Student Video Reaction

 

The first student video I watched was “The Meeting of Two Worlds: Aztec Edition”. I was initially drawn to this video when I saw they had used animation, instead of pictures, or real footage. I found animation to be very compelling because it was a more captivating, visually, for people like me, who tend to get distracted while listening if there isn’t a visual aid. I thoroughly enjoyed the video, finding the information about Aztec culture fascinating, particularly the part about their belief in prophecies, omens, and the supernatural. This video laid out the information about the downfall of the Aztec Empire in a clear, easy to follow nature, making the video very enjoyable to watch.

 

The second video I chose to watch was “Speaking Truth to Power”. I found this video to be very informative, as it enhanced my knowledge on Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo, one of the most well-known resistance groups amongst women. This video also taught me more about femicide in present day Mexico, a topic I wasn’t familiar with. I particularly enjoyed how this video put such an emphasis on the role that women play in politics, when united. I feel that the connection of the two main topics, was done very well, linking Las Madres in 1900’s Argentina, to events that are still taking place in Mexico.

 

The third video I watched was “Brazilian Slavery and Abolition”. I chose to watch this video because I’ve always found the topic of slavery, while sad, very fascinating to learn about. I was unaware of how recently slavery in Brazil was abolished. Right away, the creators of the video begin explaining how Brazil was the last country in Latin America to abolish slavery, which I found shocking, and very interesting to hear. I feel that this video was the clearest, and had the best layout of information out of all the videos I had seen. One comment in particular that I found interesting was how although slavery was abolished, there was still a social hierarchy, meaning that there was still hostility against people of colour, it was simply less identifiable than before. It’s also interesting how the creators point out that people still see this as an issue today, all around the world. This video was very well done, in the way that it presented its facts clearly. The transitions from topic-to-topic were seamless, and easy to follow, making this video suitable for most audiences.

 

I feel that the videos I watched today helped me understand more what this course is about. I was very impressed by the quality of all the videos I watched, and happy to have learned more about such important historical events, and current day events.