People are People

I started my day by watching this video recounting Forbes reporter Helen Coster's travels to Pakistan with Acumen Fund Founder and CEO Jacqueline Novogratz. Coster's article is the cover story of the magazine's current issue.


Thinking about why the video resonates with me, I realized it speaks to one of my core convictions that has shaped my outlook on life.

We should not stereotype entire cultures, countries and continents.

People are people everywhere - good and bad. But we often make the mistake of defining individuals by their governments and/or religions.

When I was a teenager, President Ronald Regan described the Soviet Union as "the Evil Empire" during a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals. A few years later, at age 16, I was on my way to the USSR to discover for myself what it was like. I found exactly what I expected - the young Soviets I met wanted peace, freedom and the chance to follow their dreams. Just like me and my friends.

And despite the constant media coverage of Pakistan as a failed state run rampant with terrorists, ordinary Pakistanis simply want the chance to pursue a better life. Much like most Americans.

I'm struck by Helen Coster's observation in the Forbes video:

"The people that I met were so hungry for attention from the outside world that was positive..."

One of my main motivations as a documentary filmmaker is to make connections between people who are worlds apart and to illuminate individual stories that are in contrast to the negative narratives about their cultures that we hear more often. I only wish I had more opportunities to do just that!

BTW - If you aren't familiar with Acumen Fund, follow the links at the top to watch the video and visit their website! The fund invests "patient capital" in entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Insider / Outsider

A recent tweet from @whiteafrican aka Erik Hersman, one of the co-founders of Ushahidi, triggered a dialog that sparked my thoughts about insiders vs outsiders in development and documentary. The dichotomy is central to choices I've made in my life so I thought I'd share.

Way back when, I was working as the interim director of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania, a local NGO that used a profoundly "insider" approach. Rather than go into communities and tell them how to improve environmental sustainability, we launched a campaign to publicize our grant program. We encouraged local communities to apply for funding for their own projects. The only real criteria were 1) demonstrate broad community support and 2) improve sustainability. I was blown away by the creativity and ingenuity of the projects that were proposed, and I was also struck by the contrast between our work and the work that international NGOs were doing. I loved our "insider" approach.

Later in my life, I made a documentary about modern-day hobos. The journey of making the film became another unexpected lesson in insider vs outsider dichotomy. I started out with grand plans and ambitions only to learn that many trainhoppers had very legitimate concerns about how their pastime was portrayed. For example, I was careful not include any specific information about how to hop a freight train in the final film (much to the dismay of many critics and viewers). I believe that CATCHING OUT reflects an "insider" perspective.

The insider approach is a grassroots, bottom-up approach, but are the terms synonymous? When we speak of insiders, we speak of their knowledge. Insiders know the local landscape -- social and environmental -- and how to navigate it. They recognize boundaries established by history and culture. They understand hearts and minds. They know secrets and superstitions, habits and traditions. They can anticipate what people will protect and what they are willing to expose.

In my experience, these common pitfalls are true for both documentary and development:

• Outsiders fail to listen to / solicit insight from local stakeholders / subjects
• Outsiders come w/ assumptions (ambitions) that cloud their perceptions of local realities
  
• Outsiders aim to do something (make a movie; start a project) FOR rather than WITH the local people. Better to consider how the process can engage and empower the local people.

This isn't to say that outsiders have no role! I was an outsider in Tanzania and in the hobo community. Outsiders can bring fresh eyes to a problem or a story. They can provide a broader context and bring a wider scope of experience. Outsiders may have access to expertise and resources that are locally scarce. So, I think the question is: how can outsiders and insiders work together?

The concept of "creative coopportunity" that I'm currently exploring and developing is very much focused on transcending the insider / outsider dichotomy by infusing local inspiration and creativity with the diverse resources of a crowd of collaborators!