Andrea Morales (Ohio University)
Extracted Dreams
Award of Excellence
Documentary
Somewhere between teenage fantasy and the reality of poverty are the girls of the old company towns of Southeast Ohio. Pop culture fixations and resulting image awareness fill the boredom of the towns with few resources. The dichotomy of their lives can be decisive in making divisive choices between them and friends, family and success. Tangled up with the gender roles and family circumstances afforded to them by previous generations, peeks into their imagination play out in daily life against a bleak backdrop.
Story: Extracted Dreams
Spirit
Roxy Ann, 3, works on her sucker while staying still as her older cousins Nykki and Jameska spray her hair pink at the local high school's homecoming game. Roxy and her little brother Shane have been taken in by their cousins after her parents surrendered custody of them after struggling with drugs.
Story: Extracted Dreams
The Gamble
This year's Trimble High School prom had a poker theme.
Story: Extracted Dreams
Kiss
Jameska, 16, kisses her boyfriend Michael, 15, in her living room before he leaves. This was the couple's third attempt at having a relationship and was prompted by Michael's break up with another girlfriend a few days earlier. They broke up a week later.
Story: Extracted Dreams
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Lindsay, 6, plays with a dollhouse in the backyard of her babysitter's house. Lindsay's father died of a heroin overdose when she was 2 and has been through foster care a few times since. Despite her ability to casually discuss her family's problems, Lindsay has a bubbly disposition and a lot of love to give.
Story: Extracted Dreams
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Jameska lets the potato chips she just bought at the corner convenience store drop into the creek below her while her friend Chelsea, 16, watches. The two friends spend a lot of time wandering around town between the convenience store where Chelsea's mother works and the old boarded up lounge on Main Street.
Story: Extracted Dreams
Abandoned Affinities
When Jameska asked her mom for money to re-decorate her room with pink stars, she reminded her of all of short-lived impulses she's tended to in the past.
Story: Extracted Dreams
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Story: Extracted Dreams
Brittany and the coal train
As a coal train rolls by in the background, Brittany, 8, poses for a picture while playing dress up with her neighbors. Her chosen outfit was an old ballerina number.
Story: Extracted Dreams
Check up
By the time her second trimester came around, Nikki was used to going to the doctor without her parents.
Story: Extracted Dreams
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Story: Extracted Dreams
The Hangout
Nikki's friends reach over to feel her belly after she met up with them in front of the boarded up building they consider their hangout. This is where the kids shared cigarettes, pop and gossip. Nikki spent most of her pregnancy bouncing between her boyfriend's house and the hangout.
Story: Extracted Dreams
Self Portrait
During a slow dance at prom, Jameska sneaks away from the gym floor to get a photo of herself. She bought her dress one month in advance and got into a fight with her mom about how to do her hair to get to this moment. Her date to the prom was her cousin Nykki.