You may have come across a television show last year that featured celebrities visiting strange places: MIA in Liberia; Cameron Diaz on the Peruvian altiplano; Joaquin Phoenix, well before his exotic journey into hip-hop, dancing in a grass skirt deep inside the Amazon. The spirit of activism came quickly across – these celebrities were out to do good – but strangely, no one was wearing any make up, adopting children, or composing euphemistic hymns for sale on ebay.
The show was 4REAL, and in a series of eight installments it brought household names to faraway places where they could shine some starlight on young leaders you’ve probably never heard of. Thus viewers are benignly tricked into learning about Tashka, who grew up in remotest Amazon, became his Yawanawa tribe’s youngest chief at 25, and is now campaigning to become Brazil’s first aboriginal senator; or Salim Mohamed, a Kenyan whose contribution to the health and happiness of Nairobi’s poorest residents I’ve profiled in earlier posts; or Vancouver’s own Liz Evans, a nurse whose mission lies just around the corner from 4REAL’s headquarters in what the Globe and Mail recently called ‘Canada’s slum’ – she comes to us via Eva Mendez, who sheds gorgeous tears after Evans introduces her to residents of Vancouver’s downtown eastside.
The danger with celebrity adventures in international philanthropy is how easily they come off as vanity projects. In a typical heist, the star steals the scene and reduces the beneficiaries of his or her largesse to supporting roles, all gratitude and smiles. 4REAL flirts with this occupational hazard, but if it occasionally succumbs, what’s amazing is how often the show transcends the danger. Our attention may be caught by MIA’s reputation, but it’s held by the charisma of Liberian youth leader Kimmie Weeks and his undeniably compelling story: as a child growing up in a refugee camp, Weeks became sick and fell into a coma so deep he was pronounced dead and carried to the cemetery, where his mother beat her hands on his chest in despair; to everyone’s astonishment he sat up (near-death in childhood is a common theme amongst these heroes’ stories, with causes ranging from malaria to lightning-strike). That awakening set Weeks on a path of impassioned activism for the right of children not only to live, but to play in a war torn country. To demonstrate the need he’s addressing, 4REAL shows how the schoolyard merrygoround he built (and MIA helped paint) was ridden till it spun into the ground.
The creators of 4REAL, Josh Thome and Sol Guy, would merit an episode on their own show. Friends since childhood and now both in their early thirties, their paths diverged in their twenties when Thome became involved in environmental activism and filmmaking, while Guy rose to prominence in the music industry, helping to manage the international excursions of hip hop acts like Lauren Hill, Puff Daddy, and the Wu Tang Clan. One day he found himself in Sierra Leone, where the experience of meeting child amputees from the diamond trade left an indelible mark on his conscience and spurred the beginning of Guy’s extraction from the diamond-toting culture that mainstream hip hop increasingly embraced. In 2004, Guy and Thome renewed their friendship and began collaborating on the series that would earn them, among other things, a National Geographic Emerging Explorers award and a chance to address the United Nations.
These days, much of their time is spent addressing teachers and school kids. Most recently, on the world’s first Social Justice Day, they descended on Britannia Secondary in east Vancouver to celebrate their latest endeavor, 4REAL School. Developed by Melahnie Moodie, a local teacher who was also involved in the tv series, 4REAL School is a curriculum aid for teachers of grades six to 12. The idea is to use the series as a way to spark kids’ interest in subjects like geography, history, and language arts.
“They were a little suspicious at first,” Moodie said after a half-time break during which she helped lead workshops to show how the lessons could be incorporated to the classroom. “Teachers have so much on their plate already, the last thing they want is more work. But once they realized that these lesson plans tie into subjects they have to teach anyway, the response was fantastic.”
So, teachers – wondering how to absorb your charges in, say, the world’s impending water crisis? Or preservation of the Amazon? Or media’s role in social change, or maybe just how to find Haiti on a map? You, or preferably your school, might consider picking up the 4REAL School package. It includes a DVD of all eight 22-minute episodes, each of which is accompanied by a workbook full of classroom applications.
It’s a suitable reincarnation for a series now struggling to stay afloat amid the world’s economic blues. Despite the show’s undisputed success (both MTV and National Geographic Adventure channel picked up the first season), a cash-strapped CTV cancelled funding just as Thome and Guy were about to begin producing season two. So while the 4REAL crew explore their options, they continue offering the people they want to inspire with a means to explore the world.
best seo forums: Thanks for sharing such an brilliant post. I make sure to visit this post regularly. keep sharing more and more..
Seenloitering: The “gender analysis” in this article is upside down. Marie Calloway is a threat to the status quo because she threatens the myth that women are morally superior, above...
Jefry: I do not really like to read a story like a novel or a real story but I think this is very interesting and need to be read
Legong: I know I am replying to this pathetic, racist statement a little late and the whole ignorant rant probably doesn’t even deserve a reply. Wanhenglo, if we were all to generalise about...
Legong: I know I am replying to this pathetic, racist statement a little late and the whole ignorant rant probably doesn’t even deserve a reply. Wanhenglo, if we were all to generalise about...
Sky Goodden: This is startling, refreshing, overdue, and damn good. Thank you, Shary.
Mark: It’s not just in Canada, it seems all over artists don’t get the local recogtnition they should. I was in Malaga where Picasso was born and it is much different, but then he is...
Guest: I didn’t want babies or a period any more. I KNEW without a doubt I did not want children so I had been asking for a hysterectomy since I was 19. I finally got it at 39. My...
Djzklj: Pretty interesting article, despite that I don’t wanna make a voyage there
Sanyo Seiki: I love this game! Very addicted! Sanyo Seiki