Power Video Analysis
Updated: September 11, 2015
Purpose
Practice recognizing power dynamics.
participants
Muscles
Navigating power
Steps
- Watch a video clip.
- Discuss the following questions:
- What group dynamics did you observe?
- Who had power? What gave them power?
- Who did not have power? Why not?
- How healthy was the dynamic? What could have made the dynamic healthier?
- How inclusive was the dynamic? What could have made it more inclusive?
- Repeat steps 1-2 with as many video clips as you can.
- Think of an example from your own work.
- Discuss the following questions:
- What are the current dynamics?
- What could you do to make things more inclusive?
Design Notes
Power is highly contextual and comes from multiple places, whether it’s official status (e.g. a boss and an employee), unofficial status (e.g. being friends with the right people), what a person looks like (e.g. race, gender), even the physical arrangement in a room.
We all have a particular lens through which we view power, which usually stems from our own experiences. The goal of this exercise is to broaden and sharpen our lens, so that we can recognize and navigate power dynamics from multiple points of view.
Our approach is to borrow from what professional athletes and musicians do: watch and analyze video. But you can do this exercise in any situation — while in a meeting or even standing in line at your local coffee shop. As with all of these exercises, the more you practice, the better you will get.