My name is Josh Smalley and I’m a filmmaker currently working in television. My job is challenging, yet allows me to eat and sleep with a roof over my head, and for that I am somewhat fulfilled, and very grateful.
Those that know me can attest to my opinionated nature, and my concern for what I feel is a lack of exploration of our own faults as adults. We tend to blame everyone but ourselves for the problems we face individually and as a people.
Over the last year I’ve noticed an increase in high profile instances of rape and sexual assault amongst teenagers. These instances, like that of 17 year old Rehtaeh Parsons or 15 year old Audrie Pott, both whom committed suicide as a result of bullying resulting from their respective assaults or the horrible events surrounding Steubenville High School, where coaches, principles and local politicians did their best to sweep the transporting, undressing, photography, and multiple sexual assault of an incapacitated 16 year old girl.
I am working on an academic documentary in which high school students of varying demographics will be asked very simple questions about rape and consent. The goal is to analyze the answers and explore where we as parents, teachers and counselors are failing in educating our youth about rape, consent, respect and dignity.
I have some rewards for those that contribute. With 5 dollars you will receive a thank you postcard written in the hand of a subject (translated if necessary). For 10 dollars you will receive the previous reward and a HD copy of the completed work, Rape and Consent: A Simple Study. 30 dollars gets you not only the stated rewards, but a blu-ray version of the work. 60 dollars get you everything as well as Rape and Consent: The Transcript, a book containing the entire transcript as well as pictures, maps, demographic breakdowns and essays analyzing the study from sociologist, psychologist and human behavior specialists. For 500 dollars, I will shoot a segment in the U.S city of your choice.
I am asking for a total of 3000 dollars. That would allow me to focus on 4 schools in the Los Angeles area. However reaching 6000 dollars would allow me to expand the project to encompass schools in each region of the United States. 20,000 dollars would be an achievement which would allow me to produce the ultimate goal of the project, schools across the globe. The scale of the project will grow as ideas, and suggestions are taken into consideration. Visit my Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/255629801/rape-and-consent-a-simple-study
Any help getting the word out would be very much appreciated.
Joshua Smalley
