VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE 35
AIR DATE: 09 14 2018
FULL TRANSCRIPT
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Smithsonian Robots
((SOT))
Who are you?
My name is Pepper. Welcome to the National Museum of African Art.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Diversity in Comics
((SOT))
A lot of people of color really want to get into creating comics but the key is to get more diversity on the editorial level.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Streets to six-figures
((SOT))
They should have a slogan like, “from the streets to six figures in six weeks”.
((NATS))
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((PKG)) PEPPER THE ROBOT
((Banner: Pepper The Robot))
((Reporter: Carolyn Presutti))
((Camera: Adam Greenbaum))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((NATS))
Pepper: Ready? One, two, three!
Rachel Goslins: Who are you?
Pepper: My name is Pepper. Welcome to the National Museum of African Art! What would you like?
((CHASE IOTT, MUSEUM VISITOR))
She's not a real person. She's just like technology. She's like your iPhone but more advanced.
((NATS))
Pepper: Do you see that big round window behind me? It's called the rose window.
((RACHEL GOSLINS, SMITHSONIAN, "MOTHER OF ROBOTS"))
Pepper's really good at customizing information. She allows people to go deeper on a particular artifact, or learn something about the background, or the conservation of one of our works of art. So, people can get customized information by asking her questions, or watching a video, or seeing images.
((NATS))
((MICHELLE EDWARDS, SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART))
I always think of an exhibition as a real estate space, where you have all the objects, and if there are videos loaded, but there’s only so many places. You can’t put everything you can in an exhibit. So, having a robot there to kind of give you that extra layer of meaning and understanding provides a little bit more context for the exhibition.
((NATS))
Pepper: Check these out! What would you like to try?
((RACHEL GOSLINS, SMITHSONIAN, "MOTHER OF ROBOTS"))
She’s not like Alexa or Siri. So, it’s pre-programmed interactions, but we’ve found that people are really engaged and often ask all of the questions that they can think of to get more information about the things you’re trying to teach them about.
((NATS))
Pepper: Hi. You’re an excellent conductor.
((RACHEL GOSLINS, SMITHSONIAN, "MOTHER OF ROBOTS"))
Programming is really easy. I’m not a tech person. Our educators and docents aren’t tech people, but there’s a software interface that’s super easy. It’s kind of like PowerPoint, so you can insert text and images. You can create an information campaign in 15 or 20 minutes, which allows us to experiment and customize Pepper, and what the robot is saying and how they’re saying it, really easily.
((NATS))
((MICHELLE EDWARDS, SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART))
We all are trying to figure out, how do we make our Pepper unique? And I wanted to have our Pepper to have kind of a distinct African voice and identity. And so, one way to do that was not to just talk about the art, but talk about language, because that’s such an important thing in the exhibit and African art, and that kind of made us a little bit unique to other exhibitions.
((NATS))
Pepper: Look here are some Swahili words on my screen.
((RACHEL GOSLINS, SMITHSONIAN, "MOTHER OF ROBOTS"))
The thing about any technology in museums is they’re only as good as the problems they solve, you know. If you’re just bringing technology into museums because it’s a new gadget, it’s ultimately a gimmick and it outlives its usefulness pretty quickly.
((PKG)) ELDER CARE ROBOT RUDY
((Banner: Elder Care Robots))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera: Adam Greenbaum))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Springfield, Virginia))
((Courtesy: VIDEO FROM: INF Robotics, VOA))
((NATS))
((ROBOT RUDY))
Would you like to dance with me?
((OLGA ROBERTSON, CLIENT))
Yes.
((ROBOT RUDY))
This song is “In the Mood” by Glenn Miller.
((NATS))
((ANTHONY NUNEZ, INF ROBOTICS))
What we wanted to do was design a robot that’s easy to use,
((ROBOT RUDY))
The time is 9:39 am
((ANTHONY NUNEZ, INF ROBOTICS))
designed specifically for seniors, but also affordable. I think that was very important, and something that seniors, older individuals could trust.
((OLGA ROBERTSON, CLIENT))
He’s company and is somebody to talk to and somebody to dance with. I like the song that he plays actually.
((ANTHONY NUNEZ, INF ROBOTICS))
Okay, Rudy.
