Listening Journal 4: Dreams From my mother

The documentary I listened to was called Dreams from My Mother. It was produced by BBC World Service and it was narrated by Judith Kampfner. The total length of this documentary was 23 minutes.

This documentary basically discussed a part of President Barack Obama’s life that has not been focused on before and that is his life with his mother, Ann Dunham, and the influence she had on him. The documentary discussed his life in Indonesia with her along with what happened when he left to go live in Hawaii again, all the while keeping the focus of the story on Ann. It showed her life, her ambitions, and through that the listener could see the values she wanted to implement in her son.

Despite the length of this documentary it was very intriguing to listen to. The first thing that made the documentary interesting was the use of soundbites from people who knew Ann, and who were also very good story tellers. Obama’s own voice was also used as sound bites describing various locations and also describing his life and his mother, and that made the documentary even more interesting. Also the use of nat sound in different locations in order to compliment what the narrator was saying was very effective. All of the sound quality was clear and it did not interfere with what the narrator was saying.

The narrator’s voice and speed was perfect for the documentary. She told the story well through her speech, and also her emotions came through because she made reference to the fact that she too lived in an area similar to the one where Obama grew up and where part of the story took place. I think that the fact that the narrator could relate this story to her own story showed through her presentation, and this made the listener interested and not bored despite the length.

Overall this documentary was very good and the perfect length in order to tell the story well.

Dalia Fares: A New Age Mom

Dalia Fares is a symbol for successful, intelligent women who chose to give up careers and become stay at home mothers. Despite her promising potential in the field of Business administration, she chose a different path and in this interview I want to find out why.

When you think about your life, what do you feel gives you the biggest satisfaction?

When you say stereotypically life would expect of you, what kind of life do you mean?

How would you say that being a mother is more important than being a big manager in a big multinational company?

How would you say that it is your role to create these people? Couldn't teachers or nurseries do this sort of thing? Why would you have to be a stay at home mom to do it?

What sort of dreams do you hold for your children, is there anything that you hope or aspire for them to be?

Do you not feel that by your presence around your children all the time that your overbearing them or not giving them their own life?

If there was one certain value that you wish to instill in your child's life, what would it be?