Miriam: Talk to me about the word youth what does it mean to you. Are you a youth? If not why not?
 
Matt: I think I stopped being a youth when I graduated university that was my step into adulthood because um I still young but not, I don't know, scratch that.
 
Miriam: It's not true?
 
Matt: No it's true though - I definitely felt like I still was treated, placed myself in this role as a young person because I was still in school, so now I'm not a youth anymore. 

Miriam: What's changed now that you're not a youth?
 
Matt: Resp - I guess accountability for my bills, (laughs) does that make sense?
 
Miriam: But do you feel that socially people -
 
Matt: Yeah I think that's what it is a social experience, I started getting treated more like an adult, by the bill collectors...
 
Miriam: What do you think that your position vis a vis your youthfulness - How does it impact your work as a media trainer? Like what was different about when you were teaching in the high schools before, and what you did - say..
 
Matt:

Well the first time, I mean I started teaching in high schools 5 years ago so I was like 20 I was really young and I was really scared and I had no idea what I was doing because I knew I was interested in teaching and I was more of, like I was an assistant I wasn't actually a teacher so that helps. But um, I don't know how to answer to that - what's the question? 
 
Miriam: Sort of just like talk about the word youth and how it pertains to your teaching and then it also how it pertains to yourself. Like we're teaching youth media workshops like what does that mean? What does it mean to teach a course called video activism at the Segal Centre that doesn't have the word youth in front of it, and why is it different then the stuff you would do at James Lyng?
 
Matt:

Oh okay, well I guess youth um, and that's an interesting question because uh. Okay so I'll just start by saying I'm teaching a video activism course for young adults to adults and uh I phrased it that way because it's 17 + um however we did have an email from somebody who was over 30 who wanted to take the course and uh the only issue I had was that it's slightly - not beginner, but intermediate, um so he might be bored if he has experience making a film.

But I mean it's not, I mean the only reason I said young adults is because I think of 17 18 year olds as young adults 19 year old, as far as. So the big difference is basically youth, in designing a class the materials I would bring to a class devoted to youth wouldn't be nearly the same as something I would bring to a class devoted to young adults because I wouldn't show most youth human rights videos, because there is material in there that's just really inappropriate. So I guess the idea of youth is that they're not really capable of handling certain things. Does that make sense? 

Miriam: Do you think that's true?
 
Matt:

Yes I think that's true. Absolutely. There are some videos that I worked with, well I mean, that I saw at Witness that were like really, um scary - (laughs) and even though I am in my 20's, they were really... If you can't deal with that sort of material, I can't imagine someone who is 13 dealing with something like that very well - it would do more harm then good. So making public service announcements about bullying is a lot more appropriate for a group. Youth.
 
Miriam: And so what for you, when does youth start and stop for you? You said for yourself it's when you finish school, so when you were like 23?
 
Matt:

Yes I don't know, that's such a weird...I don't know how to, I mean I can guess from. I guess when you leave elementary school and you exit high school or college or wherever you live whatever it's called that would be. I mean, as soon as you sort of start having to take accountability for yourself, then you're sort of left, you're not a youth anymore. I mean that's how I would think of it, if someone forced me to answer that question like you are (laughs)

Miriam: And okay so if you're a youth like, you're the first person who's talking about this idea of censoring what young people are exposed to.
 
Matt:

I think it's funny because at one point in my life I would probably argue that we shouldn’t censor anything but I think now that I am older I think that we should