The definition of Political is: Anything that has to do with government or public actions of a country, state or territory
But what is it really? Well to me something being political
means that the lifestyle, habits or our lives in general will be changed. Whether
that's having to pay more for University or having a new government with
different policies or having cuts in the number of police. When something is political
it is almost guaranteed to change someone's life or their lifestyle. There is
such a wide variety of things that can be classed as political from cuts to torture
to education. Just knowing about torture in a different country is classed as being
political, to me anyway. If something is changed or something can be changed it
is political.
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I think it's interesting that something very severe or
violent can be classed in the same category as something that is not violent.
Politics has spread out a lot and we see politics in our everyday lives now,
political posters/protests. It's interesting to explore how politics is seen
through different eyes and find out what I believe politics is about.
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Evaluation of the protest against Torture in Prisons
In our protest we decided to focus on Stopping Torture in
Prisons. We came up with a scene where me and Tian get tortured by Harrison and
Jack, Katie shouted out facts. We got our idea from the torturing in Guantanamo
bay and that when criminals come out of certain prison some have Schizophrenia.
We all felt very strongly about this topic. We felt it was wrong and inhumane
to torture anyone that severely. We researched on the internet all the
different types of torture used in Guantanamo bay and we used some of these in
our piece. I personally feel that although these people are criminals and they
have committed a crime they do not deserve to be treated this badly. They are
also humans and are paying for what they did just by being in prison. Granted some
come out unchanged and commit a crime again but torturing will not solve that.
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I felt our protest was successful as it got people's attention.
They stopped to look at the beatings, meaning they stopped to listen. The audience
reacted emotionally to the prisoners being beaten up with horrified gasps and
remarks. This shows that our message came across clearly as people went away
feeling sympathy for the prisoners, thinking about how unfairly they are
treated. As our protest was so physical and strong and had a clear message
people stopped to look. The audience understood our message straight away. The most
effective part of our protest was the beating as it was so physical and there
was always something to look at. It also engaged the audience by giving them
visuals to show them how these prisoners are tortured. I also feel that our
costumes attracted the audience as orange is a bright colour and is hard not to
miss. It also made people wonder why we were dressed like this and so wanted to
see what was going on. After our protest we had people come up to us saying how
they enjoyed it and how it really made them think.
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If I were to do this protest again I would move it to an easier
to see location. We were situated by the path leading to the smoker's area and
so only those who smoked saw it. It was harder for other people to see it as we
were hidden by other protests and the landscape. I would put it out in the open
with no distractions and in plain sight. I would also do it when the weather is
better as the rain, as much as it gave some atmosphere to the protest, made the
conditions difficult to work in. Another thing I would change is making it
easier to repeat as we had to stop and start every time our piece finished, meaning
it stopped the flow of the protest. I would have given Katie a megaphone as you
could not hear her over the other protests.
* * * * *
Overall I thought our protest was successful as we
clearly showed our message through words and performance.
A video of our Protest
You presented your argument clearly through a theatrical protest, it challenged the audience to watch, it posed questions, you were all committed to the work, you had thought about the protest and what you wanted to say. You were able to sustain the piece for the whole of the time expected. It was brave and exciting, well done!
ReplyDeleteYour evaluation is honest and detailed.