Project Description:
In this project, we investigated the role that rituals play in our everyday lives and in the live of our families and communities. We began by first looking within ourselves. Then, we looked to the histories and experiences of our families
Essential Question: |
What role do rituals play in our lives? Why do some rituals persist, while others fade away? How do rituals shape us? What are the rituals and traditions that have shaped our families?
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Stop Motion Films: |
Using found objects and various materials, students created backdrops and props in order to recreate their family's rituals, and to tell the stories that have helped to shape their senses of identity and belonging.
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Stop Motion Films and Artist Statements
Eating With The Amarals
Eating With The Amarals highlights my family’s ritual of bonding through conversation over a meal. In researching for my film, I found that this ritual was one that my father participated in with his family until they were seperated by the civil war in Angola. Throughout my childhood, my family has eaten together nearly everyday. It was at the dinner table that I learned many valuable lessons through our conversations about politics, integrity, economics, and life. I chose to honor this ritual because now that my sister and I are preparing to begin our own journeys, most likely away from our family, our tradition has become even more sacred. Learning about my father’s experience in Angola inspired me to research deeper into the history of the country. I found that my father grew up in a Portuguese colony that broke out into a civil war once it gained independence from Portuguese rule. This civil war was a proxy battleground for the cold war, where foreign involvement from the Soviet Union, the United States, and Cuba propelled the war for over 26 years. It was interesting for me to be able to connect the stories I’ve heard from my father, to the history I learned through my research. The filming of my video was a special experience because I simply captured the beautiful moments of our ritual as they naturally occurred. I modeled my interviews with my father and sister after the conversations that we have at the table to try to emulate the casual personality of our meals together. I chose to spell out “familia” with silverware using stop motion because to me, sharing a meal together is about bonding and strengthening our relationship as a family. I was grateful to be able to honor my family and the beautiful relationship we have through this film. |
To High Heaven
The title I gave to this stop motion film is “To High Heaven”. The reason why is because I wanted some pun that related to something religious, while at the same time being memorable. After enough research trying to find a good religious/church/heaven pun, I ended up finding the idiom “to high heaven”, and it seemed to stick really well to my stop motion, so that’s the title I ended up going with. It’s ironic that the idiom means “go very badly”, yet my stop motion depicts religion as something that goes really well. The ritual I tried to recreate in my film was going to church. In the film, it depicts a person getting ready to go outside, then driving to church. It’s short, but it gets the point across. This ritual emerged when my mom was very young, as she would often go to church with her family every Sunday. When researching for the ritual, I found some interesting things. For example, I found out the reason why people go to church, thanks to an article called “The Surprising Benefits of Going to Church” in the site “Living Well, Spending Less”. The article talked about benefits like a better social life, practicing gratitude, teaching forgiveness, and finding deeper meaning in life. I also found little things that I found interesting, like what the Buddhist symbol is, several terms for other religion’s churches, why people go to church on Sundays, and things along that line. To create my stop motion film, I used a mobile app called Stop Motion Studio, which can take photos in a fast manner, put them into a slideshow-esque timeline, and has a ton of editing options once you’re done “filming”. I created a lot of the props, which were made using cardboard and paper (whether it was construction paper or printed out royalty-free pictures), although some other items were brought in, like a toy car and a wooden cross. I specifically used the wooden cross because I felt it got the point of religion across, and the scene near the end of the film where it appears shows how revered religion is. I feel like this ritual is important to my family because it helped them develop a closer bond with each other. Even if my mom doesn’t go to church anymore (and I myself have never gone to church other than a very few occasions), I can now understand the value it holds to many people, and I hope that my film can help spread the message that I learned. |
To Love and to Cherish
Catholic marriage is a sacred ritual which I exhibit in my stop motion film called To Love and to Cherish. At first, marriage was uncommon among Christian communities. Then, debate in the church concluded that it was justified since Jesus’ first miracle was performed at a wedding. Before starting this project, I didn’t know that much about my parents’ wedding. It was the ceremony that marked the beginning of my family and brought my parents and their families together. I was raised Catholic, just as they were, and I have always fantasized about my own wedding in the church as a young girl. Through interviewing my mom and hearing her mention Catholic Sacraments as rituals, I realized the importance that objects and rituals hold in religion. I decided to dig deeper into how the wedding rings in particular, hold spiritual meaning to the couple and witnesses. They are used as a symbol to connect the couple and display their commitment to each other. The circular shape represents eternal love that they promise to give each other until death. In order to research, my dad introduced me to their wedding video on VHS. While the grainy footage rolled, I saw my parents smile with nostalgia and reminisce about old memories. The Catholic marriage ceremony has held meaning to families for years and now that I’ve grown in my knowledge about it, I can say that it holds new meaning to me. |
