Lizbeth Corona

Flower after a rainy day.

Flowers after a rainy day.

My opinion of what represents water.

BIO

           I'm Lizbeth Corona a First-generation student at Indiana University of Bloomington. I’m currently pursuing a bachelor’s in computer science. I grew up around Indianapolis. When my family would get together we would go take walks down the canal. When we would take walks we never saw anything in the water of the canal nor the river the canal leads to. We weren’t really aware of any issues related to our waters. Until recently, due to class A263, I have been informing my family and the people around me about the issues we are facing in Indiana with our water sources.

Summary of Project

           Our project was about researching waterways that had an impact on the communities around us and also the impacts it had on us. We made a website and presented information on three rivers nearest to our hometowns. We also went down to the rivers and took pictures on our phones of them. We had a chance to view them in a different light after researching issues related to them. The rivers we chose also have had a history of being polluted and contaminated. Throughout the website, we present information related to the history of the rivers and how they have impacted African American communities. We also presented issues that are still reoccurring such as redlining. We looked at articles, data, and every member had a body of water they have had an experience with. We wanted to include personal stories to make it feel like a person is talking to the readers. We didn’t want readers to just read information and forget about it later. We wanted to make a connection with the reader. The target audience for our website is mainly younger viewers ranging from young adults to teens. Although, we also kept in mind older audiences when working on the site. We wanted to drive the message of making a change, as problems are still prevalent regarding our water sources. This has affected our communities and they still continue to. We want the younger generation to learn about these issues and feel like there are people out there who care.

My Relationship With Water

           I have been privileged with growing up with an abundance of water. I never had to worry about where my water came from nor how much water I had left. I do remember people coming to my elementary school and educating us about saving water and pollution multiple times. My mother also always told me to close the faucet while brushing my teeth. I ended up growing up with a good mentality of saving water. I would be aware of my water usage through my daily life. Though I was not quite aware of the pollution in waters. I would watch out for trash in lakes and the canal but I never saw it around me. I never thought it would affect me and didn’t really pay attention. I thought if I didn’t see it, then it’s not much of a problem. My situation could’ve been described by the phrase “ignorance is bliss” regarding the polluted waters that affect the communities near me. Now after being informed I realized, just because I don't see it does not mean it doesn't exist. 

Pumzi

           When I first saw Pumzi, I mostly focused on how the civilization was ran. I was aslo looking for who was in charge of the civilization and I was paying attention to the power dynamics. Something that kept me wondering was who was in charge of sending the main character the plant. My focuses where not much on finding the meaning behind what things could symbolize. I also didn’t realize small details. I had the idea that the main character was living in a dystopia where people had to provide body fluids to produce water as it seems there is no longer water or life outside the civilization.  After seeing it, then I started to ponder on why there wasn’t a civilization outside of there own. I didn’t really get it the first time. After seeing Pumzi a second time I realized that the world was running out of water and there was a water war. I focused more on the smaller details and also on what things could have hidden meanings. For example, when the main character received soil with high water content after she smelled it, she started to have visions. In a way this represents water holding memory. I also then payed attention the main characters actions. She was trying to save the tree in the middle of a dessert. Even though it seems useless to try since the tree would die, she gave all the water she had and died protecting it. Then in the end the camera zooms out showing a forest not so far from where the main character last stood. As if the film was telling the viewers to never give up as one's efforts do not go in vain. 

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