How I See It: Youth Digital Filmmakers
“Finding Our Own Way: Teens in Lodi”
Lodi High School
Lodi
Project Director: Jerry Pike
Filmmaker/Workshop Leader: David Meyers
Humanities Scholar: Stephen E. Brock, California State University, Sacramento
Juniors and seniors in a video production class at Lodi High School will make a series of documentaries addressing the growing concern in Lodi about the lack of connection of Lodi teens to their community and school. Teacher Jerry Pike designed the class especially for this project.
Pike said that one of the problems Lodi is facing is the widening gap between the rich and poor. “Many Latinos live in the eastern part of the city, literally across the train tracks, while most Anglos live in middle-class neighborhoods on the west side. This type of de facto segregation is mirrored to some extent at all Lodi’s high schools and I believe has lead to an enormous disconnection between the major ethnic groups in the area, which include Asians, East Asians, primarily Pakistanis, and African Americans.
“We will examine the question of why certain groups feels more disconnected from their community and school than others,” said Pike. “The goal will be to examine how prejudices, stereotypes and cultural influences affect this situation.”