Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Final Project (Immigration) -Genesis

My Final Project

 **Edited Video was taking long to download
My final project will be focusing on once again, undocumented immigrants and the battles they face on the daily. My project is seen through the eyes of an undocumented immigrant college student who faces the fear and anxiety of not knowing what could happen to her at any given moment if ICE were to knock at her door. She also has constant nightmares of the tragic battles immigrants face and the constant threats, hatred, discrimination they receive from American citizens. The project is titled, “Through Hidden Eyes” because I want my classmates to be able to see through the eyes of an undocumented immigrant and place themselves in their shoes for a moment. I use a butterfly as a symbol, in the end, to represent the diversity that immigration truly brings to this country, meaning just like most butterflies have different patterns on their wings so is every undocumented immigrant living in this country… They all immigrated differently and have different stories but they all share the same pain, hope and wish to one day become a citizen and live out their American dream. Another reason why I chose a butterfly as my symbol in this project is that “ butterflies can see not just some of the colors that we can see, but also a range of ultraviolet colors that are invisible to the human eye. The butterflies themselves may even have ultraviolet markings on their wings to help them identify one another and locate potential mates” (Hadley, December 8, 2019). Thus, just like butterflies can see a range of ultraviolet colors that we humans cannot see, immigrants perform many jobs that are crucial in this country and deporting them would mean empty farms, low crops, among other jobs only they are willing to do. I also love how butterflies can identify one another just like how any undocumented immigrant is able to recognize one of their own and will protect them at all costs.

One of the artists that inspired my project was Tatyana Fazlalizadeh's "Portrait of My Father as an Alien," because she herself wanted people to view her father for who he was and not because of his status in this country and she did an act of resistance by not allowing people to define him as an alien but gave him a voice through her painting. She challenges people to be aware and careful of criminalizing immigrants just for being immigrants or undocumented and instead lift them up and respect them and their rights in the United States. Another Artist that inspired my media project was Felipe Baeza and his projects “Untitled (so much darkness, so much brownness) and Forgotten and Underlying Borders”. He acts in a form of resistance by allowing us to see that Americans focus on the negative connotation given to immigrants but never focus on the part of this being a country that promises to fulfill dreams and that immigrants are ‘real’ people trying to succeed in a country that is native to them. 
Image result for portrait of my father as an alien tatyana
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh's "Portrait of My Father as an Alien," 2018.
Contemporary art by Felipe Baeza, man lying on the foor, roots coming out of his body
The Forgotten
In conclusion, “In order to make a metaphor matter, we had to produce relationships that accounted for the deleterious effects of power” (Thompson, 2008 ). That means that in order for me to act in a form of resistance and stand up for undocumented immigrants my project must foment human relationships and allow others to connect with the actress in this media and allow my audience to want to come up with media or art projects themselves that raises awareness… there is power in unity.


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