Bond Between Sisters
My stop motion film is called Bond Between Sisters, and the ritual I choose to represent through my film is aquelarre (witches sabbath). This is the name my mom and her five sisters use when they have reunions. Although none of them practice witchcraft of any sort, they call it this because throughout history the term “witch” has been given to women who dare to live their lives outside their socially prescribed roles. My family on my moms side has always been a really big part of my life and I know that it is a blessing to have the bond that I do with them and to be able to be so close. The reason my family is so close, is because my mom and her sisters are the foundation to making our family what it is. By them having reunions, it ensures that my cousins, uncles, nephews, and I will be close forever. I first learned about this ritual when I interviewed my mom and she told me about aquelarre. For my stop motion, I wanted to include the witch component to be able to make it more interesting, while also making sure to show what my family actually does during the ritual. I used stereotypical objects such as a cauldron, broom, and black witches hats to purposely mislead my audience, then reveal the actual ritual which is actually a normal family dinner. This ritual is important to my family because by having my mom and her sisters come together over food, it allows for a platform where they can catch up and still feel connected. Citations: “Why We Still Call Rebellious Women 'Witches'.” DomesticShelters.org, 30 Apr. 2018, www.domesticshelters.org/domestic-violence-articles-information/why-we-still-call-rebellious-women-witches. |
Hot Peas and Butter
My stop motion film is called “ Hot Peas and Butter.” It was named after the ritual I chose to recreate. Hot Peas and Butter is a popular game amongst kids in New York City. The game is similar to tag. The differences are that first you have to find a belt, then the person who hid the belt, tells you if you’re hot or cold around the belt. Once you find the belt, everyone starts running. Whoever gets caught, gets hit with the belt. My dad used to play this game when he was younger, as a kid living in New York. He and his cousins heard about this game from their uncle. He explained the game to them one day when they were bored. I learned about this ritual from my dad during our interview. He told me that his uncles made it up, so I researched similar topics such as family bonding and how games can make a family closer. To create my stop motion film, I cut out pictures of my brothers and me, and pasted them onto popsicle sticks to recreate my dad and his cousins playing the game. This game is important to my dad because it reminds him of when he and his cousins used to see each other all the time. Now everyone is all grown up and most don’t have time for games. |
Musical Gifts
My stop motion video portrays one of my family’s favorite Christmas rituals. All the kids in the family must sing and dance before they can open their presents. This ritual has been going on for many generations because music has been a big influence in my family. Dating back to the 80’s, in a small town in the Philippines, my great grandparents started this tradition. To my knowledge, this ritual is something that only my family does. Therefore, I researched about singing around Christmas time and where it originated. I learned that a long time ago people would celebrate and party on the day of the winter solstice by singing and dancing. Eventually people just changed the lyrics of songs relating to Christmas and Jesus which turned into caroling. I created my stop motion video by using action figures, and creating sets and backdrops. I used Legos and paper to symbolize presents and Christmas decorations.This ritual is important to me because I have so many funny and memorable moments of singing and dancing during Christmas time. I hope to continue doing this in the future, especially when I’m older and have my own family. |
Xmas with the Bros
Throughout our childhood, my brothers and I wanted to create music. One Christmas we asked for instruments. We started to learn how to play our instruments. We founded Casa De Misericordia and every Christmas we play music, like a little concert. This ritual was created three years ago when we founded a church in Tijuana It was made to bring everyone together. During the concert we speak about why we're here to celebrate the birth of Christ. Even though he wasn’t born on that ( actually he was born in the spring). But we still celebrate his birth on the 25th of december. I interviewed my oldest brother and he told me that this event is a big part of our family. For my stop motion I got an idea from one of my favorite bands The Strokes they made a short film about them as a group and I wanted to do something similar as them. The film is in the first person. My stop motion is a in first person on how we practice before the event. I use my drums,guitars, bass and instrument cables. I use these objects because we use them to make music. This is important to my brothers and I because when we get together we are on the same level our minds connect we. At the end of the stop motion I spell out the word vibe because we are vibing on the same frequency. Music is a big part of my brothers and families pass it’s a way to come together and vibe with each other. Work cited “Why Is Christmas Celebrated on December 25?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/news/why-is-christmas-celebrated-on-december-25. |
