Communism: A Documentary
The following short video was a semester-length extracurricular project produced by Lucas Astorian and Richard Song (both Hotchkiss '17). Their key question was, "What is communism?" with Lucas Astorian approaching the question from a philosophical direction and Richard examining the history of communism as a social movement and a governing ideology. They were particularly interested in incorporating perspectives from members of the school community in shaping their response.
The video
Q&A with Richard Song about the project
1) How did you get the idea for this project? What did you hope to learn?
I got idea of this project because I became interested in Marxism after attending Mr. Drake's "Anatomy of Revolution" class. My parents also strongly encourage me to pursue the study of communism. I hope to learn the theory of communism and its relationship with the practice.
2) Briefly describe your process. What did you find most engaging? Most challenging?
The most engaging part of the project is definitely the exciting conversations we had with the interviewees. Their answers are far more diverse and profound than I had imagined. The most challenging part is putting all the video clips together. It is quite hard to work on the same computer with the other person.
3) What has been the response to your documentary? What reactions have you found most interesting or surprising?
People are generally impressed by the documentary with one exception, which is the surprising part. The one critic I encountered believes that Lucas and I tried to reach a conclusion too hastily without fully developing the evidence.
4) Do you have any advice for students who might want to take up a project like this in the future?
Plan ahead, because much of the work we did was not directly related to the documentary itself.
I got idea of this project because I became interested in Marxism after attending Mr. Drake's "Anatomy of Revolution" class. My parents also strongly encourage me to pursue the study of communism. I hope to learn the theory of communism and its relationship with the practice.
2) Briefly describe your process. What did you find most engaging? Most challenging?
The most engaging part of the project is definitely the exciting conversations we had with the interviewees. Their answers are far more diverse and profound than I had imagined. The most challenging part is putting all the video clips together. It is quite hard to work on the same computer with the other person.
3) What has been the response to your documentary? What reactions have you found most interesting or surprising?
People are generally impressed by the documentary with one exception, which is the surprising part. The one critic I encountered believes that Lucas and I tried to reach a conclusion too hastily without fully developing the evidence.
4) Do you have any advice for students who might want to take up a project like this in the future?
Plan ahead, because much of the work we did was not directly related to the documentary itself.
