Amanda Becker is a Minnesota film-maker who made the new film, "One in a Million," based on interviews with Nelson Peery about the ideas in his new book, "Black Radical: The Education of an American Revolutionary."
People's Tribune: Amanda, why do you think the medium of film is so important?
Amanda: It reaches such a broad range of people. It covers the spectrum of class, race, and gender. Everyone watches films. So there's a lot of power and possibility in that medium. I've always been drawn by the moving picture image -- it's different than a photograph, which can say a lot. But, when the picture moves, there is some magic, and also a reality. People believe it!
PT: The film got a tremendous response at the 2007 Minnesota's Greatest Generation Film Festival and Award Ceremony. It won Honorable Mention. Was it hard to make?
Amanda: A lot of people in this competition had been working for a year on their piece. That it took less than a month to hold this piece together shows the potential and passion -- that Nelson has something important to say. So he made it easy. I feel very proud of it. A film has to make the audience feel something. I think this piece does that. I am showing it tonight to more people. That's the other great thing about film. It continues to live and breathe for new audiences. And it will, hopefully, live from generation to generation.
PT: What impressed you most about Nelson's message?
Amanda: What made it so accessible to so many people is that Nelson has a perfect combination of lightness and humanness and perspective. He also has a real strength and power to his work. I was surprised. Most revolutionary figures can turn people off because they sound angry or bitter so people immediately get defensive and stop listening. But Nelson has this great characteristic where people are ready to open up their minds even a little bit. People feel inspired by those who have a sense of assurance.
PT: Are you hopeful about the future change?
Amanda: I am very hopeful. People, especially in my generation, are very cynical and pessimistic about change. They feel that it is too big of a job or will take too much. I completely disagree. I think if you continually show people images of possibilities -- and like Nelson says, if you give people a vision, they will want to work for that. You can't just want change. You have to see what you want to happen. I think in film you can show people a world of kindness and generosity. We have to show people other ways to live -- we can't just tell them to be nicer. And when they model that behavior, they feel it themselves. I never assume all kids are bad or inherently not good people. They just need to be taught different ways of treating each other, and the same for adults.
I think film is the way I can reach the most people in a very suggestive way. You can show all the problems and hatred and violence, and that sometimes helps. I prefer to give people something hopeful about the kind of world we want to live in and the kind of people they can be.
PT: What is your next project?
Amanda: I am always keeping my mind open, listening to people on buses and streets, always thinking about stories and possibilities. There is a momentum in me now that wants to make people think through these pieces. Everyone is gearing up for the elections. Politics is on the front burner. It's time for a lot of pessimism and cynicism and a lot of people turning their backs. It's also a time for a lot of people to get motivated. It feels like the right temperature to push a new vision. You only have one life and you have to make choices. We have to learn how and teach other people. We are a social world -- we don't live by ourselves. That's the whole experience of movies!
Amanda Becker can be reached at amanindamoon@yahoo.com