Stop Motion Christmas
The making of my Christmas tree is something I am proud to display within my stop motion film! Creating a Christmas tree has obviously been in my family for generations, but what is unique about what I am displaying are the ornaments I chose to use. The ornaments seen in my video are from when my mom was a child. She and her family used these ornaments on their Christmas trees, and have every Christmas. The memory of my mom telling to be very careful when I was first handling them is something I won’t forget. I could tell there was a special connection with her and these ornaments. Creating this stop motion film was eye opening, but it wasn’t easy. As I had to go to my cousins house to film most of it because my family is holding Christmas at their house, so the ornaments were over there. I also needed to set up a mini Christmas tree because my aunt didn’t have hers setup yet. Throughout this film you will see that I used a little Christmas tree, ornaments, and Christmas candy, because these were all items that are essential for a jolly Christmas to my family. The main point I want to get across is how this ritual is very important to my family because of the history it holds. Our family didn’t let the history go, as they kept the ornaments to make sure to never forget about the memories they made. |
Tasty Tamales
The title of my Stop Motion Motion film is Tasty Tamales. I recreated the ritual of making tamales on Christmas Eve. This is a ritual I have participated in ever since I could remember, and it was passed down through my mom’s family. Every Christmas Eve my family sits around our circle table and we each take a job while making tamales. One person spreads the masa, another spreads the meat, someone places the olive, and lastly, someone folds the hoja. Sometimes I would visit my family in Ensenada and I would make tamales where my mom grew up. I experienced the difference between making tamales at home and making them at my grandmas house. We would peel the corn, my grandma made the masa from scratch, and the chicken and beef would always be fresh. I created my stop motion film by recreating my ritual with my family’s help. I used olives to spell out the word “home” because making tamales give a good sense of home. This ritual brings us together; this is so special it's not something that happens often since we’re a big family. We sit around the table and spend a day together, catching up and drinking champurrado. My family usually makes around 300 so we can feast on Christmas and give them away to our family and friends. |
Reminisce
My Stop Motion Film is titled Reminisce. I named it this because my film shows how my family remembers the past through old photos. The ritual of sharing old photos to reminisce is a ritual that goes way back in my family. It became a ritual when my Nana was a kid and did it with her family back in the 60s. I learned about this ritual by participating in it myself. For the film itself, I used small cutouts of paper to represent the old photos taken in my family and arranged them to spell out the word “reminisce.” Every time we take new family photos, I know I am contributing to this ritual and how it will be practiced in the future. Someday I will be able to look back and tell a story about the moment captured. This ritual is one I can remember practicing forever and one I will show to my kids and their kids, too. The importance of this ritual and the memories it brings, helps me to look back on the good times and always be thankful for what I have in my life. Hopefully, it helps you remember to look to the past for happiness and prepare your future for your loved ones so they will be able to reminisce about your present. |
“Hot Tamale ,I’m Sweating”
The ritual I decided to recreate for my stop motion video was tamale making. It’s probably the only significant tradition that my family has kept up and that we do every year. I suspect it is because only dedicated family members are able to carry it on; these tend to be women. It is a laborious and tedious process, that is typically completed by my grandma, mom, sisters, and I. In my video, I emphasized the cooking and prep that is required for making tamales, because that is the most bonding and community bonding part of the process. It is what makes Christmas, but also holds and binds the connection between the women in my family. It began before I was born and initially it was only my grandma completing all the work, which must have been difficult. Back then there definitely was not as much variety as we have now. As the years passed, my mom and her children began to help, and now we make over 300 tamales with different flavors including pollo con salsa verde, res con salsa rojo, rajas, dulce, and puerco. Everyone loves them and an average of 5 per person are eaten on Christmas Eve night; the rest are packed in Ziploc baggies and sent to all the different homes of our family. I’ve heard Christmas is about giving and receiving tamales are the perfect gift to give or receive, which is why I think we have and will continue to make them. Tamales have a long history in Latin America. “Tamal” is derived from the word “tamalii” from the Nahuatl language spoken from the Aztecs. The word means “wrapped food.” The food has become a staple for special occasions such as baptisms, weddings, Dia De Los Muertos, and lastly, Christmas. I think it has become this specialized meal because of how much work that is put into making them. While making my stop motion, I needed to make sure to show the ingredients as accurately as possible. This was difficult because my family only makes tamales once a year and my filming was not in that time frame. I made sure to have the corn husks, meat, chiles, but for the masa, I had to think a bit creatively since it wasn’t possible to get ahold of the masa in time. This is why instead I used Maseca (corn flour that is used to make masa) that was already being used to make sopes, and used it as a make-do substitute. Although my video is only 1 ½ minutes long, there was a lot of prep, people, and knowledge involved. My goal was to show the beauty of the process and how delicious tamales are. I’d say I completed that goal. |
