poetic bliss

this poetic form assignment sparked our discussion of the overall direction we intend our documentary to follow. buddhism is a religion based on visuals and internal emotion, so it is fitting that we use our media to express its nature. our concept follows this basic form:

premise 1-we want to show american culture in its more stereotypical sense because we think there is this general assumption that american/christian life is so drastically different from buddhist life. we plan to include images such as:
-people relaxing/eating/walking at the beach
-people/children playing at a park
-fast food eating
-a drive-through time lapse (mcdonald's)
-dining hall eating
-big churches downtown

premise 2-we want to then show buddhism in its more stereotypical light for the same reason, as some far away religious group of people who don't talk like we do, don't eat what we eat, don't aspire for the same life goals, etc. images include:
-the wat, long shots and close-ups
-monks meditating, eating, chanting, teaching, walking
-buddist iconography

premise 3- finally, we will begin to melt together both sets of imagery to see that these two culture are in fact, not so different. from far away and on the surface, we think that we are different, but the fact remains that we are all human beings seeking meaning and purpose.
-for example, we as americans love to get away and lay out at the beach. without realizing it, we are partaking in our own style of meditation. we lay on a towel; monks sit on a pillow. what's the difference, really?
-children are children whether they are playing on a playground or running up and down the ramps at the wat
-places of worship may seem different. sure we have big churches with symbolic structure and functions that don't look like the wat; but once again, aren't we all going to these buildings for the same reasons?

everyone laughs, cries, lives, and dies. that's it.