Teen Pregnancy Research for New Project!

"Teen pregnancies across the United States have declined almost every year for the past two decades, but Texas and Travis County numbers remain two to three times higher than the national average."

"More than 70 percent of teen moms are single at the time they give birth and are six times more likely to come from a low income background. Only 38 percent of pregnant teens will get their high school degree by the time they are 22. And when they are 30 years old, they will only have 57 percent of the earning power of those women who waited."

"Most Texas schools teach abstinence only programs where there is no mention of contraception."

Statistics:

• 37.8 births per 1,000 girls in Texas (2014)
• 24.2 births per 1,000 girls in USA(2014)
• $1.1 billion spent on teen childbearing (2010)
• -8% change in birth rates from 2013
• -52% change in birth rate from peak year 1991
• 249,078 babies born to age 15-19 last year

The USA's teen birth rate is higher than any other developed country in the world. 

Sources:
https://sph.uth.edu/tprc/texas-teen-birth-rate-maps-2/
http://kxan.com/2015/05/06/ut-study-finds-texas-teen-pregnancies-lag-behind-u-s-improvement/
https://thenationalcampaign.org/data/state/texas
http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/reproductive-health/teen-pregnancy/trends.html

BOB: A Documentary

Logline: "Bob: A simple guy with a... simple life."

Treatment: The film will open on our search for Bob among our peers. They will all respond that they either don't know where he is or they don't know who it is. Throughout the film we hope to show the audience who and where Bob is in school and in life. We will intercut interviews from Bob's family members and students at Booker T. as they talk about his interests and qualities. We are going for a humorous effect and we will counter all these comments about Bob with him doing something that contradicts that. At the end of the film, our goal is for the audience to feel like they know Bob or should go and have a conversation with him.

My Encounter With a Thrilling Documentary

This is the film's poster.

Werner Herzog, famous documentary filmmaker, wrote, directed, and starred in this wondrous film that captures the essence of the people and the nature that accompanies a little-explored continent. The film itself is quite beautiful, some portions even shot underwater. However, the story is quite poorly constructed. There are small snip-its of interviews connected by shots of the Antarctic terrain. 

There is certain flow between the interviews, however, there is no direct storyline or goal that is achieved at the end of the film. As the film progresses the score becomes more and more unique, called by one reviewer "eerily chilling and engrossing." In my opinion, sometimes the score benefits the story and there are other moments that take away from what Herzog wants to convey. Overall the film brings to light a side of the world that few people have had the opportunity to explore, making it a very interesting topic. Viewers are engaged throughout every moment of the film because they themselves will never have the opportunity to see Antarctica other than through Herzog's lense.