Rollins Wimber

Rollins Wimber & the 112 Community

A documentation by

Elena Bender and Lauren Brunken

We went back and forth. One potential community-improver after another and things were neither working nor feeling right. It then came to mind that perhaps we were thinking too typically about this whole project and that we needed to re-examine our own idea of community and improvement within it--examine it more basically and more familiarly. Because, we both knew that we didn’t want another documentation of a man taking out the neighbor’s garbage or a woman helping kids cross the street, despite the validity of both of these services. These reflections led us to a more meta examination:

Our subject is Rollins Wimber: a concerned citizen of 112--Creativity, Research, Visualization who sits near the middle left of the classroom: our spotlit community.  As the term has progressed, we have both noticed that Rollins is uniquely outspoken about his beliefs, concerns, and ideas--which are often challenging to the dominant, left-wing views as well as to the overall curriculum of the class. What we have personally found valuable about his comments is that they bring the diversity of opinion as well as the open, malleable curriculum which this class, specifically, purposes itself to have. It is as Arlene Goldbard addresses in her article: everyone has the right to culture, as it is what essentially lifts human life.

When asking Rollins what he believes he has contributed to the 112 community, it is along the lines of only emphasizing and improving what already exists within it: the freedom of opinion and of fair curriculum. He explains that upon receiving assignments or being in the discussion setting of the classroom, many of us go with the flow; insert unvoiced complaints; experience anxiety; have minor, ephemeral questions in our mind; and that is the end. We do not act on what we are feeling. We merely get the assignment done or keep quiet in valuable discussions. This is often caused by the value we place on our superiors, overall work ethic, and agreeability. What Rollins points out is not the untruth of these ideals but rather the incompleteness of them; holes, inconsistencies, and problems inevitably will exist in curriculums, communities, and people. To create more fairness, expressing our opinions in a constructive manner is one of the most useful things we can do for ourselves and for others.

To lastly touch upon the manner in which we chose to document this piece, we wanted to place most importance on listening to Rollin’s point of view, uninterrupted. To do this, we believed that having the string of substantial audio from him accompanied by specific documentation of his key expressions and mannerisms would be most effective. So, we took a series of photos during the interview, isolating Rollin’s gestures as he spoke. This technique of isolated photography (not animation) has been used in films such as House (1955) by Charles Eames. What we value about this technique is that it creates a closer examination of what is being said rather than what is being unconsciously conveyed through the distraction of constant movement.

So Necessarily Bare, So Necessarily Basic.

~ The Bare Necessities ~

My social issue involves an overwhelming majority of states in the USA and half of the US population. And, yes, it has been inadequately addressed... mainly because it hasn’t been addressed enough. Its fundamental roots go beyond the main problem of economics and go into that of enduring sexism within a longstanding system whose very foundation and premise is that of equality.

My social issue is the period tax, or, the tax on feminine hygiene products. The ‘issue-ness’ of this topic is based not in economics, but in tax law. Tax law includes exemptions for a number of items including those regarded as ‘basic necessities.’ In California tax law, for example, it is stated that, “Necessities of Life; General Public Benefit; Industry Benefit; Exclusions by Definition; and Other Exemptions, Exclusions, or Credits” are all categories which are exempt from sales tax. And so items such as groceries, prescriptions, prosthetics, and agricultural supplies are among those that are either not taxed at all OR are taxed at a reduced rate. Despite the denotation of ‘basic necessity,’ in only four of the 50 states have feminine hygiene products been deemed as such and become exempt from sales tax, as well. This is a concern because at least 50% (a safe estimate) of the population would agree that tampons, pads, and diva cups are basic items in their life on which they rely to function properly. There is misrepresentation and inequality here. Despite how marginal it might seem, this is something which directly affects me and every other female in the United States. And, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie pointed out, what I identify with and what I know should be the story and concept which I represent, tell, and fight for.

In order to create a video game which I believed would reveal my concerns regarding this issue, I wanted to play around with the definition of basic necessity and point out the government’s failure to define it properly. So, each persona was given the same list of items and each character was told that their government had deemed this list as an inclusion of what is necessary. And, they had no say in the matter except how they would respond after viewing it. Despite how arbitrary or unnecessary some of these items may seem (and are), each one I included is, in reality, exempt from tax in at least a majority of the states. To respond, I gave the player options of protest, agreeance, clarification, and indifference, each with a specific end in mind which would usually satisfy what they were seeking. For those who were indifferent, they got an indifferent ending. For those who had questions, they got answers. I chose to do this because too often social issues are forced upon people. This tactic is both against my nature but also against my logic of change, as well. The act of being forceful especially with ideas which promote adjustment within another person’s ideology and interest is a bad tactic because it is both hypocritical and ineffective. Someone is just less willing to listen if it feels like it is no longer an option for them to.

United States, Congress, Sales and Use Taxes, and David J Gau. “Sales and Use Taxes: Exemptions and Exclusions.” Sales and Use Taxes: Exemptions and Exclusions, 2nd ed., vol. 1, 2017.

Larimer, Sara. “The ‘Tampon Tax,’ Explained.” The Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2016.

Lee, Rachel. “The Tax On Feminine Hygiene Products Is Sexist, Period.” The Huffington Post, 10 Oct. 2016.

T H E ~ E C O L O G I S T ~ A N D ~ T H E ~ G E R M O P H O B E

While in the end we were able to pinpoint just what we wanted our Webspinna performance to be, we found it interesting to note that the process of developing it was not very smooth or easy. We had a rough idea of what kinds of characters we wanted, what their qualities and beliefs were, but we experienced difficulty in a number of ways.

We began the development of our performance with the end desire of having the battle finish in a tie. As such, one of our primary concerns was crafting characters and personas that we felt both had justifiable stances in our story. So, when we began with one of our initial ideas of messy/dirty vs clean, we hit the roadblock of having an obvious protagonist: clean. We decided to make “dirty’s” argument more credible. We brainstormed about personas who appreciate dirt and we eventually came up with ecologists/environmentalists.

Now that we could justify a “dirt-loving” character by personifying them as an ecologist, we felt that our “clean-lover” needed more relatable qualities. We reasoned that most people intrinsically appreciate cleanliness. So again we found ourselves needing to set apart our character by giving them a more unique persona. We eventually chose to make our “clean” character a germaphobe—placing them on the extreme end of clean. This helped to set up a contrast between characters. Eventually, at the end of our performance, as our ecologist was ready to clean up and give up the fight of pushing for awareness and care for the planet, we had our germaphobe surrender by taking off their rubber gloves and planting a seed alongside the ecologist. We chose to end this way because we felt that it was a more peaceful, amiable surrendering that might even be seen as a compromise. In discussions of ideals and lifestyles, we feel that each side has equal reason to feel justified as well as room to listen to one another.

Performing our Webspinna battle was a unique experience to say the least! It was interesting trying to navigate between acting and live dj-ing all in an attempt to create the story we wanted to tell. Although we experienced difficulty choosing clips from a limited pool of audio, we were inspired by Phil Hansen’s TEDTalk “Embrace the Shake” that discussed how limitations can actually be beneficial and creatively inspiring. It was only once we allowed ourselves to submit to our limitations of audio samples that we were able to creatively attempt to craft a narrative around what we were able to collect and also begin to understand the unique value of this assignment. We observed that this approach to the project was something that our peers likewise adopted. And, many of our peers surprised us with their witty and peculiar audio samples. It all made for a very creative environment in which we all recognized that our performances wouldn’t be perfectly polished, but they’d be refreshing and fun in the very least.

~Lauren Brunken and Lacey Duncan~