I think the techniques and devices we used throughout our protest or performance worked well as they caught the audience's attention, allowing them to learn more about our subject and form their own judgement on what was being displayed before them. I think we got people fired up which was our aim; we wanted the audience to get into the protest and almost become part of the performance. Our overall aim was to challenge people's thoughts of the BNP and help them see that their political ideologies are racist and immoral.
I feel that through our use of chants and song (WE SHALL, WE SHALL, NOT MOVE! NOT MOVE!) we created a bold and intriguing atmosphere which captivated people to come over and watch us. I personally feel that this very Brechtian technique worked the best as it included the audience and therefore they felt connected to our piece. The BNP rap worked particularly well, as our target audience found it relatable and they could easily join in. A group of year 10's joined in with Khai and Ben while they were rapping, either beat boxing or creating beats with their hands or feet. I noticed that most of them chanted the hook like 'fuck the BNP' as this was very accessible and as the whole group was saying it, the line was the loudest and therefore drew in most of the attention. This created a buzz around our group which therefore invited more people to come and have a look at our protest. As this rap happened about every five minutes, we always had a fresh new audience joining in or listening to the lyrics. The rap helped our viewers understand the very complex political ideologies we were voicing and I felt like it helped them realise what we were protesting about was shocking. I think a rap is an excellent way of getting a political point across as they are very catchy and everyone can join in with the beats or some of the lyrics. Because of this rap, I noticed that a lot more people were joining in, either ripping up posters of Nick Griffin or tapping either Shyanne's or Hana's mouths. I think these techniques were extremely successful as they got everyone involved and effectively put our point across.
The use of 'My Tram Experience' dialogue was very effective and it worked because it was something that the audience had seen and disliked, so therefore they were drawn into our piece to see what it was about. Whilst we booed the words of the tram lady which were being voiced by Hana or Shyanne, the audience seemed to be forming around us, as the sound of the booing and the recognisable words from 'My Tram Experience' captivated them and they were drawn to these negative sounds. I think this made the protest more relatable and therefore even more engaging to watch. This coupled with the fact that they could help us tape the lady's mouth shut, made them feel like they were part of the protest and that they were helping, therefore it made them feel as if they were fighting against something they disagreed with. Due to this I think our protest became more effective, as it helped the audience to realise they were opposed to the same issues we were and thus made our message more relatable and alive.
Fluidity, focus and vocals were defiantly our challenges and something we could've improved on. As we were situated outside with other groups, it was hard to be heard vocally and visually as we were continuously competing with four other protest groups. This, therefore, made it hard to know when we should change our words and move on. This then disrupted the fluidity of our piece, so often it would be staggered and not all of us would be on the same chant or lyrics. This combined with the fact that we were back to back meant our piece was slightly disjointed as we couldn't always hear each other so we didn't know when to move on. Because of this our focus wasn't fantastic, but we soon honed down and listened carefully to each other. Trying to keep the audience's attention was hard to maintain. as often they were on their way to a lesson, so they didn't have time to stop and listen to our protest. I found trying to make my voice heard hard, as often I'd say something and someone would walk by or snigger at me. This made me feel quite defeated at some points. I think this was because I was being too aggressive with my words, and they misunderstood passion or anger, so I started to talk to them and I found that this technique worked more effectively then using the aggressive approach.
I think we adapted to each audience member well. I found that most people knew who the BNP were and who Nick Griffin was, but some didn't so I explained to them what the Parties ideologies were, which I think helped them understand out protest as we told them about it, so they could see why we were protesting. I noticed that most people who understood didn't really want to talk to us, they just ripped up a poster or said 'yeah, Fuck the BNP', and the people who didn't understand wanted to find out more. I think this was a good sign that our protest was accessible to everyone. I think we chose a good topic as a lot of people agreed with us, either nodding their heads or joining in with the chants/rap. I think the reason for this was it is such a blood boiling topic and it relates to everyone and their families. I genially felt that we were very noticeable. I think our protest worked because it wasn't illusive, they didn't have to read into anything after if they didn't want to.
I think the site we chose to hold our protest on was a success because there was a lot of foot fall and therefore more people who wanted to join in. I think our decision to tape ourselves to the stairs was a daring but noticeable as it stood out and helped us focus on the task and our energy which contributed to the ethos of our protest. Being taped restricted our spacing, so therefore made us focus our energy on the people leaving or entering the foyer which contributed to making the atmosphere bigger and more energetic. Like I said, the taping and the site made us unavoidable to the people who were within that area, as they couldn't leave or enter the foyer without going through us first. This then made it easier for them to hear our questions about the BNP and they were able to answer them. The 'let me stay' chant was made more effective by this small space as we could reach out and grab the audience members, creating an effective plea. This made them stop and listen as they were forced to hear our pleas and then our main points. As we were doing this, I encountered a few people laughing or taking the mick, so I stopped doing this and started asking question like 'what do you think of an all white British UK?' and that soon made them stop laughing and realise the seriousness of our protest. I think the paper ripping was another fantastic feature of our protest, as it worked well after we had explained who the BNP were and what they stood for. Their need to vent their frustration and anger was met with being able to tear up a picture of Nick Griffin and simultaneously aid our protest and captivate more people to come and watch. This became very popular with our audience as it linked with the catchy hook line 'fuck the BNP' and gave them something to channel their anger with. I think this gave our performance the fluidity we wanted and the connection with the audience we aimed ot have.
I think it is important to include the audience while doing a protest, because otherwise their is a fourth wall and you can't reach out to them. Music worked best for our group as the chants and rap drew in most of the crowds. When there were less people, I couldn't help but feel slightly awkward, but I pushed through and made my performance bigger so we would draw in more viewers and participators. Overall I feel our protest was incredibly vibrant and visually and vocally interesting, which resulted in us being able to put our point across efficiently.
