Allison Foraker - Jeff Skoll Makes Movies That Matter

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jeff_skoll_makes_movies_that_make_change.html

In his TED Talk, Jeff Skoll addresses his how he has approached his life in order to make a difference throughout the world. From a teenager, Jeff knew that he wanted to make an impact on the global community, but he did not know how he was going to go about this. After several years of trying to start his own companies, Jeff realized that he needed to go back to school. Once he received his new degree, he was approached to be apart of another startup company, eBay. He soon rose to the top and became president. After finally making the money he needed to make a difference, Jeff Skoll transitioned to Hollywood. He began a movie production company, Participant Productions. He defied the doubters, who believed he would not make it in the movie business, as he rolled out films such like An Inconvenient Truth, Food Inc., and Waiting for Superman. He chooses to produce movies that will promote social change and make a difference in the world. His goal was to tell stories that would make people want to act differently through widespread viewing. Skoll wanted people to not only watch the movies but to want to get involved. They were able to join the advocacy groups that accompanied the movies and become involved. I think that Jeff Skoll’s idea is incredibly interesting as I have been an active volunteer and have an interest in film and media. Skoll was able to combine my two passions in order to enlighten people about world issues and provoke change. In the world today, it is hard for people to make a living on just giving back to the community. That’s why I find it inspiring how Jeff Skoll was able to make enough money to support his passion before solely dedicating himself to making such films. He was able to make it all work.

Jeff Skoll was the first president of eBay.com. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1987 after studying electrical engineering. After creating many start-up companies and failing, Skoll decided to attend Stanford Business School. He graduated with his MBA in 1995 and met Pierre Omidyar, the man with whom he would create eBay with, in 1996. The Two created eBay.com and Skoll remained the president until Meg Whitman took over. After funding the Skoll Foundation for social entrepreneurship, Jeff became interested in moving to Hollywood to start a career in the film industry. He then created the Participant Productions film company. Skoll definitely jumped from being a business executive to a film producer wanting to make a change in the world. These careers have crossovers with finance but otherwise they are at two ends of the spectrum. However, Jeff Skoll used his creativity to make the jump from business to film. Skoll is the Executive Producer of Participant Productions, which now has made twenty-six films. His compassion for humanity has lead him to expose issues in order to try and change the world.

I chose this TED talk because I am fascinated with how Jeff Skoll is making a difference in the world. In the fall of 2011, I will be attending Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. At Tulane I am going to study communications with a focus in media and film studies. I also hope to minor in environmental studies as I feel that the environmental and becoming more ecologically sustainable is the future for our world. Also, at Tulane I will be required to fulfill forty hours of community service each year with an organization related to my major. I plan on volunteering for the New Orleans Film Society by working and being involved with the annual film festival. This was one of the driving forces of why I chose to attend Tulane over the other options that I had. I hope to one day be involved with broadcasting or working at a widely read magazine, such as The Rolling Stone. I want to be able to be in a position where I have enough power to spread a message and encourage social change in order to make the world a more peaceful place.