Videos with a Purpose

I came across this recently on youtube.

Sure, there is part of me that looks skeptically at things like Pangea Day. Changing the world is a big proposition, but I hear it almost every day. “I’m going to change the world with politics, or the Olympics, or Live Aid, or film.” If you actually waited for said people or events to change the world, you’d get old and gray and eventually pass away. For goodness sake, the massive U.N., an organization that is supposed to be in the business of world changing has turned out to be little more than a big, self-righteous, teddy bear. So you’ll have to forgive me for being skeptical when I see things like the above video.

However, it is true that grassroots film-making is giving people who were otherwise not on the map a chance to tell their stories. Places like youtube give them a vehicle to show their work to the world. Finding the best of this kind of work is difficult.

Much of the output, of course, is mediocre. But hidden in there are amazing talents capable of using film to astonishing effect...

At least I won’t have to wade through hours of shaky camera work and giggling teenagers to find the best online videos. It looks more and more like grassroots reporting will be the future of online journalism and homemade films the future of online entertainment.

Therefore, I’ll probably be watching next May 10th when Pangea Day brings the best videos to our attention. The world isn’t going to change, but I may well be impressed with what I see.