((ROBOT RUDY))
What would you like me to do?
((ANTHONY NUNEZ, INF ROBOTICS))
Help me.
((ROBOT RUDY))
Have I reached you?
Remember to take your morning medication Anthony.
((CARLA RODRIGUEZ, INF EMPLOYEE))
We always had seniors involved and every time we had some type of communication, we’d introduce it. Seniors would give us their feedback, 'we don’t like this, we don’t like that.'. We’d come in and change it.
((NATS))
((ANTHONY NUNEZ, INF ROBOTICS))
At an early age, I saw both aspects of it. And as I grew older, I realized we weren’t the only family facing this problem.
((NATS))
((OLGA ROBERTSON, CLIENT))
Let’s go.
((ANTHONY NUNEZ, INF ROBOTICS))
There are thousands of families facing the same issue. Most cases even worse where they have a loved one that they are taking care of, and the cost becomes an issue. So, we don’t want to make decisions for them. We want to help them make decisions and really give the power back to them, so that they can stay independent.
((NATS))
Hi, good afternoon. Did you take your medicine this morning?
((OLGA ROBERTSON, CLIENT))
Yes.
((NATS))
Okay, wonderful. Did you sleep okay last night?
((OLGA ROBERTSON, CLIENT))
Yes.
((NATS))
Okay, good.
((ANTHONY NUNEZ, INF ROBOTICS))
So, you know, Rudy’s a companion. He’ll, you know, work on talking with you and engaging you.
((NATS))
((ROBOT RUDY))
What would you like me to do?
((ANTHONY NUNEZ, INF ROBOTICS))
Let’s go.
So, here, Rudy’s able to help carry things for me, you know, help me around the house as I’m moving throughout the day.
We’re leveraging the artificial intelligence within our platform to help seniors make better decisions to allow them to stay in their home, which, according to AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) 90 percent of them want to stay in their home. And the longer we can keep them in their home, the happier they are and that’s really what we want to do.
((NATS))
((OLGA ROBERTSON, CLIENT))
((NATS))
He does a pretty good jitterbug, I think.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Hope Through Comics
((SOT))
The American culture has been starting to lose its values. They are becoming more, I would say, egocentric in some ways, and I think the Superman shows the opposite of it.
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((PKG)) SUPERHEROES & DIVERSITY
((Banner: Superheroes & Society))
((Reporter/Camera: Elizabeth Lee))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: San Diego, California))
((NATS: San Diego Comic-Con 2018))
((Popup Banner: How Superheroes are changing the way Hollywood handles diversity))
((Courtesy: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures))
((Banner: Superheroes & Diversity))
((NATS))
((ALICE MEI CHI LI, FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR))
There’s a lot of diversity in creators, artists, writers. A lot of people of color really want to get into creating comics, but the key is to get more diversity on the editorial level: editors, publishers, anyone who makes the decisions on who to hire.
((BEN SAUNDERS, ENGLISH PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON))
The initial wave of Superheroes of the 1930s and 40s is predominantly male and always exclusively white.
((NICKY WHEELER-NICHOLSON, GRANDDAUGHTER OF MALCOLM WHEELER-NICHOLSON, FOUNDER OF DC COMICS))
The African Americans were always drawn with big white lips, which is just horrible and the Asian characters were usually, their skin tone was yellow, which is just weird. And so, they were usually the menace. So, they were usually the evil bad guys.
There are definitely stereotypes in these early comics, and it’s important to see that, so that we recognize how some of these stereotypes were continued because they were in popular culture.
((BEN SAUNDERS, ENGLISH PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON))
The first characters of color, the first superpowered characters of color in the Marvel universe are green and orange. The Hulk is readily sort of understandable as a kind of complicated allegory for race as a sort of figured through ideas of monstrosity. The thing in the Fantastic Four is also a character that is legible as a kind of a coded raced figure.
Those characters of color are introduced in the early 60s. The process of diversification then, really sort of proceeds much more rapidly through the 70s and 80s and at this point if you are talking about the comic book universe at least, rather than perhaps some of the film and TV universes, it would be almost silly to try and count off characters of color or queer characters. There’s more than I could easily name quickly now.
