I've never known much about running or runners. I've always just seen them from the outside and envied their endurance and determination. I never understood how they were able to run so far, and especially their ability to be able to run as far as they did at the fast speed that they did amazed me. I'm the kind of person who finds an excuse every morning about why I can't go to the gym that day, and when I finally force myself to trek to the Woodruff Physical Education Center or my local gym back home and hop on a treadmill, I'm a sweating, panting mess after just a mile. I became friends with many members of the Emory Men's Cross Country team from my freshman dorm at the beginning of this year at Emory. When this project was assigned I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the dynamics of the team and how they are able to do what they do.
In this ethnographic documentary, I will explore how the Emory Men's Cross Country team uses media and how this usage helps improve their running and build community as a team. Through the viewpoints of three team members, I will share how social media brings the team together to inform, tease, and encourage each other. The media breaks down the differences between the team members that could possibly create barriers or cliques within the team, and allows everyone to become an active part of the community. Everyone has the same access to the social media and is greeted by a welcoming environment to share their thoughts. Additionally, individuals on the team use media and technological tools to improve their running on a personal level, and they all do it in different ways. Some of these tools include running websites, physical notebooks to log runs in, GPS watches, and UpBands, a device that is worn around a person's wrist and calculates distance traveled, calories burned, steps taken, and amount of sleep the person has each day. These tools help motivate the team members to run farther, faster, and better than they did the times before.
In this ethnographic documentary, I will explore how the Emory Men's Cross Country team uses media and how this usage helps improve their running and build community as a team. Through the viewpoints of three team members, I will share how social media brings the team together to inform, tease, and encourage each other. The media breaks down the differences between the team members that could possibly create barriers or cliques within the team, and allows everyone to become an active part of the community. Everyone has the same access to the social media and is greeted by a welcoming environment to share their thoughts. Additionally, individuals on the team use media and technological tools to improve their running on a personal level, and they all do it in different ways. Some of these tools include running websites, physical notebooks to log runs in, GPS watches, and UpBands, a device that is worn around a person's wrist and calculates distance traveled, calories burned, steps taken, and amount of sleep the person has each day. These tools help motivate the team members to run farther, faster, and better than they did the times before.
Reflecting on my film, I see that there are more potential questions concerning diversity that I could have explored. One aspect of this could have been race. The Emory Men's Cross Country team is made up of almost all white males, and I wonder if that is a representation that is common at all schools. Is running typically a sport that white males participate in as opposed to males of other races? Emory as a university is fairly diverse so it would be interesting to compare the percentage of cross country participants of each race to the race distribution on the whole campus. It would also be interesting to look at whether the runners come from mostly rural, suburban, or urban areas. Is running in a city more difficult because of the dense population and numerous streets? Or is running a sport that really anyone can do anywhere? Thirdly, I could have compared the Men's and Women's cross country teams here at Emory to see if there are differences between them in relation to diverse aspects like race, geography, religion, etc.