Dear Chris
“Dear Chris” is how my stop motion begins. It then transitions into a recreation of the ofrenda (altar), the most recognized image in the celebration of Dia De Los Muertos.The altar is used for families to honor their loved ones and provide them with what they will need on their journeys home. Families typically incorporate pictures of deceased loved ones and special objects to honor their loved ones´ lives (Smithsonian). Dia de los Muertos is celebrated from October 31st through November 2 (The Guardian). Dia de los Muertos is celebrated mainly in Mexico and some parts of Central and South America. It has become more popular within Latino communities, especially in the United States. It originated in ancient Mesoamerica where indigenous groups like the Aztecs, Toltecs, Maya, and Olmecs designated specific times when they would honor their loved ones who had passed away.(Smithsonian). Growing up in a Mexican household, Dia de los Muertos has always been a tradition that has been passed down through my family. There have been many ways that I have been able to experience this tradition, but when doing the interview with my mom, I was able to enhance my understanding by researching more about how this tradition is celebrated in Mexico. I recreated my stop motion by using artifacts that connect to my ritual such as candles, papel picado, flowers, and an altar, as well as other objects that were important to my grandfather during his life. Every ofrenda symbolizes the four elements of water, wind, earth, and fire. A pitcher of water is left so spirits can quench their thirst. Papel picado, or traditional paper banners, represent the wind. The element of earth is represented by food, and candles are left in the form of a cross to represent the four directions; this helps lead the spirits back to their loved ones for one out of every year (Smithsonian). This practice has a special place in my family's heart because we have the chance to remember and celebrate the lives of loved ones who have passed. This was especially important to us this year because my grandfather passed away and it was a huge impact on my family. Chris was a genuine and loving man who always cherished the time spent with family. His special smile, and the warmth his caring heart provided, will always be remembered in all of us forever. |
Dia De Los Reyes Magos
Dia De Los Reyes Magos, known as Three Kings Day or Epiphany, originates from Latin American Culture dating back to the 4th century (“Dia”, n.d.). This celebration became one of my family’s rituals before I was born. On this day my family comes together and makes Mexican hot chocolate, along with rosca de reyes, also known as the wreath of the kings which we buy from a local bakery. La rosca de reyes is in an oval shape, representing the crowns of the magi, and the dried candied fruits symbolize the jewels (“Facts”, 2018). A small plastic figurine representing baby Jesus is placed inside the rosca. Whoever gets the slice of bread with the figurine, has to host a tamale dinner on el dia de candelaria on February 2nd. One of the most significant parts in my stop motion is the process of making the Mexican hot chocolate. The Ibarra chocolate discs, wooden spoon, and mismatched mugs are essential in depicting my ritual, as these items are staples at my grandmother’s house. It was difficult to show a real rosca de reyes because the celebration is in January. Constructing the rosca and the nativity scene out of paper was challenging, because it needed to have a enough amount of detail for the audience to fully capture the scenes. This creative element also allowed for a variety of textures and visual elements. Dia De Los Reyes Magos provides a purpose for me and my family to gather at my grandmother’s house and put all of our energy into the moment of reconnecting through our culture. Works Cited Dia De Nuestra Senora De Guadalupe from Mexonline.com - The Virgin of Guadalupe - Cultural Holidays, www.mexonline.com/history-lostresreyes.htm. “Facts to Know about ‘Día De Los Reyes.’” The Yucatan Times, 23 Aug. 2018, www.theyucatantimes.com/2018/01/facts-to-know-about-dia-de-los-reyes/. |
A Transformers Thanksgiving
In my film is A Transformers Thanksgiving, I use my transformers to represent how my family celebrates our yearly ritual of Thanksgiving. I chose this ritual, purely because this is the one time in which we get to all be together under the same roof and get to eat food, play games, and tell stories to one another. Of course, I learned this ritual due to the fact that I have been participating in this celebration for 18 years in a row, and I have always enjoyed these precious moments with my family. The best part of Thanksgiving is the food we eat. My family typically makes the food together, so that way we can have a great time together eating as a family. I usually make the mac and cheese. In my film, the transformers make the same food my family eats: mac and cheese, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pumpkin pie. This makes a great feast. Their celebration takes place in the Autobot ship, the Ark. I recreated the Ark by painting a cardboard box as a backdrop. The Autobots were used as the main characters in the story. I used them, for they represent the way my family behaves during Thanksgiving. I also used Transformers because the Autobots were more than just friends or a team, but family. I used clay and other objects to make the food for thanksgiving.This ritual is very important for me, for this is the chance that I get to be with family whom I don’t see very often, and especially since some of them live far away from me. |
