We began this project by doing research on millennial fashion. After reading a mix of scholarly articles and fashion blogs, we determined that millennial fashion is often defined by resistance. We wanted to figure out if this is how millennials interpret their clothing, so we chose to create a film that documents how millennials engage with fashion as a tool for resistance. Although we attempted to have a broad scope, by reaching out to fashion icons over instagram, we only received responses from Bowdoin students. We selected seven Bowdoin students that we identified as having styles that stand out as fashionable. Our sample was diverse in ways that are not necessarily reflective of Bowdoin. Almost all of the respondents were marginalized by either gender, race, class, sexuality or a combination of those identities. All of our participants agreed to be filmed and featured in our documentary. We created an interview protocol and conducted interviews that lasted from twenty minutes to an hour and a half. We asked questions centered around race, class, gender, and sexuality, in relation to fashion, to explore how the respondents might view resistance.
It is very important to us that our final product is evocative of a paper in the form of a film. We consider film to be a platform that leverages the power of sociology by showing context and intimacy. In alliance with the message of The Sociological Imagination, by C. Wright Mills, we wanted to create something that is genuinely accessible. We want this sociology of millennials to be something that millennials would actually consume. However, we also find it important to stick to traditional sociological methodology. Although we have many sources that have inspired this research, we interviewed Professor Shruti Devgan, a Sociology professor, to symbolize our literature review within the film. As for assertions of bias and positionality, we have included the audio of some of our questions. This allows the viewer to interpret the limitations of our study.
After filming, we went through a process that was comparable to coding. We categorized clips from over seven hours of footage We created different codes like home, space, bodies, class, etc. From this, we constructed an appropriate way to present our findings. Our final product is straightforward and genuine in attempting to represent the voices and stories of those that we interviewed.
Overall, we were able to stick to our original production schedule. We began filming on March 26th. We wrote our interview protocol and contacted potential subjects during the week of March 26th. Interviews were conducted from April 2nd to April 27th. We began coding and editing after April 27th. Pieces of the film were ready for our class presentation on May 9th and our final cut was completed on May 17th.