Street life : a case study on the social impact of participating in a film project on youths from the streets of Durban.
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Date
2011
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Abstract
In the spring of 2010, I worked with four street youths from Durban to create a short
fictional film based on their lives. There were two main components to this project:
first, a series of drama workshops and second, the film-making process. The filmmaking
process consisted of the participants improvising scenes based on their street
lives that I captured on film. This project engaged with Theatre for Development and
Participatory Video practices.
The young man who initiated this project did so because he wanted to change people’s
perceptions of youths who lived on the streets. Additionally, he wanted to change his
own perceptions of himself.
The film provided baseline data regarding how the participants viewed themselves and
their lives on the streets. Analysis of interviews conducted after the completion of the
project, when compared with the baseline data, demonstrated social impacts that
occurred as a result of making the film. This data was coded and interpreted using
François Matarasso’s (1997) positive criteria for the social impact of participating in
arts projects as well as corresponding negative categories that I generated.
The film, once coded, demonstrated that the participants felt negatively about their
lives on the streets, with many examples emerging from the categories Lack of Social
Cohesion and Lack of Agency. In contrast, the interviews revealed positive social
impacts across all categories, but especially in relation to Personal Development, Local
Image and Identity, and Community Empowerment and Self-Determination (Matarasso
1997). The participants reported that they felt differently about themselves as a result
of the project. They also said that there had been a change in the way some people
treated them.
Findings revealed that the film project resulted in positive social impacts on the street
youth participants. As a result of the film, they engaged in critical thinking and
reflection related to Paulo Freire’s (1970) notion of praxis. They also wished for
changes in their lives and in some cases enacted change. It was significant that social
impacts and change extended to youths in difficult circumstances.
In conclusion, this research proved that participating in the film project broadened and
enriched the lives of the participants. Problems arose in terms of sustainability.
Further projects and research are needed to establish the possible impacts from longterm
and sustainable arts projects on youths from the streets.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.
Keywords
Homeless youth--KwaZulu-Natal--Durban--Attitudes., Street youth--KwaZulu-Natal--Durban., Motion picture authorship--KwaZulu-Natal--Durban., Video recordings--KwaZulu-Natal--Durban., Participatory theatre--KwaZulu-Natal--Durban., Drama in community development--KwaZulu-Natal--Durban., Theses--Drama and performance studies.