Family Dinners
My stop motion film is called Family Dinners. In this film I recreated a ritual from my dad’s childhood in Tijuana. During special occasions, as well as holidays like Dia de los Muertos and Christmas, they would celebrate by creating plain tamales with meat and vegetables such as carrots, chiles, etc. Afterwards, they would come together and have a big family dinner to celebrate and bond with one another by having conversations and making memories. This ritual is important because it is a way to spend time with our families and get to know one another better. Tamales originated during pre-columbian times (early 5000 BC- 7000 BC) when corn was the main food source for Mesoamericans such as the Aztecs (Mexica) and the Maya. I tried to replicate my dad’s family making tamales and having a big family dinner afterwards by using objects like a dining table made out of cardboard, as well as using a background to help the viewer get a sense of where the scene is located. Throughout the making of my film, I focused on adding details to the objects to ensure my film was the best quality. Overall, the creation of this film helped me understand how important family dinners are since I know many people do not have the luxury of seeing their family every day. |
Secret Santa
My stop motion film portrays the ritual, Secret Santa.This is something my family celebrates annually on Christmas eve. This tradition has been in my family for about five years. My mom came up with the idea to celebrate this tradition when we came to the realization that we spend too much money on Christmas gifts. On December 17th my grandma, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and parents gather together at my house. Each child draws from the kids pile and each adult draws from the adult pile, so the adults get another adult and a kids gets another kid.This tradition is practiced in many different countries, but with just different names. Secret Santa is primarily a western tradition. A philanthropist named Larry Dean Stewart is known to be the "original Secret Santa." To create my film, I used materials that my family and I use on Christmas eve during the gift exchange. My film consists of Christmas mugs, gifts, and paper. My objects are presented in a way where they kind of create themselves. For example, I show my mugs moving out of the cabinets and walking to the counters where they are filled with hot chocolate. The objects are the main things that explain my ritual, mainly because they are the ones moving and telling the story. I chose to make my film this way because I wanted to focus on what makes my family ritual so special. This ritual is important for my family because it’s a time when everyone really comes together to celebrate. My family is always busy and we rely on this ritual bring us together; it is something that makes us stay connected. This ritual not only brings us together as a family, but it also is a good way to end the year, with loved ones. |
Buying Memories What We Leave Behind
Estate sales occur in old houses after the owners have passed. The belongings left behind are sold by companies that are willing to bargain for every item they find. I created Buying Memories: What We Leave Behind to showcase my family’s ritual of going to estate sales. My mom has always loved to look online for sales and take the whole family to them in the morning on weekends. When I walk into old houses, with withering wallpaper, creaky floorboards, old books and dusty furniture, I am filled with a sense of nostalgia for a past that I was not apart of. I’ve always had a pang of sadness when entering these houses, as well, because I’m well aware that the beloved items of the homeowner are being sold to strangers. Because of this, I try to honor the person in a way, by treating objects like they are memories, and buying them to continue their stories.I tried to encapsulate these feelings in my stop motion film by making it black and white, and including old video clips alongside my own clips from a mini set I created. I tried to put a focus on the objects of my home, the objects that surround me everyday and subconsciously impact me. In the film, I placed an emphasis on five books that I bought from an estate sale a few months ago, since these items were integral to my realization that all objects have stories. Although the act of going to estate sales has a primary focus on strangers and their belongings, the ritual has also made me more keen in observing the objects around me. In the book Narrating Objects, Collecting Stories, it states that, “It is rare that any object is purely functional; instead even the most mundane and everyday will have layers of association and meanings waiting to be revealed. (Dudley, et al. 2012)” I’ve realized that the things that we own mean more to us than we initially think, and memories can be encapsulated into objects. And so I now wonder, as I walk through my own house, what will I leave behind? Works Cited: Dudley, Sandra H, et al. Narrating Objects, Collecting Stories. 1st ed., Routledge, 2012. |
Casa of Cards
For my stop-motion, Casa of Cards, I decided to recreate the ritual of playing cards with my sister. Card games were invented before AD1000, but they are still played to this day. This ties into mine and my sister´s relationship because as we age, we want our bond to stay forever. The card game that is being played in the film is called ¨speed.¨ Itt has always been our favorite game because it gives us that rush of adrenaline that comes with friendly competition. This ritual started when I was 9 and when she was 15. I used cut-up pieces of playing cards to spell out my title. The objects that I used were solely cards because I wanted the focus to be on the dialogue. This ritual is important to me and my sister because we love to talk to each other and bond through the game |
Merry Christmas
