In the initial research for this project, I touched on ways to make my practice more sustainable/ethical. Depicting issues within our society such as class divides, housing and pollution, suppression of arts and culture and general misconduct of the Government. Ethically I thought of inclusivity and made sure the ethnicities and genders of characters in the film were diverse.
As the project moves to more sure footing, I am re-addressing the issues I'd like to tackle. Further to letting sustainability and ethics tie into the look for the film, there could be ways in which it could drive my research and have messages which speak to all people.
Approaching the pushing and pulling of Government and art would be interesting to tackle within the film. In the Guardian, I have read about a principle which speaks of the Government not medalling with the arts and the political importance of artists being able to speak against unfair constitutions:
the arm’s length principle is what it says it is: a principle, one that embeds the notion that a sign of a functioning society is the independence of its artists to create work that pushes against prevailing political tides. On a deeper level, it acknowledges that artists can – should – act as a nation’s conscience, expressing truths that may be unpalatable or otherwise inexpressible.
Higgins, C., 2021. An atmosphere of threat lingers over the arts - and it’s created by the government | Charlotte Higgins. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/06/threat-arts-government-society-political-tides?fbclid=IwAR1ImLqhxf6dohsB7_10KaCiE1n73UGLX75kJxqTtJkwexJHB2-10c6PAAs> [Accessed 15 December 2021].
Conflict between arts and Government was already a topic which was in the background of making this film. Creating more imagery to represent this conflict would create meaning which resonates and make the piece an artistic commentary on Government misconduct in itself. Although the storyboards have been created, I believe small details such as propaganda posters in backgrounds and general conflict between creativity and political manifestos onscreen could create this impression. Therefore within production, the least I will do is incorporate these easter eggs into the screenplay.
A one-time chair of Cema, Keynes was also the founding chair of the Arts Council. Because of, rather than despite, his life’s work in economics, he was utterly uninterested in the economic impact of the arts. Their role, rather, was one of “enlarging our sensibility”. The Arts Council, he wrote, was to be a “permanent body, independent in constitution, free from red tape, but financed by the Treasury”.
Higgins, C., 2021. An atmosphere of threat lingers over the arts - and it’s created by the government | Charlotte Higgins. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/06/threat-arts-government-society-political-tides?fbclid=IwAR1ImLqhxf6dohsB7_10KaCiE1n73UGLX75kJxqTtJkwexJHB2-10c6PAAs> [Accessed 15 December 2021].
This 'arms length' ideal could be represented by more medalling on the Governments behalf into the repressed artistic community.
I have started looking into movements which see Arts as a means of driving a less daunting future for our planet. As more people are realising that they have a responsibility to be greener, there are countless efforts within the Arts that educate people about environmental issues and how to make a difference.
One such example is Julies Bicycle, they talk about Climate Justice, encompassing all attributes of our lives from the politics that drive our future to everyday human interaction. They host many talks on creative approaches to taking action on climate change. Continuing to read sources like these will help me find my stance in how I can use film making to promote positive messages.
As multimodality is of key interest to me, my research into sustainability may start steering toward the idea of music and art creating sustainability. As we all know imagery can be extremely influential. Finding ways in which thinking in an audiovisual way can be productive for society could be extremely interesting. Our cognitive ability for music and visuals to influence us is indisputable, which could be incorporated in my film in emotive and powerful ways if researched properly.
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