Normally I really like stories about student projects and especially student media, but there are some things about this story that rub me the wrong way. First is the fact that the author celebrates the deception involved in the making of the film. The students said they were making a yearbook video, but were actually creating something very different. I wonder how the school and the subjects felt about the surveillance and deception. Brad Wheeler, though, wants us to think it was a great thing. Second, how did the film become famous? According to the article, one the students "just happened to bump into director Matt Johnson at Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto," and just like that the students "landed co-op placements with Zapruder," a process that (frankly) doesn't happen to, well, anyone else. Zapruder helped polish and promote the film, and voila, student videographers make good. I'm happy for them, but the origin story here is one of deception and connections, and should not be taken as "a lesson to you kids" as spun by the Globe and Mail author.
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