The ritual I covered in my stop motion film was the Christmas tradition of setting up the Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate, and enjoying the good company of family around the fireplace. This tradition has a lot of emotional importance to me because I only have the opportunity once a year to go to my grandparents and see my extended family. The name of my film was appropriately titled “Merry Christmas” because of the holiday traditions that my family practices. The reason for us gathering at my grandparents' house is because they are the heads of the family, so when aunts and uncles from out of town come down for the holidays, it only makes sense for it to be held at their house. When creating my film, I chose to do construction paper as my medium since I could draw what I wanted (I believe my illustration skills to be exceptional), cut it out, and arrange the cutouts in whatever manner seemed to be most appropriate for the scene. The process was unfortunately tedious, as I had made a previous stop-motion and because of technical difficulties, it was deleted. I did not want to fail; therefore, I rushed to the store and purchased art supplies, candy bars and a pack of Red Bull because I had the feeling I was gonna be up for a while. After several hours of work and drinking all my red bulls, I finished my video at 4:45 am. After finishing, I looked over my film, admiring all of the small bits of paper moving around the screen, performing what I cherish every year during the Christmas season. |
Las Mañanitas
For my stop motion film I decided to recreate a birthday ritual we have in my family that we have done for as long as I can remember. For this ritual my family wakes up the birthday person while singing “Las Mañanitas” with a piece of their favorite cake and their gift. This is something that many Latin American families do, though there is often differences in the song lyrics. The song “Las Mañanitas” originated as a song to sing on the day of your saint, which is also your birthday. Since the song originated many years ago, many versions of it exist as many families have changed the lyrics make it their own though generations. For my stop motion I used a birthday present bag that said “Feliz Cumpleaños” for the tissue paper to come out of to spell “Feliz Cumpleaños”. I also had books in the bag to be the present. I chose books because reading is one of my passions and I will usually ask for one for my birthday. For the cake I got lemon pound cake from Starbucks because that’s what we always get my brother for his birthday since it’s his favorite. This ritual has made a lot of happy memories for me, and I hope learning about it will be a happy memory for you. |
Breakfast Time
In “Breakfast Time,” I recreated my family tradition of making pancakes. We make pancakes whenever there are special guests over and on my birthday each year. This recipe was passed down from my great-grandmother, and it was originally a recipe for crepes. Over the years, my family has slightly revised the recipe to be more of a regular pancake recipe, but without changing it too much; we didn’t want to compromise my great-grandmother’s original vision. The recipe is significant to my family because it was one of the only things my great-grandmother left with us when she passed away. The woman in our family are not allowed to have my great-grandmother’s recipe until after they have children. So, my mother was insistent on not giving me the recipe. Because of this, I used a regular pancake mix but tried my best to represent it as still something magical and creative in my video. Therefore, in my film, I animated the ingredients to bring them to life. |
Baseball Superstition
In my stop motion film, Baseball Superstition, I recreate a pregame ritual favorited among baseball players. This pregame ritual consists of preparing your gameday gear the exact same way every time, clothes included. While it is impossible to tell exactly where this tradition originated, I do know that it has been practiced by my family for generations. My father taught me to honor this tradition beginning in little league, along with many other superstitions relating to the sport. Because of his vital role in the ritual, I chose to make “DAD” my focus word in the video. The objects I used to spell out the focus word also hold some special significance, in that the bats were given to me by my father. I feel that the highlight of my short film is the opening sequence where I show all the baseball achievements of my father and demonstrate the history I have with the sport. I also believe the song selection to be a crucial part in the film's message. I chose to share this ritual because it connects me to my father and portrays an activity that makes me who I am today. |
New Year’s Leap
In New Year’s Leap, I recreated the Filipino ritual of jumping up and down on the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve to ensure height growth in the new year. This ritual emerged long ago in the Philippines, and it’s important because of how much height is valued in the Filipino Culture. I was told about this ritual during an interview I had with my Dad who had this ritual passed down in his family. Though this ritual is widespread throughout the Filipino Culture, it was started by a small family in the Philippines and was spread through parties and word of mouth. In the film, New Year’s Leap, I used cardboard to create the setting of a home based on my Uncle Arnold’s house. I also used clay to create digital numbers representing the New Year’s countdown. This ritual is important to me because of how it has been passed down through my family for many generations. From my father’s grandparents and their family, to my dad’s family and his cousins this tradition has always been a part of their New Year celebration. Although not everyone in my family gets the blessing of being tall, a lot of us are still taller than the average Filipino-American. And for that, we are thankful for our New Year’s ritual; which I could never see my family not doing. |