I feel that through our use of chants and song (WE SHALL, WE SHALL, NOT MOVE! NOT MOVE!) we created a bold and intriguing atmosphere which captivated people to come over and watch us. I personally feel that this very Brechtian technique worked the best as it included the audience and therefore they felt connected to our piece. The BNP rap worked particularly well, as our target audience found it relatable and they could easily join in. A group of year 10's joined in with Khai and Ben while they were rapping, either beat boxing or creating beats with their hands or feet. I noticed that most of them chanted the hook like 'fuck the BNP' as this was very accessible and as the whole group was saying it, the line was the loudest and therefore drew in most of the attention. This created a buzz around our group which therefore invited more people to come and have a look at our protest. As this rap happened about every five minutes, we always had a fresh new audience joining in or listening to the lyrics. The rap helped our viewers understand the very complex political ideologies we were voicing and I felt like it helped them realise what we were protesting about was shocking. I think a rap is an excellent way of getting a political point across as they are very catchy and everyone can join in with the beats or some of the lyrics. Because of this rap, I noticed that a lot more people were joining in, either ripping up posters of Nick Griffin or tapping either Shyanne's or Hana's mouths. I think these techniques were extremely successful as they got everyone involved and effectively put our point across.
The use of 'My Tram Experience' dialogue was very effective and it worked because it was something that the audience had seen and disliked, so therefore they were drawn into our piece to see what it was about. Whilst we booed the words of the tram lady which were being voiced by Hana or Shyanne, the audience seemed to be forming around us, as the sound of the booing and the recognisable words from 'My Tram Experience' captivated them and they were drawn to these negative sounds. I think this made the protest more relatable and therefore even more engaging to watch. This coupled with the fact that they could help us tape the lady's mouth shut, made them feel like they were part of the protest and that they were helping, therefore it made them feel as if they were fighting against something they disagreed with. Due to this I think our protest became more effective, as it helped the audience to realise they were opposed to the same issues we were and thus made our message more relatable and alive.
Fluidity, focus and vocals were defiantly our challenges and something we could've improved on. As we were situated outside with other groups, it was hard to be heard vocally and visually as we were continuously competing with four other protest groups. This, therefore, made it hard to know when we should change our words and move on. This then disrupted the fluidity of our piece, so often it would be staggered and not all of us would be on the same chant or lyrics. This combined with the fact that we were back to back meant our piece was slightly disjointed as we couldn't always hear each other so we didn't know when to move on. Because of this our focus wasn't fantastic, but we soon honed down and listened carefully to each other. Trying to keep the audience's attention was hard to maintain. as often they were on their way to a lesson, so they didn't have time to stop and listen to our protest. I found trying to make my voice heard hard, as often I'd say something and someone would walk by or snigger at me. This made me feel quite defeated at some points. I think this was because I was being too aggressive with my words, and they misunderstood passion or anger, so I started to talk to them and I found that this technique worked more effectively then using the aggressive approach.
I think we adapted to each audience member well. I found that most people knew who the BNP were and who Nick Griffin was, but some didn't so I explained to them what the Parties ideologies were, which I think helped them understand out protest as we told them about it, so they could see why we were protesting. I noticed that most people who understood didn't really want to talk to us, they just ripped up a poster or said 'yeah, Fuck the BNP', and the people who didn't understand wanted to find out more. I think this was a good sign that our protest was accessible to everyone. I think we chose a good topic as a lot of people agreed with us, either nodding their heads or joining in with the chants/rap. I think the reason for this was it is such a blood boiling topic and it relates to everyone and their families. I genially felt that we were very noticeable. I think our protest worked because it wasn't illusive, they didn't have to read into anything after if they didn't want to.
I think the site we chose to hold our protest on was a success because there was a lot of foot fall and therefore more people who wanted to join in. I think our decision to tape ourselves to the stairs was a daring but noticeable as it stood out and helped us focus on the task and our energy which contributed to the ethos of our protest. Being taped restricted our spacing, so therefore made us focus our energy on the people leaving or entering the foyer which contributed to making the atmosphere bigger and more energetic. Like I said, the taping and the site made us unavoidable to the people who were within that area, as they couldn't leave or enter the foyer without going through us first. This then made it easier for them to hear our questions about the BNP and they were able to answer them. The 'let me stay' chant was made more effective by this small space as we could reach out and grab the audience members, creating an effective plea. This made them stop and listen as they were forced to hear our pleas and then our main points. As we were doing this, I encountered a few people laughing or taking the mick, so I stopped doing this and started asking question like 'what do you think of an all white British UK?' and that soon made them stop laughing and realise the seriousness of our protest. I think the paper ripping was another fantastic feature of our protest, as it worked well after we had explained who the BNP were and what they stood for. Their need to vent their frustration and anger was met with being able to tear up a picture of Nick Griffin and simultaneously aid our protest and captivate more people to come and watch. This became very popular with our audience as it linked with the catchy hook line 'fuck the BNP' and gave them something to channel their anger with. I think this gave our performance the fluidity we wanted and the connection with the audience we aimed ot have.
I think it is important to include the audience while doing a protest, because otherwise their is a fourth wall and you can't reach out to them. Music worked best for our group as the chants and rap drew in most of the crowds. When there were less people, I couldn't help but feel slightly awkward, but I pushed through and made my performance bigger so we would draw in more viewers and participators. Overall I feel our protest was incredibly vibrant and visually and vocally interesting, which resulted in us being able to put our point across efficiently.
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