"The Roof Is On Fire" Response by Ruben Rubio

1. CONTEXT: What were the circumstances that framed the meaning and process of this project? 

In documentary, “The Roof Is On Fire,” teenagers in Oakland are exposed to violence, drugs, poverty, and broken homes.  They are talked about in the media when they get murdered, and their voices are seldom heard.

2. CONTENT: What was the issue, need, idea or opportunity addressed by this project?  Teenagers in Oakland high schools are not being heard regarding the issues they face growing up that make it difficult to get an education. 

3: FORM: What is the medium that was used to address or embody the content?

A public space in a parking structure was transformed into a performance space where adult audience members listened to teenagers talk about their concerns and issues inside a car.  A prompt was given to the students and they improvised as they discussed the topics and issues that have affected their lives in Oakland.

4. STAKEHOLDERS: Which are the groups or individuals that were invested in the project? School teachers/artists and students from Oakland Tech High School in Oakland were involved in the project.

5. AUDIENCE: For whom was this project conceived?

The project was conceived for adults in the community and those in more affluent communities.

6. ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES: How were the stakeholders, audiences, and others engaged/connected to the project?

Audience members walked up to the space and navigated through the parking structure that remained mysterious until they reached the top.  The use of cars and the students in them created a focal point where all the attention was aimed at the intimate conversations that were taking place amongst the students.

7. GOAL:

What are this project's objectives? 

The project’s objectives are to give youth a channel to voice their concerns about the issues that affect their everyday life in Oakland, such as poverty, crime, and broken homes.  The documentary wants to inform black youth about the effects media has on black youth in communities, because media often portrays them as “losers, villains, and criminals.”

8. VALUES: What were the project's guiding values or core beliefs? How were they expressed in the process? 

The project believes that high school kids in Oakland have a voice and it is time for them to be heard in a positive light other than that of the media that often portrays them as juvenile delinquents.

9. RESOURCES: What tangible and intangible resources were used to pursue the project's goals?

You had local kids from Oakland Tech High School involved in the project, but not every other kid from the surrounding area high schools.  There were also meetings held amongst teachers to help develop curriculum about media literacy.

10: OUTCOMES: What were the results of this project? 

Audience members were interviewed and gave their thoughts about not realizing that drugs, violence, poverty, and broken homes affected students in Oakland.  The project was also successful, because it happened despite a riot taking place in the vicinity days before the project opened.