I noticed a few main similarities between the Transmedia hangout discussion and the Precious Places work being done at Scribe Video in Philidelphia.
The first, was the overall theme of story – particularly, personal stories. Louisa Dantes talked about amassing footage during the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, using “layered collaborative narratives” from locals to spark a national dialogue about urban equity. I was also particularly interested in Danielle Riendeau’s idea of using video games as empathy building devices to engage with an audience. Riendeau mentioned Actual Sunlight and Depression Quest as games that focus on depression, helping their participants to work through the issue, by helping direct and become part of the story itself.
Precious Places also seemed to be concerned with story, and the preservation of “special places” in the community through stories from residents. Video participants in the Kappa Alpha Psi video appeared to value the history of the house, and underlined its importance as a “gathering place” for much of the youth at that time. Similarly, participants in the Nile Swim Club video focused on the “sense of community” of the club after overcoming its history of racial division, and the open ended finish to the video could potentially motivate those who are watching and able, to help the indefinite future of the Nile. Therein lies my second observation of similarity between this week’s readings and discussions: the use of stories to engage an audience to act.
Fortunately, the work being done by many of these people is empowering those without resources to have a voice through media. As Susan Phillip’s article “Toward a Collaborative Ethos: Scribe’s True Community Vision” described, “Scribe still provides one of the few opportunities for marginalized communities in the Philadelphia region to produce work and be heard.” I too was impressed with Mark Smolowitz’s idea of using Facebook to discuss the issue of same-sex marriage, as a place to share their stories and opinions on the topic. That means anyone with an internet connection and a Facebook account (which is free) can join the conversation. Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, who works with progressive news organizations, stressed that giving people just “the facts” wasn’t an effective means of focusing public discourse to lead to action. However, a personal story could help drive that action.
As Jonathan Gottschall says on page 152 of The Storytelling Animal, “People can be made to think differently about sex, race, class, gender, violence, ethics, and just about anything else based on a single short story or television episode.”
Story as a powerful medium seems to be one of the overall themes, along with using story to influence action, which leads me to question; which avenues are best for sharing what medium in order to leave a lasting impression or ignite a call to action? When sharing your artistic work or call to social action, is it better to stick to one form of sharing on a multimedia platform, or is it okay to use many?
The mention of those video games that focussed on depression, alcoholism, and being low income was one of the more enlightening parts of this discussion! While I liked a lot of what was said, I had never thought about video games being used for those purposes, so I felt that was really fresh compared to a lot of the conversation. I wonder what kinds of effects the games have had on people when it comes to helping them understand the narrative of their life, as well as helping others understand what a life with those conditions is like. Do they work? My partner is a therapist who works with young adults who have depression among other things. I really want her to try them out and hear what kinds of experiences her clients have.
Sometimes I wonder how much “joining the conversation” really does for people. Is it having the desired effect of creating a bigger dialogue and possibly a community? Or is it just creating noise? I feel like in this space I am trying really hard to join and actual conversation because that is what we have been assigned to do, but when people aren’t given the assignment to do so are they really interested in creating a conversation? Also, when an organization or a company asks you to join the conversation how genuine are they? Do they really just want to generate traffic on their site?
I do think back to the earlier days of blog sites, such as Live Journal. I wasn’t a user, but I know people who were. I had friends who were moms and they used Live Journal to get and give info about being a mother. I actually wrote my thesis in college on these internet communities surrounding parenting. There was the sense that the people who were interacting on there were truly engaged in a conversation and a community. So, I know that these sites that allow people to be heard are very important.
Hey Lauren,
I personally feel that video is the most powerful medium for storytelling. Have you ever watched a powerful, well-made documentary and felt compelled to get out of your seat and do something? I think it’s the human-interest aspect that makes documentaries so compelling. People love to hear other people’s stories. It’s human nature. I suppose I could go on a diatribe about reality TV here, but I’ll spare you, because we all know that reality TV isn’t “reality.” Documentaries, however, give us that glimpse into a life or situation that isn’t ours and motivate us to act. I also think radio has done an excellent job with storytelling in recent years. This American Life recently had a three-part series about a high school in Chicago that was riddled with gang violence. It was very good.
Hey Jaratt,
I thought the game idea was really neat too! As a gamer myself I was particularly interested, though I have not even heard of games that help explore deep emotional issues or low income until this online chat. Although many games tend to be more complicated, there are others (such as the ones we play on our phones) that are not, so perhaps making them simpler will be the key to getting more people to engage and participate. It would be super interesting if your therapist friend tried it out – I would be interested to see what kind of results come from that experience! And I do agree that a lot of the online conversation is just noise. That’s the hard part about the growing world of online media…How do we make sure our message is getting through, and encourage others to participate rather than just tweeting ‘RT #yolo!’
Hey K!
I do think video is the most powerful medium for storytelling. Documentaries can be so inspiring, and as we’re learning with the Storytelling Animal and other readings for our classes, is certainly seems to be and integral part of human nature. Radio is even more accessible because it doesn’t require your eyes. You can still drive, work, chop wood, etc., while listening to This American Life. A lot of people have told me that radio will die out and disappear, but I think it will simply change and evolve to fit the new age.
I was also intrigued by the gaming idea. Donna Davis is working on how patients with Parkinson’s Disease respond to virtual environments – which is something I’m interested in. UCSF (and others, I’m sure) has conducted research on the benefits of gaming on Parkinson’s patients from a PT standpoint. According to news release, “After playing the games for 12 weeks, 65 percent of game players demonstrated longer stride length, 55 percent increased gait velocity, and 55 percent reported improved balance confidence.” http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/10/10802/computer-games-help-people-parkinsons-disease.
Then there’s lumosity.com. Supposedly it creates a set of games designed to improve the cognitive functions that you indicate an interest in. I went through the initial screening, up until they wanted a credit card number. Interesting – rather than real “gaming,” it’s more word association, hidden object, memory building. But it’s interesting that entrepreneurs are out there capitalizing on this kind of thing.
^ That is so interesting regarding the benefits of gaming on Parkinson’s patients! I have heard of luminosity also, and if you can make sharpening your memory skills fun, why not? I can also recall a few years ago the study released showing the benefit of video games for surgeons:
“Researchers found that doctors who spent at least three hours a week playing video games made about 37 percent less mistakes in laparoscopic surgery and performed the task 27 percent faster than their counterparts who did not play video games.” –>http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-204_162-610601.html
While it’s obvious that entertainment is still the chief reason for the production of video games, I think we are only beginning to tap into the ways in which we can use that particular form of media for education, rehabilitation, or brain-training. I am interested to see what evolves in the years to come.
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