The Tamal
I recreated the tradition of making sweet tamales from the recipe that my great grandma has passed down to our family from generations. I usually make them with my grandma 2 weeks before christmas. This ritual started for me when I was 7 because that was the age I was able to understand how to cook. I remember that Christmas like it was yesterday, the masa under my hands as if it was playdough, the smell of the meat rising into the air. I was finally going to play a part in our family christmas. This ritual emerged because the process and recipes were passed down and it reminds everyone of those who have passed. It is a way to connect with your family and eat all together as you enjoy the handmade tamales. As the years went on we started making sweet tamales as well with raisins, and pineapple. The sweet tamal takes more time and it’s the flavor that has brought my family the most together because we just can't get enough. This is the tamal that I decided to portray in my film because of how much we enjoy the flavor. In the kitchen when preparing the tamales the main people are my grandma, mom, aunts, and my sister. The women traditionally are the ones to be cooking in the kitchen they bring the care and gentle hands to making the tamales. For my stop motion I created a tamale making it self and then going onto the plate and eventually end up in the table and starts to be eaten by my siblings. I used raisins to spell out my title and my name because that is one of the main ingredients in the sweet tamales. This ritual I hope will live on forever and it will be passed on to my kids. It is a ritual that will live on and be celebrated with hardwork and laughs with generations of families. |
Thanksgiving
In “Thanksgiving,” I recreated the Thanksgiving tradition a lot of people celebrate every year in November. But, I represented it in the way that my family does it, by waiting for everyone to come home. Then we are served, we pray, and eat together as a family. Instead of waiting for people to come, the characters in the stop-motion wait for the food to come home instead. I was inspired to give the stop-motion a magical and life-like feeling from the field trip we went to in Balboa Park. Where they showed us one of the earliest stop-motions. So I made the food and plates alive. Two really important dishes that I had to make that used were pozole and tamales. It has always been dishes that have been fed to me during my childhood and even now, so I had to showcase them. I love thanksgiving, so I had to show what we did every year. It means a lot to me because I get the time to spend with family. |
Happy New Years 2019
My stop motion film is called Happy New Years 2019 because my family always gets together on New Year's Eve, and the same thing occurs every year. We get together at my tia’s house in Calexico and she has a big yard where we can dance and play in the jumper. We dance all night until midnight, and since my birthday is on January first, all of my family sings Happy Birthday. After that, we all get into a big circle and we each say a toast on what we were thankful for in the previous year and what we are hopeful for in the year to come.This ritual started way before I was born and it is something that we do to get closer. However, the ritual of celebrating New Years Eve started way before any of us were born. It began in 10 B.C when Julius Caesar changed the Roman calendar to the Egyptian calendar and New Year's day was celebrated on the first of January. (Historychannel.com) In my stop motion, I used birthday candles to represent the people in my family, and to signify the light that is brought when all of us are together. They also to represent the fact that in addition to celebrating New Years, we also celebrate mine and my tia’s birthday that night. This ritual is very important to me because on this holiday the whole family gets together and we get to hear from everyone about what they are hoping for in the new year. I get to see my cousins that are out in college and everyone is together. |
Family Dinner
In my family, whenever we go back home to North Carolina to visit my grandma, there are always big family meals. Initially, there is a big meal with both family and friends, then maybe a few days later there’s just a family meal. This ritual has taken place every time we have gone back to visit for as long as I can remember. It was for this reason that I chose to spell out the word ¨always” during my film. Having these meals together allows us to catch up with each other, bond, and form new, fun memories. I love seeing all my family laughing and having a fun time no matter what circumstances brought us together. Seeing everyone smiling and talking like no time has passed, means the world to me. It makes me want to memorize every moment because I don’t know when I’ll see everyone again. I used acrylic paint and paper cut outs to create this stop motion. I chose to use cut outs of ingredients from foods that always feature at our meals like greens, mac ‘n cheese, and banana pudding. These foods are always prepared the same way with the same recipes, often by different people. |
Christmas Morning
