pangea day: “japan sings turkey”.

A little while ago I posted “Tank Driver”, a brilliant spot for the upcoming global film event Pangea Day. Their multicultural vibe is getting on a serious roll. For their new round of spots, agency Johannes Leonardo worked with filmmakers in certain countries to film their own citizen learning another country’s national anthem, but in their own cultural style.

In the first spot, “Japan Sings Turkey”, director Kosai Sekine brings the Turkish national anthem to life through the eyes and voice of traditional Japanese design. The the inspiration might be traditional, the distinctly modern video is simple and beautiful:

pangea day: “tank driver”.

A few months ago I posted about Pangea Day, the realization of a dream from visionary documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim and winner of a TED Idea Prize. The goal, simply but globally, is to unite people in the world through the power of the moving image.

As Pangea Day, May 10 2008, draws closer, they’ve embarked on a new campaign with the tag “See the World Through Someone Else’s Eyes”. The ultimate power of Pangea Day is precisely that. Despite langauge, race, and culture we have a medium in film where we can tell the story of any human being on earth, and any other human being on earth (if viewed with open mind and willing heart) can understand the other person’s life.

This latest promo film for Pangea Day, “Tank Driver”, is such a succinct and perfectly realized incarnation of this message that I’m going to shut up now and beg you to watch it:

(Agency: Johannes Leonardo, Director: The Glue Society, Production: @radical.media)

peter menzel + faith d’alulsio: hungry planet.

Sometimes all it takes is a little perspective. In an increasingly globalized world, it’s still sometimes shocking to see just how disparate our lives are with other human beings around the world. For their book “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats” photographer Peter Menzel and author Faith D’Alulsio embarked on a journey to 24 countries in every continent around the world. Spending a week each with 30 different families, they not only took part in their daily lives but documented how much they ate and what they spent on food in one week.

The results speak plainly for themselves. Not just a matter of poverty versus wealth, but of the obvious quality and health value of what other cultures are eating, usually for less money. Here’s just a sampling of the families, but you can check them all out at the Hungry Planet Flickr set.  Thanks to MK @ SocietalSickeness for sending me this.

Germany – US $500.07

 

United States – US $341.98

 

Italy – US $260.11

 

Egypt – US $68.53

 

Mongolia – $40.02

 

Breijding (Sudanese refugee camp in Chad) – US $1.23 

 

jeremy huchison: we are multicolored.

This article also appeared on Josh Spear

As digital artist in residence for the NYC’s Lower East Side Tenement Museum, graphic artist Jeremy Huchison’s latest project is a study of what happens when people explore the grandiosities of nationality in a more personal light.

We Are Multicolored asks visitors to answer three simple questions “Where is your home?” “What other country has affected you?” and “Where have you dreamed of going?” Supplied with the flags of the three nations you answered, you then use the project’s design tool to develop your own personal flag.

By distilling their own experiences and self-image through the globally-recognized act of producing a flag, each person is given a chance to investigate which nationalities, cultures, and plain ol’ personal design styles they would choose to represent that essence of themselves to the rest of the world.

Every time a personal flag is created it’s added to a “superflag” – a continuously shifting tapestry made of all the flags created on the site. Users can click on any individual flag to learn about the person it represents and why they chose the nations they did.

Here’s my flag. It sucks but it means well. Aside from telling us that I should never pursue a career as a graphic design or flagmaker, it’s made up from the flags of Canada (where I live), Sweden (where I want to live), and Madagascar (where the best vanilla comes from).