Nicole Albertson
Staff Writer
How many of us have the desire to make a difference in the world? How many of us want to change the world? How many of us want to enlighten the world? Well Pepperdine alumni Rudabeh Shahbazi is on that quest, building a “bridge between two cultures,” Americans and Persians.
Her involvement in films like “King Leopold’s Ghost,” which premiered earlier this month and has planned distribution after the New Year, a TV documentary exposing the different mind frames of Americans and Persians, and a future project set in South America exploring the indigenous tribes of Bolivia, are fulfilling her long-term goal of “exploring as many cultures as [she]can.”
A 2004 graduate from Pepperdine University who majored in journalism with a minor in sociology, Shahbazi is now attending University of California, Berkeley, for her master’s degree in journalism.
“The professors are amazing,” she said of UC Berkeley. Continuing with the small school mentality, some classes involve only four students. But it is the atmosphere that really drew her into the Northern California region. With its laid back mentality and freedom, journalism majors are able to explore the world of excitement that surrounds them. The inspirational scholar is putting out an example for all students to follow.
Shahbazi is not a typical Pepperdine student. She comes from a multicultural background stemming from her parent’s diversity. Her mother is a Canadian scholar currently working as a librarian and her late father was an Iranian archeologist.
Born in Germany, but briefly moved around to New York, Boston and settling in La Grande Oregon, Shahbazi frequently traveled the globe in her early years. Since her father is the first child of a large family to live in the United States, she spent every summer in Iran with her relatives.
Shahbazi’s academic career resembles most undergraduates, struck with confusion about her major and her future. Shahbazi began as a sociology major and then changed tracks in her junior year to become a journalism major. She joined Pepperdine’s Graphic and became a staff writer and opinions editor while also holding many jobs including work at the Malibu Surfside News.
After a brief stint working at National Geographic, which she found to be “very bureaucratic,” Shahbazi stumbled into the documentary film industry.
She began when a friend entertained the idea and introduced her to job opportunity. She became the assistant associate producer on “King Leopold’s Ghost,” narrated by Don Cheadle, with voice over by Alfre Woodard and James Cromwell and director Pippa Scott.
The film was adapted from Adam Hochachild’s book and follows the arc of the chaotic Democratic Republic of Congo. It documents the Congo’s private possession in the late 1800’s by King Leopold II, “its brief flirtation with elected rule in the 1960’s, and today’s homicidal chaos” explained Michael Ordona from The Times movie review. Estimating 3.9 million deaths since 1998 due to military conflicts, “King Leopold’s Ghost” tries to links the governmental terror to the country’s founding. Scott incorporates first-hand accounts and graphic images to cover 130 years of the country’s history.
Shahbazi’s work for the film included buying footage and still photographs that were going to be used in the film. She bought the rights and permission to use each image presented on screen. While she claimed that the job was less than impressive, it enabled her to research archives and learn more about the African culture. She found herself intrigued by the documents and records they kept of the slave trade.
“It was pretty heartbreaking to see all of those images, but it was an educational experience,” she said. “Missionaries kept the best and detailed records.”
“I love documentaries,” she said. “But it is full of peaks and valleys in terms of income. It is a very unstable lifestyle.” Shahbazi is moving to television by working on a new 20-minute documentary investigating the conflicting political views between Persians and Americans.
The new documentary aptly named “Iran” is exploring the different ideological ideas expressed by more than 600,000 Iranian people living in California. Most of the interviewees are the product of the 1979 Iran/ Iraq war and are egger to express their opinions.
She is currently in the process of gathering information from Persian-American journalists and interviewing people in Iran to obtain “pockets of political reviews.”
She says that there is a “suspicion of Americans there.” As many interviewees are “very expressive [of their opinion], but still don’t want bombs dropped on [their] country.” They are wondering which kind of democracy America wants to bring them, the kind in America or the kind in Iraq.
Shahbazi wishes to demonstrate different view points expressed by these people and enlighten Americans to other cultures. Since the attack in the Middle East, Americans have had a preconceived notion about Middle Eastern people. Speaking with a proud voice, she explained the importance of her piece at this critical time in history. While Americans are powerful and influential to the rest of the world, few know the history of other countries or understand the customs of other people.
“My dad was the biggest inspiration in my life,” she said. “He expanded my horizons and shaped my life.”
Shahbazi wishes to open the American mind and introduce it to the world.
With close to a month till the release of her TV documentary relating Americans and Persians, Shahbazi is hoping her documentary will air on a California news station. The exposure on a large network will allow for larger audiences to view it and be influenced my the message.
The next project she is tackling will be a documentary on indigenous tribes in South America. Details surrounding this project are still being discussed as she is busy with current projects.
Rudabeh’s work is a step to fulfilling her life goals, exploring societies, cultures and class structures. She is an example for undergraduate students to remove the baffled expression caused by looking at next semester’s schedule, and remain faithful to the idea that everything will work out and come together. She reinforces the idea that hard work, determination and a passion will make a difference.
12-06-2006