The title of my stop motion film is “Christmas Morning.” I chose the title, “Christmas Morning,” because my ritual is about how I used to celebrate Christmas as a little kid, back when I used to believe in Santa Claus. This ritual basically started for me when I was born. Since it’s something anyone who celebrates Christmas as a child usually believes in, and it's something we’ve always done in my household, that is why I chose to represent it in my film. This ritual was introduced to me by my parents. Basically, since we were born, they made me and my brothers believe in Santa. The ritual ended for us, once we stopped believing in Santa, but it continues for the rest of the children in the family until they find out that Santa isn’t real. Now, in regards to my stop motion film, to sum it all up, I started off by taking photos of the Christmas decorations, then I prepared cookies and milk the way my family used to prepare them the night before Christmas. Then, I put the cookies and milk on a table next to the Christmas tree. After that, I reenacted how I found out Santa wasn’t real, and then I reenacted opening gifts with my family. Now the reason this ritual is so important to me and my family, is that it is such a huge part of how my family experiences their childhood. As far as I know, everyone in my family is Christian or Catholic and we all at one point believed in Santa Claus, so that’s why I thought it would be a cool idea to make my stop motion film on something so important in my family. At the end of the day, I think the “Christmas Morning” title fits the video perfectly, and I am really happy with the video’s outcome; I believe it portrays my family ritual nicely. |
Elf On The Shelf
The ritual I decided to recreate for my stop motion film, is called Elf On The Shelf. The Elf On The Shelf, is a “scout elf” who sits in different places around the family’s house to observe the children's behavior all throughout the month of December. Every night, the elf flies back to the North Pole to report the kids’ actions to Santa Claus, making sure the kids are placed in the right section; Naughty or Nice. The elf then returns back before the night ends and settles in a different spot in the house, which creates a hide and seek game every morning. The only rule within this tradition is that 1. You are not allowed to touch the elf or else their would lose its magic. This ritual was popularized by a mother, Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell. In 2004, Aebersold and Bell created a poem that became the products (elf) storybook. The following year they launched their own company to introduce the tradition to other families across the country. I was introduced to this ritual when I was ten years old, by my parents. Our elf, Maddie kept us on task and behaving our best. While researching more in depth about this tradition, I found that if you accidentally happen to touch the elf, you have to sing her/him a Christmas Carol to give them a little bit more magic to get back to the North Pole and to get fixed by the Nurse elfs. For my stop motion, I wanted to use real people and a real setting, so I filmed at my house, using a real Elf On The Shelf. I wanted it to feel as real as possible and make it look as if the elf was actually moving (like how it is told in the story). I believe that because I used real actors and real objects, it connects pretty well to my ritual. This ritual is important to my family because it is something all my siblings share and can do together. I remember when I was younger my brother and I would wake up in the morning and always work together to try to find where the elf was that morning. It is a small little connection, but it is really special to me. Now, since we are older, we always try to help our two youngest siblings find the elf during the holiday season. I definitely plan on continuing this tradition with my kids! |
An Ureño Christmas
In my stop motion film, An Ureño Christmas, I recreated a Christmas ritual that I used to practice with my family when I was younger. Every year on Christmas Eve, we would travel Los Angeles to meet up with our family to celebrate Christmas. All the kids would hang out with each other and mess around. Meanwhile, all the parents would spend their time catching up with each other since most of them hadn’t seen each other in a while. The best part was at midnight when someone would sneak away and come back as Santa Claus. The Santa Claus would call each kid up one by one to give them gifts and would make sure by the end of the night that everyone had a gift. Gift giving is a tradition that started as a reminder of the gifts given to Jesus by the Three Wise Men. Even with my family being religious, when giving gifts during Christmas, we do it just to get into the spirit of Christmas. This ritual is important to my family because it reminds us of the importance of being together. When creating my stop motion film, I used paper dolls of people that we made in art class. I also used other props that I bought from the store such as jingle bells, a santa claus, and a little toy car. I used my phone to record and used a carpet at my house as the set. |
X-Mas
Xmas. Every Christmas my family and I go to the movies. This ritual emerged one Christmas when my cousins and I were tired of Karaoke, so we decided to go to the movies. Afterwards going to the movies on Christmas day sounded like a good idea, and that's how the tradition was born. The ritual of going to the movies started when the cinema began. Afterall if there were no audience there would be no one to watch the movies. Thanks to the cinematic era, people have been able to come together and experience the beauty of transforming dreams into a reality through film. For my stop motion I tried to convey the happiness Christmas and the movies bring. I did this by using a vibrant palette of happy and playful colors. The objects I chose to be the protagonists of my film are small elves from a coca cola edition. I used these because my grandmother gave them to me and they symbolize that infantile happiness and joy and my family and I have during the holidays. I also chose a specific Star Wars scene to be played to allow the audience to submerge themselves in the nostalgic feel. I also did this by providing a scene that had many warm hues. I also added the scene where they are playing and throwing popcorn around because that's how my family is; they always have insane food fights. I chose this ritual because one of my favorite places is the movie theater, and I really appreciate that this became a tradition of mine. |