This report was prepared and written by a team at the Center for Media & Social Impact. CMSI director Caty Borum Chattoo served as principal investigator. The report was written by David Conrad, CMSI postdoctoral researcher, and Lori Young, PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, with the tremendous support of three American University (AU) School of Communication researchers

We acknowledge the strong history of immigrant rights movements in the U.S. and build on the foundation of those that came before us in our examination of the undocumented youth movement of the 21st century. The report is unconventional in format. Written in first person plural (i.e. “we”), it is a composite narrative that reflects salient themes from life history interviews with study participants.

Documentary storytellers, impact producers, and engagement strategists were affected in countless ways, compelling new strategy lessons and approaches to their work. Documentaries with social impact goals were challenged to move beyond the legacy of physical screenings and community-based events to find audiences, spur dialogue, create partnerships, and forge movements in the virtual world.

Everything I learned about the United States when I first arrived, I learned from TV and movies. As a 12-year-old from the Philippines entering sixth grade in California, I turned to film and television to make sense of my new home. I spent hours with Tim Allen and “The Taylors” watching Home Improvement.

This report was written by CMSI’s Aras Coskuntuncel (lead researcher), Caty Borum Chattoo, and David Conrad-Pérez. Varsha Ramani, CMSI communications and program manager, facilitated operations and communication support. This research was funded by a grant from Working Films.

The news is full of anti-immigrant rhetoric and false and misleading information about migrants. Representation in TV shows also reinforces harmful myths. Migrants are depicted as the “other” or outsiders, though they’re integral community members. They’re also repeatedly portrayed as criminals and sometimes as violent.

Human rights education lies at the heart of eforts to develop a culture of human rights— toward building societies that embrace dignity, equality, inclusion and respect for diversity, societies where the human rights of all are respected, protected and fulfilled. Human rights education not only equips learners with the knowledge of human rights, it fosters the development of values, attitudes, skills and behaviors that prompt action to defend and promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

I was fifteen years old when my father took me to see my first ever human rights film in cinema. It was December and the film was The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. I remember the experience vividly despite being unable to recall any aesthetic merits of the documentary. I can’t picture specific takes, the pace of the montage, nor what style it was shot in, or much of the plot for that matter. Funnily enough, some of those features are the ones that best imprint themselves on my memory nowadays. Back then though, for a teenage boy, it was much more about the emotional side of things and, in that respect, the screening left a lasting impression on me. Although I could not fully empathise with the Argentine mothers who wept for justice, I could understand the unique bond between a parent and their child.