of a trend, that if viewers decide to join in on the trend, they’re not alone and there’s a movement waiting for them with open arms.

More than likely, the portion that I will choose to operate under when producing the excerpt will be the last section, for a few different reasons. In essence, it’s the most accessible to me - it’s certainly plausible to find stores that will allow me to film in them and psychology experts that can speak on the issues raised in my piece. However, I’m not sure how successful I’ll be with finding high-up clothing industry workers that will be helpful and relevant to interview; and I’m not sure that the psychology portion would be particularly stimulating.

Beginning the research process

NOTE: This posting will be repeatedly updated throughout the pre-production process as I gather more research and information.

I have decided to start looking up new concepts and trends toward gender non-conformity in regards to the way we express ourselves as a society in order to: firstly, understand whether or not there is even a case to be made and avenues to explore in regards to the topic; and secondly, if there is a case to be made, then to start gathering information on the subject in order to have a better understanding and deeper knowledge of what I’m going to be working with as well as start building my case. Here’s a documentation of what I’ve come up with:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/14/childrens-clothing-and-toy-retailer-gender-leave-the-stone-age-costumes

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/early-learning-centre-costumes-gender-stereotypes_uk_58a1bb4fe4b094a129ecf7d6

http://lettoysbetoys.org.uk/

A children’s retail/toy company named Early Learning Centre came under fire for a mailout they put out that portrayed females as “passive princesses” while males are portrayed

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/aug/11/-sp-the-rise-of-gender-neutral-fashion

A fantastic article on the rise of the phenomenon of “gender neutral fashion,” including: an untitled documentary under development by Lena Dunham’s production company Casual Romance Productions that’s “set to chart the growth in gender-nonconforming fashion”; “unisex” models that model for both mens- and womenswear; fashion designer Craig Green, who is embracing cultural diversity in clothing and was inspired by unisex models for his womenswear collection (and plans to expand this inspiration into his menswear collection as well); and renowned hairstylist/hair product company owner Charles Worthington embracing and showcasing gender-neutral hairstyles such as the “strob” and “boy bowl.”

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gender-in-fashion-is-dead-these-designers-killed-it

http://kirrinfinch.com/

https://sharpesuiting.com/

http://rebirthgarments.com/#rebirthgarments

An article about how nonconformity within the LGBT+/queer community is expanding and growing. It delves into several clothing designers that have created brands that fit traditionally more masculine clothes for individuals with biologically female bodies, and vice versa.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/style/sc-cons-0728-less-gendered-clothing-20160727-story.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/30/lands-end-science-tees-for-girls_n_5635375.html

http://www.zara.com/us/en/trf/ungendered-c816001.html#

http://www.target.com/c/unisex-baby-clothing/-/N-4y6lb

Delves into the stereotypes and conventions of children’s clothing in particular, as well as mentions brands that are challenging these conventions (i.e. Land’s End, Zara, Target, etc.). Also talks about the psychological repercussions of these conventions (the negativity of stereotypes, examples of bullying, etc.) and why generational divides inhibit mass progress from being made.

http://www.npr.org/2017/02/05/513591475/at-new-york-fashion-week-ungendered-clothes-make-appearance-on-runway

Audio news segment transcript that describes the concept of “ungendered” or “gender-blurring” clothing (especially in relation to the concept of androgyny) .

Drawing on inspirations

Without a doubt, I am insanely excited to be starting a documentary, and to have the opportunity to pursue the creation of one for my project this year. Documentaries are easily one of my favorite film genres to view, as well as my absolute favorite to create. I have a particular passion for journalism and pursuit of knowledge outside of an interest in film/media, and so to be able to incorporate both of those passions and converge them into a single endeavor both excites and challenges me to do something meaningful.

Before even starting to think about specifics for this project, I immediately had an idea that I wanted to pursue. I find the concept of clothing - particularly, how the conventions and stereotypes for each gender’s dictation of gender norms affects the idea of gender and other aspects of society - especially intriguing, and ideally would love to pursue a piece that explores that idea and makes a stand for nonconformity.

However, the challenge with this idea becomes how to get footage from inside of stores, and whether or not this will be a problem/obstacle within the creation of my product - and, if it will be a problem/obstacle, if the result would be worth the challenge. So far I’m leaning towards yes, it will be worth it. Now I just have to figure it out.