I watched a movie called "Saving Grace" (with Tom Conti) the other day. Watching this movie as I prepare to do a field study this summer helped me focus on the challenges and attitudes this man faced as he attempted to understand and help a community. I wanted to record and explore the field study techniques I noticed from that movie.
The movie was about a Pope who, after serving in administrative duties for a year, struggles to know if his efforts in the Vatican are positively effecting the people he serves. Through a series of incidences, he leaves the Vatican and ventures to a small town that has requested a priest. While he's there he works anonymously among the people to try and understand their needs and empower them to meet those personally.
I found it important that when the Pope left the Vatican, he no longer used his "position" as pope in his interactions with other people. He wanted to understand the context of others without influencing their behavior and decisions with his identity. This way, he communicated his desire for real understanding of the community. It's only through this behavior that he is empowered to understand and offer real help, as opposed to making hasty assumptions and offering rude or quick solutions. When I go to Ghana, I want to act this way, not anonymously, but detached from my identity as a 24 year old US student studying this community. Instead I want to really get to know others, really interact with them as if we're equal and the same, because although I could adopt the notion that I'm different, essentially we are the same.
Also, each of the Pope's attempt to get to know people and situations was accompanied by an observant and respectful attitude. He listened carefully to each person, with an open mind to what they shared. This included him accepting their varied reactions to his questions and curious presence. This helped those he talked to further disclose their interpretation and opinion of events, as well as allowed them to trust him more. What a difficult attitude to have, as if you have no preconceived notions or expectations, but can accept whatever they want to do or think.
Finally, because of his deep and real approached to understand this community, he often experienced unexpected and sometimes negative things. His "field work" experience was unpredictable because he didn't try to control it or sway the people. Instead, honestly working with them to discover and understand their needs resulted in frequent surprises and difficult challenges.
His development effort was not something I will be attempting as a field study student, but I think his experience held lessons for me as I prepare to go to Ghana. I will be associating with people with deep emotions and opinions, whose actions and attitudes will effect my study and may disrupt it and cause challenges. I hope that I can have the attitude that the man in this movie had: one that conveys a deep respect for others and acceptance of their decisions.
What can you do now to learn to "detach" yourself and not let your "identity" influence your behavior. Maybe you can design some things you can practice now. I think the Rafa Rafa activity in class could give you some good ideas about this, or putting yourself in really different and unusual circumstances that are out of your comfort zone, and figuring out how to be successful at interacting in them. Some ideas might include, attending a club on campus that you have absolutely no interest/aptitude for and going all out to participate, attend church in a Spanish/Chinese ward or at the FLSR-- meet ppl and volunteer to do things, find the one person in your ward that nobody really knows or understands and ask them on a date and make it the best date you've ever been on! Jump off the deep end! It would be freaky and fun all at the same time. :) It will at least give you some idea of what you're going to be up against in Ghana. Get comfortable now. :)
ReplyDeleteSome thoughts: What do you think will be difficult about this? How can you overcome some of those difficulties? To what extent do you think detaching yourself from your identity will be possible? Will it help you accomplish the goal of your research? In what ways will it be absolutely impossible for your to shed your identity and how do you compensate for this? I could go on forever, these are just some teasers. :) Its awesome you got such great motivation from watching this movie, I've never seen it, but if you apply the same deep thinking to all areas of your life I'm sure you will be well prepared to go to Ghana. :)