Week 3: Mike Plett response to viewings

Of the three sites we were assigned to explore this week, the Center for Digital Storytelling was the most arresting. I enjoyed the deceptive simplicity of CDS’s approach to storytelling: short narration, still photos, perhaps a bit of video. But these digital stories pack a lot of emotional power in a short amount of space, especially “Tanya,” the digital story featured in Joe Lambert’s introductory video on YouTube that was a touching meditation on friendship. Another video that captured my imagination was “It’s All in a Name,” which also touched on the theme of friendship and how trust can lead one to realize their hidden potential.

Unlike some of the other projects we’ve been exploring in this class – where the stories are a result of a collaborative process and the concept of authorship is muted – CDS stories clearly have an author and a defined point of view.

I was also fascinated to see how CDS tries to protect and nurture these stories through its Digital Storyteller’s Bill of Rights. This ethical framework appears to be more thoroughly thought out than in the case of WITNESS or Engage Media. But the truth is it’s impossible to have full control over how a story is shared or who will ultimately watch or read it – a fact implied in the Bill of Rights’ final item: “The right to information about the limits of withdrawing consent for your story to be shared …”

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2 comments to Week 3: Mike Plett response to viewings

  • kblack7@uoregon.edu

    I also thought that the Digital Storytellers Bill of Rights was a very interesting aspect of the Center for Digital Storytelling. It seems as though they put more thought into the protection of the storytellers than some of the journalistic approaches we have studied in the past.

  • oaldakhe@uoregon.edu

    I think the bill of rights here is feasible because its a personal story in the point of view of the teller and that’s a grey area. But with Engage Media and Witness it’s a white and black issue because they are tackling human rights issues around the globe and the stories need to get out for the world to see in anyway possible. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any protection, but if we would get a consent of recording any violation on human rights then no crimes would be reported.

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