I am a recent graduate of Fordham University’s Political Science program. While working on my bachelors in Political Science, I focused on international politics and political economy. During my time spent at Fordham, I was also an active member of Fordham’s Film and Television Production club, where I worked on a number of different projects culminating in a short film my senior year. My goal in the media studies program at the new school is to learn how to make and produce film in tandem with political discourse.
While I cannot retrace my earliest interests in either the social sciences or film, I feel I can at least retrace my interest in the media studies program. My initial interest in probably came from a creative standpoint. I wanted to study film when I graduated from college. However, I still wanted to pursue Political science, as it was my undergraduate major.
My studies in Political Science started initially from an economics perspective. I was primarily interested in economics, but found myself drawn less towards economic models and more towards why politics affected events the way they did. Being from a primarily international background due to my childhood in West Africa, I focused on international affairs as my area of study within Political Science.
War in relation to politics in particular has been of interest to me. Part of this may be due to my experiences of having lived through a coup d’etat in 1999 when I was still in West Africa. Additionally, I grew up in a fairly international community, so many of my friends whom I grew up with at some point or another had escaped from a nation affected by war. This has manifested itself in many ways during my undergraduate studies, primarily during my studies on military affairs in the U.S government and the growth of the private military contracting industry within the USA and abroad.
Initially after graduation I was caught between wanting to pursue either film school, or get masters in International affairs. I was torn in that I wanted to pursue both. The ability to blend both these fields together is what attracted me to the New School.
I do not really have any specific questions of which I would like to approach yet, but I have several areas of interest I am hoping to address while I am in this program. I would like to see to what extent different media affects political discourse, whether it is through propaganda or coverage of important events. It goes without saying; I’m also looking forward to making my own documentaries and films along the way.
As far as inspirations go, I admire a few figures in history. One of my prime inspirations is Bruce Lee. As a philosopher he emphasized the idea of learning as much as you can, but emphasizing the idea of throwing out the ideas that do not work for you and coming up with something new. This was reflected in his martial philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, where he took techniques from many different traditions, but tried not to systematize his martial art, for fear of it never evolving.
Another man I respect and admire is Leonardo De Vinci. As the quintessential Renaissance man, he was adept at whatever he did. I admire him for the gusto at which he pursued all his interests, never getting pigeonholed into one specialization.
As far as people that inspire me, my chemistry teacher from high school, Mr. Jude Ndambuki inspires me the most. He grew up in Kenya, in a poor family. His father died when he was six. The one thing his father emphasized to him before his death was to keep studying. As a child, through adulthood, Mr. Ndambuki would study under the moonlight as he had no electricity in his village. He would walk 3 miles and back to school every day. His perseverance and drive led him to become a teacher in the United States. He also started a foundation to donate computers and supplies to schools in Kenya, to help children there achieve what he has. Whenever I feel I am not up to a task, I look towards his life story and it inspires me to push forward.
[1] Picture taken from BlackWater: The Story of the Most Powerful Mercenary Firm in the World by Jeremy Scahill 1st edition, 2007
[2] Picture taken from Dormitory Dvd copyright 2009
[3] Mr. Jude Ndambuki, picture courtesy of www.hkenyaproject.org
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