((VITA AYALA, FREELANCE COMIC BOOK WRITER))
Print, I think, tends to be able to kind of get away with that first and kind of test the waters.
((ALICE MEI CHI LI, FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR))
Comics are like the fertile ground from which a lot of movies draw their inspiration from.
((SHANICE SOUVENIR, BLACK PANTHER MOVIE FAN))
So, I am Princess Shuri from Wakanda. Everybody knows her from Black Panther. We’re not all the way there yet, but it’s a start. So when Black Panther came out, I was so excited and to see that my future children have something to look up to.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures))
((ALICE MEI CHI LI, FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR))
Hollywood doesn’t think that, you know, diverse stories could sell overseas, so they make less of it and they don’t give chances to diverse stories that could be good.
((End Courtesy))
((ALICE MEI CHI LI, FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR))
A lot of the times I do hear that China doesn’t want to see black people.
((Courtesy: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures))
((ALICE MEI CHI LI, FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR))
Black Panther did very well worldwide,
((End Courtesy))
((ALICE MEI CHI LI, FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR))
regardless of the, you know, the culture of the market, so it really is about creating stories
((Courtesy: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures))
that are universal to people, that people want to hear.
((End Courtesy))
((NATS))
((PKG)) SUPERHEROES AND POLITICS
((Banner: Superheroes & Politics))
((Map: San Diego, California))
((NATS))
((DORIAN BLACK, SUPERMAN FAN))
The reason why Superman to this day is such an icon is because he embodies an element, a spirit of America that just will never go away.
((NATS))
((BEN SAUNDERS, ENGLISH PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON))
The modern superhero sort of explodes onto the scene in 1938 with the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1.
So, when Superman first appeared, and a lot of people don’t know this, but he’s almost a kind of anarchist, socialist. He fights representatives of the oil companies. He fights advertising executives who are out to fleece the public. He campaigns for prison reform.
He’s a really remarkable, sort of, crusader for social justice in his first appearance. With the outbreak of World War II and with the rise of the commercial value of Superman as a property, he becomes a more socially conservative character as American values change in the 40s and 50s.
((NATS))
((AARON LOPRESTI, COMIC BOOK ARTIST))
Superman - Truth, Justice and the American Way - I really think that was sort of all the characters were ingrained with that sort of mentality, but I think as we got into the 60s and 70s, you started to see characters develop different personalities.
You know, right now, especially in popular media, you’re seeing more of a progressive slant because most of the creators tend to be leaning more in the progressive point of view so that, I think, is what’s getting more reflected in the characters.
The characters become the voice of whoever’s creating them at the time, whoever the writer is or the artist. You know, the things that are important to them are going to get interjected into those characters.
((NATS))
((HAYLEY WEST, CAPTAIN MARVEL FAN))
I am dressed up as Captain Marvel.
I would say now I would equate her to the female Superman and now people actually want to see that story. You know, strength and female strength especially which I think is really important in our current world.
((NATS))
((AARON LOPRESTI, COMIC BOOK ARTIST))
Their personalities aren’t something that are separate from what’s going on in society. I think they tend to reflect more what’s going on in society. And so, when things change or different ideas come into view, I think, sometimes, a lot of times, you see those things reflected in the characters or the situations they’re in, in their comics.
((ISRAEL TRUJILLO, SUPERMAN FAN FROM MEXICO))
The American culture has been starting to lose its values. They’re becoming more, I would say like egocentric in some ways, and I think that Superman shows the opposite of it. It’s a symbol of hope for people and I think that most people identify with him because they see him as the best person someone could be.
((NATS))
((DORIAN BLACK, SUPERMAN FAN))
He was born on another planet. He was an alien refugee brought here as a child from a dying world, and he’s always represented that part of America, that immigrant spirit.
There was a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment happening at the time that he was created and I don’t feel like that’s ever changed. We’d like to pretend that, you know, America has changed greatly from that time period. And a lot of ways it has for the better, but we’re still having this argument of, like, you know, do we let in refugees? How much is too much? Do we help? Do we not help?
((NATS))
There will never be an America that Superman isn’t relevant in.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Aiding those in Need
((SOT))
I went from living in a tent in the woods, to living in my own place, having a purpose. I have a job.
