The grace of his lens
Thirty-two urban education students from Swarthmore College recently watched the introductory First Person DVD on their first day of class. Over the next several weeks, excerpts from their responses will be posted as part of this blog.
The word “urban” contains numerous racial and economic connotations. Generally, in the media and everyday life “urban lifestyleâ€? is portrayed as something poor, non-white, and dangerous. Director Benjamin Herold combats stereotypes associated with the word urban in his documentary First Person. By following six Philadelphian high school students, he frames urban education around the possibilities of six bright individuals rather than the institutional problems of Philadelphia public schools. Through the grace of his lens, he encourages his audience to move beyond the restrictions of the idioms coupled with everything urban.
A problem that is continual presented to me is the preconceived perception that most people hold about urban school systems. As a Black woman in a usually predominantly White environment, I find myself always defending Philly and its people. This documentary allows me to be silent on the issue, and permits the real students to tell their story. The documentary confronts a handful of stereotypes within its short trailer. Its structure prevents the director from telling a story about what he thinks is right or wrong with urban education. The video diaries of real Philadelphian students allow the audience to partake in a visual ethnography. The voice of the student is what matters most. In the director’s note of the First Person website, Herold writes, “If I’ve done my job well, audiences from all walks of life will find themselves viewing the path to college through the eyes of Steve, Macho, Malikka, Shalisa, Fresh, and Kurtis.� Herold uses their stories as a framework of urban education.
Because First Person is a first hand account of what it is like to be a high school student in North Philly, the documentary works as a great start in contextualizing urban education. It does not over compensate by showing all the good or all the bad because the students are explaining their lives. Although a small sample, I think that the documentary frames urban education as rich yet restricting environment. These qualities make First Person a great tool for teaching about urban education for those who have not attended such an institution.
