Courage to Change - ICCA South Quarterfinal 3 First Place Submission

Song: Courage to Change, opb. Sia
Soloists: Rowan Bates, Abby Kaufmann, & Rachel Harris
Arranger: Carlos Molina Diaz
Choreographer: Abby Kaufmann
Vocal Percussion: Brendan Fred & Carlos Molina Diaz
Audio Mixing: Carlos Molina Diaz
Videography: Chase McCrary

[@coachpam]

Beautiful. I hope we all have the courage to change. We need this.🤗❤

[@TechtonicsIC]

This is phenomenal guys! Absolutely love it, so powerful 😍

[@willtremblay1527]

Great singing and production, but the shoehorned mixture of themes and laundry list of stereotypes (especially the wardrobe and makeup for “those living with mental illness”) are pretty problematic tbh. I understand wanting to do a tribute to frontline workers and human rights advocates (though those are two pretty vague terms), but the video doesn’t do much to speak to or thank those groups apart from acknowledging their existence, and lumping in people living with “mental illness” feels especially tone deaf. So many struggle with mental health issues, especially now after a year in a pandemic, and seeing this community portrayed with baggy clothing and dark makeup under the eyes is kind of insulting. I could be totally off-base with this, and I don’t want to discount whatever meaning certain elements of the video have to members of your group, but this as a whole just comes across as disingenuous, especially with this being for a competition. You all are clearly super talented, I just think whatever social commentary you all do in the future should be a bit more focused and well considered.

[@akaufmann21]

Hey, thanks for the input. I directed this video and was the soloist with the storyline that portrayed my own personal mental health struggles. My story was a portrayal about how I felt on the inside at my darkest, that no one else could see. The story is not to portray the story of others, rather my own struggle that I hope others can find some solace that they are not alone. Everyone is going to have an opinion about this, but as someone who has struggled for so long with several diagnoses, this is my story and it was a story I felt empowered to tell.

[@willtremblay1527]

@@akaufmann21 I am super glad that you felt empowered to share your experience, but it’s still presented as a tribute to frontline workers, human rights advocates, and people living with mental illness in general. The visual indicators of the dark eyes and baggy clothing, while they may reflect your personal experience, have been harmful stereotypes used to pigeonhole and other people struggling with their mental health in media for decades. I would have loved an exploration of one of these themes, but trying to cram in as many themes as possible almost necessitates stereotypes to portray these huge, incredibly diverse groups of people. Also, I don’t know if you all knew this going in, but this song is from a movie widely criticized for its harmful and offensive depiction of the autistic community. I know this wasn’t at all the intent, but the use of a song from this widely controversial film paired with a “tribute to those living with mental illness” could easily be misconstrued.