Meeting in the Middle
The video, “Liberal Teens vs. Conservative Parents,” which features senior Hannah Corr, was released on Dec. 26, 2021 and has gained 1.1 million views. “Liberal Teens vs Conservative Parents” is a part of Jubilee’s video series “Middle Ground”, which allows people with opposing views to engage in conversations that attempt to learn more about the other side and their opinions. In this case, the two extremes were on the political spectrum: three liberal teenagers had a discussion with conservative parents from other households. In October of 2021, Corr saw emails sent by the video company Jubilee Media looking for liberal teens to feature in an upcoming YouTube video. When Corr heard about the premise of the video, she applied because she thought it would be interesting to learn more about people with opposing political views. After filling out an online application to become a cast member, Corr was interviewed by casting directors as well as the director of the project. She was officially casted for Jubilee’s video on Nov. 5. Corr went to film on Nov. 7, 2021, open to hear the thoughts of her fellow cast members.
In the video, Corr and two other liberal teenagers, Parker and Ritwik, were grouped together on one side of the room, and three conservative parents, Johnnie, Mike and Shawn, were on the other. Prompts like “my news source is more reliable than the other side’s” were asked to both groups, and those who agreed would step forward. After the agreeing party shared ideas and discussed for a while, those who disagreed joined the conversation and expressed their responses. The intention of this setup was to initiate discussion between the two sides without creating an argument. As the youngest cast member and the only female featured in the video, Corr felt intimidated by the more outspoken teenagers and adults. Corr’s friend, senior Peter Wu, admires her preparedness to form good replies to the conservatives’ statements, especially because the majority of their opinions directly conflicted with her own.
“From watching this video, [I have] gained a greater respect for [Hannah] as an individual,” Wu said. “She puts so much effort into researching her topics and ensuring that her responses are well thought out. People often think of teenagers as people who are inexperienced, [and that they] should stay silent when issues arise. However, when Hannah stood up, armed with her facts and research, she not only impressed me, but millions of individuals on the internet.”
Corr became more engaged with politics the summer after her freshman year when she discovered the works and social media presence of comedian, television host and political commentator Trevor Noah. Corr identifies as a liberal, which is characterized as a political philosophy that values individual freedom and progressive reforms. To stay informed, Corr follows organizations supporting causes she cares about on social media, watches educational videos online and reads the news daily. By taking part in this video, Corr was able to interact with the opposite side of the political spectrum and learn more about conservative ideas. Her mother, Marie Corr, believes gaining a new point of view from this discussion helped Hannah Corr develop useful skills for the future.
“[Speaking her opinions] out loud in such a public venue helped her [to crystallize] her ideas,” Marie Corr said. “[It allowed for Hannah to] be able to articulate them in a way that is more objective than subjective. [Participating in this discussion] helped her learn to express her views without offending [people with opposing opinions].”
After the video was uploaded, Hannah Corr received encouragement from both strangers in the comment section and friends at school. Additionally, Hannah Corr’s family asked her more about the ideas she brought up in the video and allowed her to educate them on political topics that would not have been brought up otherwise. A platform as influential as YouTube, which has been considered the most popular mobile app in the U.S. based on audience reach, boosts online interaction with its viewers (Statista). Currently, there are around 15,000 comments posted on this Jubilee video. Corr hopes that videos like this can inspire audiences to start their own discussions.
“I hope the audience [learns] something new from the video and that the video [sparks] conversation within other households,” Corr said. “I hope other people can take [the video] and use [it] as something to bounce off of in order to either educate or have a conversation with other people.”
