Creativity Summary 10

Kelsey Best

Digital Creativity

Summary 7.2

Distribution, Ethics and the Politics of Engagement

            This article opens by talking about diversity of culture and how that influences digital storywork. Context is a fundamental aspect when it comes to understanding someone else’s story. We are the product of our environment/culture, and these things are inseparable from our artistic mindset.

Concepts:

-       “First Voice”, or the idea that people should speak for themselves and not be spoken for by others

-       Conscientization, or the process of developing a critical awareness of one’s social reality through reflection

-       Ethics must be taken into account, such as the retelling of other stories or events that are not your own

-       Story telling can be used as a coping mechanism

-       Two types of practicioners: media professionals and hybrid media educators/social workers

Example:

            Zahid’s Story  is referenced to illustrate the author’s point about dignity and the way in which we respond to the stories of others. Even incomplete stories can present a powerful message to the audience and be a powerful form of expression for the artist. Context and culture, again, are important to understanding a story like Zahid’s.

Position:

            The author makes important points about the ethics of storytelling when it comes to things like privacy, slander, copywriting, etc. People, especially students, sometimes forget that these things must be taken into consideration before, during and after the making of a digital story. I think that the example of the teacher who made a story about a child being abused was handled appropriately; it was not her child nor her story, and it could cause a lot of damage if a copy of the story some how ended up on the internet or in a place where the child or child’s family could see it. But making it for the purpose of being deleted after is a different case, because it was a coping mechanism for the teacher.