Social Commentary

Shooting a 2 minute video about social commentary is my next project. I have never really filmed anything before... this will be a challenge.

I find firstly a definition is adequate (this one here is from wikipedia): 

Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace about a given problem and appealing to people's sense of justice. Social commentary can be practiced through all forms of communication, from printed form, to conversations to computerized communication.

...after browsing around I found some inspirations:

"Some street artist in Germany reckoned that the new H&M posters featuring a very tanned model in a bikini was in need of some subtle social commentary so he spiced it up a little and added a Photoshop toolbar after complaints that the images look at tad touched up."

The above image is a little bit to "in your face" for my liking, even that it made me smile. But this might be an indication of what path to walk or what direction to choose.

The next thought of mine is why not try and talk about clothing.... "you are what you wear"... or are you? Exploring this issue via video seems tricky, but having close up shots of clothing pieces and fancy dressed ladies throwing their hair back... wearing scarfs with glitter and stuff... possibly having a timeline... starting with old, broken/torn clothing and ending with high end fashion... and finalising the video with a simple pair of scissors and thread on a table... everything, no matter what the end product is (in this context) starts with the same basic elements.  

To take it further, we are all humans, naked apes, and how do we allow ourselves to judge people on what they use to cover themselves up with... one would think that the more it glows or shines... the more the human wants to distract from what's underneath... or does he/she uses it to attract others... a cry for help, a cry to feel important, a statement of individualism... a way to survive in today's society....?

UPDATE:

I decided to use the concept above in a photographic series rather than in video format. Possibly even with the use of alternative printing processes.

Having experienced a power outage in the last couple of days (fair enough, it was only for an hour or so), I realised how dependent we are on electricity and how wasteful we use it. I found that by addressing more "obvious" topics with video was a better solution as my skill level in filming is essentially none. Video requires more energy/ battery life than photography and considering that filming is a rather continuous process similar to the stuff running through our cables, I found this theme appropriate for the medium. 

Below is the footage of my first - socially critical - video. (Filmed on the Canon 7D and edited in iMovie).