TENETS OF SUNDAY AFTERNOON PROJECT
The Sunday Afternoon Project works at the intersection of community, commerce, media, and education, core aspects of modern life. In this intersection, we find what we call Fearless StorySharing: the understanding that the narrative of our own identities is woven not from the words we say as much as from the way we conduct ourselves through the world, and the belief that there is beauty and power in using it as both sword and shield.
Each of these core aspects contributes to the existence or lack thereof of Belonging. Our ultimate goal is a world where we all feel like we belong. Everything else is a tool to achieve this.
Media Development and Production
We acknowledge the incredibly influential power of media in shaping narratives and social change, and we actively support the development of media properties that center on exploring, interrogating, and building Safe Spaces, providing expertise, resources, and creative collaboration.
In addition to our support or consulting for external projects, we produce our own media initiatives, including films, documentaries, audio, books, and digital content, that challenge norms and inspire action. We embrace a non-prescriptive approach, allowing for authentic storytelling that explores adult themes and complex human experiences while promoting the values of safe spaces and inclusivity. We believe that media must be thought-provoking in order to be effective in conveying a message, and that doing good/being good must never be equated with dullness.
In 2023, we live in a media continuum to which we inevitably contribute, as audience, as propagators, and as either enthusiastic or reluctant media creators. Our choice of how we engage with it carries a serious responsibility, the full burden of which we don’t fully understand yet. It’s no surprise that bad actors have weaponized this, and it’s unlikely this will stop. But we can build towards making us all purposeful, intentional participants in the media continuum.
Back when we were kids, media was a series of discrete entities; they were related, but not symbiotically linked. Even the internet was, before social media, its own discrete entity. Not anymore! And the current educational approach to media literacy (if there is one at all) has not evolved fast enough to catch up. It’s now impossible to separate what we traditionally understand as media from commerce, community, and education.
As a media consumer, the average American lacks the skills to distinguish between reliable news sources and purposeful misinformation. This is no surprise, but it extends to how they approach finances, healthcare, politics, and, ultimately, interpersonal relationships. As a media creator, the lack of media literacy is a serious issue in a context in which the line between the media and the audience itself is blurred: this continuum takes every single choice we make and turns it into a broadcast to the world that’s used as a cue to define us.
Commerce and Consumption
In the wake of the most recent decisions by the Supreme Court, it is more important than ever to educate both sides of the commerce equation on the impact their consumption has beyond the merely functional.
The way we consume has a direct impact on the world around us. That when we buy products and services from companies that support harmful or discriminatory practices, we are essentially voting with our wallets to support those practices is, at this point, obvious. What hasn’t been explored much is how our consumption has become, through social media, a form of self-expression, and that it can, and should, be deployed purposefully.
Research and Education
We conduct rigorous academic research to deepen our understanding of Safe Spaces, their propagation, and the role of media, brands, and celebrities in shaping inclusive environments.
Our research areas include studying the concept of Safe Spaces, their propagation in different contexts, and the influence of media, brands, and celebrities, both positive and negative. Our main thesis is that while many of these spaces (and their toxic counterparts) are being created spontaneously in the world, they can benefit from a clear, studied framework.
We also emphasize media literacy skills through our educational programs and collaborations, empowering individuals to critically analyze media messages and engage responsibly.
Community Development and Propagation
In our exploration of these topics, either personally, as businessmen or in the context of Sunday Afternoon Project, we have repeatedly ran into a series of recurring themes, which we intend to explore. While arguments can be made about which belongs where, we believe that a complete picture of StorySharing, Safe Spaces and, ultimately, belonging, is tied to each of them:
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