FMP: initial ideas/research

As I considered what I wanted my final major project theme to be, I was quite uncertain in my decision making as the possibilities were endless on what I could choose to explore. I chose the theme: Freedom because I feel that it is a very thought provoking word. It kept coming up in a range of formats, the BBC have a freedom2014 campaign, I watched several movies which address freedom in different ways: The Butler, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, 12 Years A Slave,  and most influential, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete.

Although all these movies influenced my decision to explore freedom, I found The inevitable defeat of mister and pete particularly thought provoking as it presented freedom in a different way. A major theme of the movie is drug use. Viewing the effects of drugs and alcohol in this light inspired me to consider how freedom can be more than others restricting you physically/ mentally. In this movie, drugs can be compared to an imposing factor on the freedom of individuals. I find this concept extremely fascination, however, I would like  to consider freedom in another context that I feel strongly about. Continuing with the concept of freedom, I decided to consider different implications of freedom. I began considering the negative implications such as slavery and issues faced my individuals globally in terms of freedom of speech. 

I found the BBC freedom 2014 campaign inspiring as it considered freedom from different perspectives by asking a range of different individuals what freedom meant to them. The response I found the most interesting was that of Jess Thom who has tourettes syndrome, when asked what freedom looked like to her, she said her wheelchair as it helps her. 

"My wheelchair and my tics are not the things that disable me. The thing that disables me is the inaccessible environment"

This took me by surprise as I made assumptions about her based on her physical condition. I decided to base my project starting point on this idea of being disabled by an inaccessible environment rather than the disability itself. In addition to this, rather than focusing on an inaccessible environment literally, I thought it would be more interesting to focus on the inaccessible environment in regards to people's perceptions.