Week #9 - Deconstruction

     After watching several of the digital stories I was surprised at which stories moved me, and which did not.  Being a folklorist and historian it is natural that I would have been drawn to a story such as “Time, Remembered” by Jerry Green.  This was a classic oral history, the type of documentation that is standard in my world, and yet it failed to move me. 

 

     If I were to deconstruct this presentation I would be able to pinpoint “why” it did not move me.  The opening was slow, irrelevant almost.  It did not pose a question or have a hook to catch one’s interest.  The soundtrack was absent until 1 minute into the piece.  The emotional content was interesting, he had an important story to tell, but the pace of his comments was slow. 

     If this story had begun 1 minute in, and the teller would have recounted some happy memories as well as lamenting the loss of another time and era then perhaps my reaction would have been different.  About 5 minutes he talked about his love of animals and why he returned to the ranch, some positive inflection and excitement in the soundtrack, such as sounds from a rodeo would have picked up the pace and caused some interest.

     This deconstruction aside, it is a powerful piece, but was not engaging for me. 

     I was touched by the very first piece I watched, “Distance” by Mariana Corona.  In this piece the music was positive, the content was enrichening, and the video was complimentary to the story.  This piece moved me as I have only recently found a “home.”  I felt a personal connection to this story, this was the story of a personal journey, one that I could relate to. 

     The use of sound in this piece was perfect, it did not need a soundtrack of some flowery or even depressing music.  It did benefit from the sounds of life that were added, traffic, the ocean, and other day to day sounds.  Afterall, in this 4 minute piece she is telling the story of her day to day life. 

     She paced the text well, telling the story first slowly and with emphasis and then adjusted the telling to a faster pace as if to show that life picked up momentum.  I did notice that this, and in other videos, there was often a staid tone, almost as if there was a lack of passion for the story.  This story and many of the others were very serious and while the stories were of celebration and success, such as moving from a trailer to a “real” home, there was a tone that suggested less than celebration. 

     As I am writing this, I am listening to other pieces play and I notice a similarity in the that voice, that tone.  It makes me want to reach into the computer and pick up the pace and let their stories be a celebration of where they have come.  They all have something to be proud of.