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A Video and
Archival Project.
Notes on 21 Century Connections is a video and archival project aiming to conduct research on how people form and maintain connections, romantic and platonic. Its two goals are to create a documentary of interviews and set up an archive that allows people to submit their answers to the three themes treated in the film.
ABOUT
Notes on 21 Century Connections is an archival and video project created by Helene Baz Black. The aim is to investigate connections through a historical lens followed by looking at place, communication, and actions. The format of the film will be the answer to small sets of questions divided under these topics with the space for interviewees to share anecdotes. The project will be mainly based in the UK, going further afield when possible.
Helene studies History and English Literature in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has always enjoyed observing how people communicate with each other throughout history. This project came to be after some reflection on how friends and connections reacted to particular ways of expressing affection. She observed that people approached the matter with different notions in mind, often influenced by place or standards they had assimilated over their education or media consumption. She wanted to conduct some historical research as well as ask anyone who might be willing to answer, in order to assemble a picture of how connections work today. While much of her fascination with words of her generation such as “ghosting”, “chair theory”, and “situationship” meant that she wanted to talk to people around her age, she would love to open up her questionnaire to anyone willing to help her on her quest to understand human connection even just a little bit better.
This section of the project will observe two aspects of place.
First, how where someone has grown up and/or lives impacts the way they form connections. This would look like exploring how spaces like one’s local pub, parks, and clubs have permitted people to form, strengthen and maintain connections.
Example question: How has where you’ve grown up impacted the way you form connections?
Secondly, how places gain significance when one forms a connection in them. For example, how a bench in a park gains a new meaning once someone has held hands with someone on it. In an ideal outcome, we would end up with a diverse array of places, exploring how even places like soulless chain coffee shops can become special.
Example question: can you think of a place where you live/lived that gained greater significance once you spent time with a friend or partner there?
ANECDOTES:
Stories/memories linked to places that became special
How a place evolved over time due to having experienced different connections in it.
The goal being to investigate how place shapes connection and then, vice versa, how connection shapes place.
TOPICS + FORMAT
PLACE
WORDS
The words section of the project will look mostly at words used to describe relationships and their impact. From the big words such as “love” to the trouble that comes with labelling relationships as they evolve, this section aims to observe the role words and language play as connections evolve. The goal would also be to observe how Gen Z language and terms such as “situationship” and “talking stage”, among others, have perhaps made the formation of connections, particularly romantic, a less straightforward process than in the past.
Example question: How have you/do you label your romantic/platonic relationships?
Is there such a thing as saying “I love you too” soon?
ANECDOTES:
Stories/memories linked to miscommunication
Stories linked to different languages and the effect that had on the relationship
ACTIONS
This part of the project will look primarily at what people do to show their appreciation for the people with which they have connections in their lives. This would be looked at under the historical lens, observing how things have evolved since traditions like the love letter and the Welsh love spoon still exist as symbols of affections today. In an increasingly digitised world, it would be interesting to see how tangible symbols of affection gain new meanings today.
Example questions: What is one thing someone has done for you, friend or partner, that meant a lot to you?
How have your expectations regarding friendships/romance evolved?
HELP OUT WITH THE PROJECT
IMPORTANT PSA: This project is based in the UK. Where we end up is dependent on where people who want to be interviewed will be. We would welcome anyone who would be interested in helping to apply as some of these things can be done remotely.
INTERVIEWEE
If you would like to be interviewed and asked three sets of questions. There will be different formats available:
Filmed interview with visual
Filmed interview, use of audio only
Written answers (voiceover done by someone else) - ideal for those who would like to partake but prefer to stay anonymous
PS: We would like to conduct as many interviews as possible. However, due to timing constraints, they won’t all be featured in the documentary but may be used for later content. We will also prioritise those picking the first format.
ACTOR
For the historical section and the b-role of the interviews. There would be little speaking involved. This would involve filming different scenes, can’t guarantee I won’t make you jump out of an aeroplane. Once the interviews are finished, I will compile a list of the scenes and people will be free to pick from the list what they want to do.
TECHNICAL HELP
If you have experience with sound, video, or editing and would like to assist, please reach out. Looking for any tips I can get!
GRAPHIC DESIGN
The graphics for this project so far have been very kindly done by Sixtine! If you would be interested in helping design stickers and posters to promote the project, do reach out.
VISUAL ARTS
Similar to the previous, if you would want to share your photos, paintings or make some for this project, let us know. We would love to include some stop motion!!
MUSIC
We would love it if someone could make some tunes for us…or be so kind to let us use their music…