Five Minutes
Flash Fiction:
You pushed her too far; no, it was her own decisions. You were too much; she just didn’t know what to do. Your mother is supposed to love you unconditionally; protect you; support you; be there for you. She didn’t do that for you; she walked away, not you. You needed guidance but only got a door in your face. You have five minutes, get out. You needed her. Did she need you? Are you still being selfish? Were you even selfish in the first place? The mind games ache and haunt.
Artist Statement:
In my self-portrait I decided to have myself behind a glass door; particularly the front door to a house. I did this to represent the part of my flash fiction in which i say, “You needed guidance but only got a door in your face.” I wanted to represent the moment I had to leave my mother’s home. This image gives a little insight into the realities of what happened the day i got kicked out, which is also represented in my flash fiction piece. I used a sad, painful and hurt facial expression to illustrate the darkness my flash fiction portrays. That is also the reason why i put the image in a black and white filter; to add darkness and drama. Lastly, I wanted to represent the “You have five minutes”, in my flash fiction by holding up five fingers against the door. So far this class has taught me that through my perspective of this life experience having a bias towards certain people isn’t a bad thing.
Reflection:
People often think about bias as a bad thing, usually to judge someone or something in a negative way. Although that is accurate there are many different ways in which bias is used.
According to a handout in class (Kirwan Institute, 2013), bias is rooted in the science of our brains. We have a natural bias because of our brains processing so much information and data at once. It uses bias as a shortcut to see similarities. The handout also explains how implicit bias is seen as a norm in society. In Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, by Horace Miner, the author talks about this really weird and exotic culture of the “Nacirema’s”. Eventually as the story goes on you might realize he was talking about americans the whole time. Just by the way he worded his story, the perspective from which you read changes, then changing the readers bias. His word choice made readers feel like this culture was super weird when whole time it was talking about your own culture.
I believe that bias is a natural right and a natural occurrence to our lives. I believe that we need bias in order to make predictions about others for our own safety. I think that your bias can change so much, even just throughout the period of a day. As you grow and have new experiences you face new biases that are ever changing along side you. My biggest take away from this class is exactly that; your bias can change and grow as you do.
Your flash fiction was really powerful and I am sure the situation was painful. The picture goes really good with your flash fiction. You did really well with your piece, the way you described it was emotional and I could really tell the whole mood of the piece.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting flash-fiction, does this connect to any event in your real life, or is purely fictional? I have to ask because I've heard similar stories from other people in person.
ReplyDeleteI love how your picture came out, it obviously shows so much emotion but is also so creative how you used the glass door to make the shadows on your face. the way you kept the piece short also made it really powerful.
ReplyDeleteYour flash fiction was a very powerful piece. I can really see what you were going through with your writing. The picture just adds to the powerfulness. I always think my best writing comes from writing about the darker aspects of my life. It seems like yours does too.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you added questions and had interesting sentences in your flash fiction. I thought your picture was intriguing, I liked how the mirror was one that offset your face and it gave it a different perspective when we saw you.
ReplyDeleteYour flash fiction is really deep and I can't even imagine going through the same things that you did. I really liked how you took the bad and turned it into a great story.
ReplyDeleteYour flash fiction showed a lot of emotion and especially when tied with the portrait, it adds even more of an affect. I like how you had meaning in your portrait with the 5 fingers representing 5 minutes and the door being the front door you mentioned in the flash fiction. I respect you for showing the audience something that's probably a sensitive topic for you. I like how you included questions in your flash fiction to switch up the structure. Great job on this project!
ReplyDeleteI like the imagery you used for your picture and the emotion in your flash fiction. I think you put a nice chunk of effort into it.
ReplyDeleteI could really feel the emotion and hurt in your flash fiction. I like how it connected to the picture when you mention the door in the face. Your artist statement really helped me to understand the meaning behind the picture. Your piece was very well written and I think you did a good job.
ReplyDeleteyour flash fiction was great, i couldn't imagine what you have gone through. I also like your picture, its really creative.
ReplyDelete