Museum of the Moving Image

I had a wonderful time at the Museum of the Moving Image. I loved the stop motion animation exhibit. It reminded me so much of my childhood when I would borrow my neighbor's camcorder, and try to make stop motion animations by pressing record and pause over and over again after moving my collectors dolls little by little.
I loved learning about the history of the beginning of the moving image. I thought that having the interactive stations within the museum was great. This really pulled me in, as I'm sure it would students.
Going by what I know about my own daughter who is 5 years old, I don't think she would have much interest in the museum at her age. So I think a slightly older audience would be good, perhaps 3rd grade and up. (And I believe our guide mentioned that they start giving tours at 4th grade, so that age would make sense.)
I did not like the exhibit with the Exorcist doll and other scary props. While many people would have interest in it, I don't see how those who don't want to see it could avoid it. It seemed that one would have to pass the exhibit to get to the next step in the museum. I think it should have its own room that has a sign warning visitors of its content. This was my only complaint. I think everything else at this museum was phenomenal! I would certainly take a school group here if the school is close enough.

BTW: The remainder of my day was so much fun and I even got to see Jon Stewart in a parking garage!

Should Photographers Interfere?

I come to this question this week after the murder of Ki-Suck Han who was pushed onto the subway tracks in New York. The photographer who shot a picture of the man on the tracks, R. Umar Abbasi, is now under attack for not trying to save the man. He defended himself by saying there was nothing he could have done for the man.

It reminds me of the story of Kevin Carter, whom we learned about in class. He was ostracized for not helping a starving Sudanese child of whom he took a photo in the early '90s. In the photo, the child is shown crawling to a U. N. feeding center; a vulture stands nearby, waiting. Carter ended up taking his own life when he was no longer able to cope with the backlash of this photo, among other things. From what I learned in class, Carter could not help the child because of the risk of disease.

In each instance the photographer did not intervene. Is that okay? I think it depends on the circumstances. The photographer, as with any bystander, shouldn't be expected to put him or herself in danger. The choices must be weighed in each circumstance. I would be the first one to step in if I saw a bunch of 10-year-olds bullying a 7-year-old, but if a grown man was attacking a smaller man, I wouldn't put myself in the middle. But I would call the cops.

So, it all really depends on the choices made in those few critical seconds. Could Abbasi have done anything to help the man. I think trying to grab his hand would have been a nice gesture of humanity, but I don't know how close the train was when this happened. Was there time for that? I just can't judge this man for not putting his own life at risk.

In Carter's case, what more could he have done? He probably had a little more time than Abbasi, but what could he do? The child in the photo was most likely not the only starving child in the area. Could he have walked to the feeding center to get food for her? Would the staff at the feeding center allow that? If he got food for her, would he then have to go back for each other starving child? Where would it end? I don't know... because I don't know the circumstances. So I can't judge his choice either.

I feel for Ki-Suck Han's family. It must have been a horrific few seconds of panic, something that no one should have to experience. But I don't think it was Abbasi's fault, so he shouldn't be blamed for it. I hope society will learn from the past and not judge this man too harshly for what he could not control.

(On a side note, whether or not the photo should have run on the front page of the New York Post, is another question all together...)

Welcome to the Family!

Great news today! My 7th cousin, Prince William, is going to be a father! I'm very happy for my cousin and his wife!

Anyhow, The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting, and the media is already up in her business. I was watching the news this morning and that is what the news was about on every channel. Apparently the royal family was forced to make the announcement since Kate is ill and in the hospital. I feel bad that the whole world is now in her private business by knowing every detail about what's going on with her body. And I still don't understand why her being admitted to the hospital forced the palace to go public, but that was the reason given for such an early announcement. Most women don't tell their closest friends until they're three months along. How strange for the world to know when it's still so new to her!

The commentators made many comparisons to how this new child would live, in contrast to Prince William's upbrining in the spotlight... and also how Kate's experience would differ from Diana's. One reporter mentioned that William would be careful to make sure that history would not repeat itself, (I wonder how much control he has over that). I hope that is truly the case though.