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((Banner: Empowerment))
((PKG)) TECH JOBS FOR HOMELESS
(Banner: Tech Jobs for the Homeless))
((Reporter/Camera: Deana Mitchell))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: San Francisco, California))
((NATS))
((VICTORIA WESTBROOK, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS, CODE TENDERLOIN))
The Tenderloin neighborhood is a really tight-knit community. Actually there’s a lot of people who live here, but there’s a lot of desperation and a lot of heartache here. There’s a lot of people that are homeless, addicted to drugs, people doing crime, but there’s also a lot of families that have lived here for many, many years but they’re getting pushed out the more gentrified the city’s becoming.
((NATS))
((DEL SEYMOUR, FOUNDER, CODE TENDERLOIN))
The Tenderloin is a very lack-of-resource neighborhood. We don’t have a lot of resources. We don’t have a lot of jobs. Unemployment is completely off the hook. Our poverty level is below most third world countries. We don’t have any adequate schools. We don’t really have any hospitals. It’s a very neglected neighborhood.
((NATS))
((VICTORIA WESTBROOK, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS, CODE TENDERLOIN))
Code Tenderloin is a workforce development nonprofit. We work with people with barriers to employment. So that can mean anything from reentry, getting out of prison, homeless, at risk of becoming homeless, victims or survivors of domestic violence. It can be pretty much anybody that’s under or unemployed. It could be people that have never had a legal job in their lives.
((DEL SEYMOUR, FOUNDER, CODE TENDERLOIN))
Due to a drug addiction that I acquired immediately when I got here, I became homeless for 18 years and I wandered these streets like a zombie, day and night, for 18 years, using drugs, selling drugs, being arrested. I have 14 felony arrests in this neighborhood. So, I know the area well.
((NATS))
((DANIEL HENRY, STUDENT, CODE TENDERLOIN))
It's us against the tech guys, you know, how am I ever going to be able to work in that industry? My friends see how tech savvy I am and were like you should be working in tech, and I was like, you're right, I should.
((DEL SEYMOUR, FOUNDER, CODE TENDERLOIN))
First week out, we go to the basic programmer’s job readiness. And that’s where we take a person who’s never had a job before, just got out of prison, just got out of a drug program, just got out of high school, just got out of the service, and we take them from A to Z to be a competitive candidate in the HR departments of major companies.
We do intensive one-on-one development, re-development, re-re-development until we get it right.
((ALPHONZO WILLIAMS, STUDENT, CODE TENDERLOIN))
Each visit to a new tech company is amazing. I learn something new, hopefully I can learn something else. Coding, I'm really getting into coding.
((NATS))
((DEL SEYMOUR, FOUNDER, CODE TENDERLOIN))
Well, the coding class is where we get you the basics to find out whether you’re able to do coding, whether you want to do coding, whether you really like a computer, and if the computer likes you. So after five weeks, maybe decide, no, this is not for me. I can’t sit in front of this stupid little machine for eight hours a day. Or you might say, I love it, give me more. And then we’ll give you more.
((STEPHANIE BOOHER, STUDENT, CODE TENDERLOIN))
They should have a slogan, like, “from the streets to six figures in six weeks.”
((NATS))
((PKG)) HELPING AMERICA’S HOMELESS
((Banner: Finding a Home))
((Reporter: Julie Taboh))
((Camera: Adam Greenbaum))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Woodbridge, Virginia))
((ROSE POWERS, STREETLIGHT COMMUNITY OUTREACH MINISTRIES))
StreetLight was formed, it was established as a nonprofit agency here in Woodbridge, Virginia, to reach out to the poor and the homeless. We also target the chronically homeless people who have lived in the woods for years and years and years. Many of them are medically fragile or disabled.
((NATS))
((ROSE POWERS, STREETLIGHT COMMUNITY OUTREACH MINISTRIES))
We have the food pantry and the clothing closet and that provides food for impoverished families and they can come once a month and receive food. We carry a wide range of items, at least 30 different food items, including meats, eggs if we can get them, and dairy product.
((FRANKIE, HOMELESS MILITARY VETERAN))
I don't make enough to afford rent in this area.
