A film team from Ball State University is developing a documentary about a failed Utopian society in southern Indiana.
The team, led by Ball State history professor Ronald Morris, will examine daily life in the short-lived Owen community in Posey County. The finished product of their work will be a 90-minute documentary distributed to fourth grade classes around Indiana.
Morris said this project would help students learn about a little-known segment of their state's history.
"The history of this society is not well documented for teachers and students," he said. "We hope to bridge the gap from historical knowledge to classroom education."
Ball State graduate student Elizabeth Meyer said she has enjoyed learning about the community's history while working on this project.
"I didn't know much about my state's history," Meyer said. "It's been fascinating learning about the Owen society here in Indiana."
Robert Owen, a Welsh-born immigrant and social reformer, founded the community in the town of New Harmony in 1825. Among the other differences to normal society, the Owen community did not use money, in an attempt to create what he hoped would be a model community.
Morris said the society was created in 1825 and disbanded in 1829.
"This society is important, because, among other things, they brought us an increased interest in women's rights and abolition," he said.
Morris said the documentary would feature a variety of camera shots in different locations in the hope of capturing everyday life from the early 1800s.
The documentary is being filmed at historic locations in New Harmony and other locations around Indiana. It will feature community members and computer graphics to re-enact the daily life of people from the community.Morris said he originally feared the recent storms in southern Indiana would prevent the team from filming on location, but instead, Meyer said the team might have benefited from the cloudy skies.
"All the rain actually helped us," she said. "It gave us a nicer, softer light for the exterior shots."
Meyer said she has been impressed with the outside help the team has received while working on this project, including Historic New Harmony, the historical society in the area.
"They have walked us through and given us resources," Meyer said, "and that is invaluable, all that time they have donated."
Meyer said she also was impressed with the help from citizens all over Indiana.
"We will be able to show things that private collectors won't show the general public," she said. "It's very unique. One fascinating aspect is how willing people are to contribute to the project."
Meyer said the team hoped to finish interviews for the project by the end of June. She said the post-production process would start the first week of September, as the team planned to have the documentary ready for distribution by early 2009.
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