Sarah Hurley
Chad Woolard
COM 201
27 January 2025
Part 1: As a history major, I really did enjoy this film. We studied these movements in my HIS
136 class and watched some similar films. I loved the commentary and how we heard the points
of views of people who participated in these movements at the time. It made me feel connected
to the movement hearing these people’s firsthand accounts. With the most current election, I feel
like young people nowadays are also feeling like their voices aren’t being heard. It’s
unfortunately becoming too similar with the amount of racism and lack of free speech (which it
truly does feel like). There is also a huge issue with oppressing minorities currently, which is
something I at least thought, was a thing of the past.
Part 2: In social movements such as the ones presented in the film, the use concepts such as
forming a collective identity and narrative building to make their points. For example, the
students at Berkely created an identity for themselves by all banning together and working with
each other through every protest. They all had the same beliefs, therefore creating that identity.
When it comes to narrative building, many of them had stories that they told through speeches on
how they were silenced or told they couldn’t do something they had a right to. This highlights
the issue under a different light and humanizes broader issues. In terms of the social movements,
I’m into, as someone who studied music for a long time, I am interested in protest music and
how people proved their point through song. I am also very interested in the feminism movement
as someone who feels very strong about their equality as a woman.
Part 3: As mentioned above, I am very interested in protest music and the feminism social
movements. I’ve studied music both vocally and instrumentally. Sometimes when words don’t
work, music does, as many leaders in social movements have once said. In terms of feminism, I
support it and am interested in it, not merely as a woman, but as a person who genuinely doesn’t
understand why women have been and are still treated so differently than men. We are all
humans, people, equal of the same things.
Part 4: I’m a history major with a minor in mass media who hopes to eventually work as a
school librarian. Learning about social movements in communications can eventually help me
teach these kids about vital times in our history and how they went about it, especially through
acts of speech and song. These types of movements are what eventually shaped our history.
Without them, the Civil Rights movement comes to mind, we would be living in a very different
world, and the future generations will have the choice to voice their opinions and speak out about
things if they choose to.