((ROSE POWERS, STREETLIGHT COMMUNITY OUTREACH MINISTRIES))
Many of the people we work with who are literally homeless actually work, but they do not have the skills, the job skills or the educational level to command a job that pays an affordable wage.
((RICHARD, FORMERLY HOMELESS))
So, I wound up getting evicted. One thing led to another, and here I am. Here I was. I went from living in a tent in the woods, to living in my own place, having a purpose. I have a job. I don't have to worry about my necessities in life. They basically helped me get back on my feet and give me, like you know, give me more self-confidence.
((ROSE POWERS, STREETLIGHT COMMUNITY OUTREACH MINISTRIES))
The homeless need more than just a roof over their head. They need love. They need a chance to have dignity. They need to know that they have value. They need to know that people care about them.
((LARRY, STREETLIGHT CLIENT))
I’m Larry and I’m with four guys that stay in this house. I feel very grateful to be here. I lived in the woods for four years. I was hit by a truck. StreetLight took me in. They looked out for me. I feel totally blessed.
((TONY TURNAGE, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY))
If we can start putting programs together such as affordable housing projects, permanent supportive housing projects, I think we can significantly make some inroads in reducing the number of persons we see homeless on an annual basis.
((Courtesy: StreetLight))
((ROSE POWERS, STREETLIGHT COMMUNITY OUTREACH MINISTRIES))
Our goal is to build a multi-unit facility offering permanent supportive housing in an upscale apartment-style complex. And with this complex we will offer wraparound case management services addressing the multiple issues that have led to homelessness.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Inclusive Monuments
((SOT))
Part of the sickness of what I do is that you’re constantly trying to be Michelangelo, and you never get there.
BREAK THREE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK D
((PKG)) PEOPLE IN AMERICA -- ANTONIO TOBIAS MENDEZ (TOBY)
((Banner: Bringing History to Life))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Map: Knoxville, Maryland))
((NATS))
((TOBY MENDEZ, ARTIST/AMERICAN SCULPTOR))
I get lost in my work. I think that that’s probably what sucked me in in the beginning, is that you can be in your studio, working on a sculpture or a painting or a drawing, and just completely get lost and lose track of time. The days fly by like minutes.
I went to the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, which is part of the Museum of the Art Institute.
One of the biggest drivers for me was fear. Fear of not being able to make a living at this, and so from day one in Chicago, I would start seeking out people who were successful at what they did. Sculpture and any art form is about failure. You’re constantly attempting to do something you don’t have the technical skill, and just like a dancer, you have to repeat, repeat, repeat until you finally get over that particular hurdle. And in particular sculpture, because it takes a great deal of skill sets, is this that you get it over time. It takes years to kind of get all of those tools in your toolbox.
When I create a sculpture, initially it starts with research, and then from the research I can kind of get a visual in my mind of what I want to create. And then once I narrow that down, I start working in clay and start sculpting the figure in clay. Then that goes to a foundry for bronze casting, and the final product is that bronze, which I usually have to install.
I’ve done public work, I think, over 16-17 states. The Thurgood Marshall Memorial, which is in Annapolis, Maryland. The sculptures for Camden Yards of the Baltimore Orioles baseball players. I have a large concentration of my work that’s focused on civil rights. So most recently, I created a monument to Maggie Lena Walker for Richmond, Virginia. I’ve created a monument to Major Taylor who is the first African American cyclist, world champion, up in Worcester, Massachusetts. There’s about 40 projects like this that I have spread out across the country.
Part of the sickness of what I do is that you’re constantly trying to be Michelangelo, and you never get there. Each one, you go forth with kind of the idea that you could hit that mark. That’s probably the most satisfying thing about what I do, is that creating the Maggie Walker for the family and to see their joy of a project that they have longed for, and to know that we’ve done that together. It’s wonderful. I make really great friends.
One of the beauties of the work that I do, especially the public work, is it’s a constant education. I’m learning about history of people I’d never heard of and experiences I’ve never heard of. But also, you know, I’m constantly curious about things, and certainly being an artist is about always learning, seeing something new for the first time.
((NATS))
CLOSING ((ANIM))
(Join) Facebook, (Follow) Twitter, (Watch) YouTube
SHOW ENDS
