unit 4 project

Interviewer Name

Sam Smith

Interviewee Name

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Interview Method

email

Interview Location

If interviewing in person, where will it be conducted?

Have you seen the location yet?

FORMCHECKBOX Yes

FORMCHECKBOX No

X FORMCHECKBOX Not applicable

Interviewee Research

Adichie was featured in a TED video, discussing her beliefs that writers should tell stories that create more than one point of view, thus avoiding a "single-story" perspective; her example was that she grew up in Nigeria, but read stories from England and the United States, which colored her perception of storytelling and the world (Adichie, 2009). Likewise, she has found that others hold misperceptions of her own culture based on the limited views of stories (and media coverage). Adichie is advocating that storytellers adopt a point of view that is true to their culture, and helps show the world the complexities of their culture. Adichie is the author of Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. Other publications include short stories, speeches, and non-fiction articles. She has received 13 awards for her writing, and numerous nominations for other awards. Through interviewing Adichie, I hope to gain her insights on how facilitating storytelling within an elderly community can benefit the community overall.

Interview Topic Research

Storytelling is a fundamental aspect of every society; it can educate, inspire, motivate, and entertain. The act of creating stories can be therapeutic for the writer, as it compels the individual to tap into his/her own emotions and memories in order to create these engaging scenes and worlds. Digital storytelling is one method of conveying a person's narrative to an Internet audience; digital storytelling combines text, video, still-images, and audio (narration and music) into short videos that generally emotionally striking. This form of storytelling can benefit the elderly community by allowing them to tell the stories that mean something to them; furthermore, this creative process can help prevent depression and cognitive decline.

Primary Questions

Open Questions:

1. What role does storytelling serve within a community?

2. How can the elderly contribute to your theory on multiple-perspectives in relation to storytelling?

3. What challenges do you think a storytelling facilitator might face when gathering stories to create multiple-perspectives, or stories, within a community?

Closed Questions:

1. Do you think that the community might resist the documentation of stories from the elderly?

2. Should the person facilitating the storytelling process be able to censor/edit content, such as phrases that are not politically correct?

3. Are fiction stories more or less effective in influencing a community than non-fiction narratives?

Reasoning Behind Asking These Questions

Since I respect her perspective on storytelling and the influence it can have on readers, I want to know how she might feel about my "big idea" to establish a digital storytelling workshop for the elderly in my community. As for my closed questions, I want to push the idea that perhaps the stories of the elderly may not be well accepted; although I believe these stories are significant and should not be edited, I want to know if she feels the same, especially in light of her "single-story" theory and how it influences society. (For example, if all the stories from the elderly support a single view of the community, then this outcome would be in contrast to her suggestion.)

Anticipated Responses to Questions

Because she focuses on avoiding the "single-story" in society, I feel that she will be supportive of my big idea. Based on her TED video, she seems sensitive to the effects storytelling can have on audiences, but she is very opinionated; these characteristics should provide insightful and passionate responses from the interviewee. She is also very well spoken, so I expect her emailed responses to be articulate and appropriate for direct-quotes. Since our communications will be virtual, I will not be able to assess body language or voice inflection, though her video shows her to be a person who has readable facial expressions, but not much more body language beyond natural movements (e.g., she doesn't point at the audience, or use her hands for emphasis).

Secondary Questions

Should anyone be excluded from the storytelling process? If so, what is the basis of their exclusion? Should the storytellers be allowed to post their digital stories as anonymous? Should content that might include "family secrets" be included, or should the storyteller be cautioned as to the potential negative effects of including this content?

References for Part I

Adichie, C. (2009 October). Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

Source 1:

Digital Storytelling Cookbook, Joe Lambert

Overall, this is a great resource on how to actually set up and run workshops that allow individuals to create their own digital stories. Although the actual model for the workshop is very interesting, it is the preface and opening chapter of the book that is relevant to my argument for the essay. Lambert discusses the need for storytelling and the kinds of stories that individuals may want to tell through digital media. Lambert was one of the original founders of the Center for Digital Storytelling in 1994, and is often cited in journal articles, websites, and books for his insights on the storytelling process and the important role it plays in society. He has authored another book, Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Communities; Lambert also contributed to the book, Story Circle: Digital Storytelling Around the Word. Although Lambert does not have college degrees related to multimedia, psychology, or other advanced degrees beyond his B.A. in Theater and Political Science, is extensive experience in creating and facilitating stories qualifies him as a reliable expert.

The cookbook is directly in line with my argument, and will be used to support the argument that storytelling in a digital form is ideal for communities; although the source is not related directly to elderly storytellers, the overall relevance will create a good basis for the essay to build from.

Source 2:

"Capture Wales": The BBC Digital Storytelling Project, Daniel Meadows & Jenny Kidd

This is one chapter in a larger book about digital storytelling and international projects to promote this form of storytelling. This chapter is supportive of digital storytelling overall, but careful reading revealed the potential drawback of engaging adults in the personal storytelling process; some of the participants went through significant emotional turmoil as personal stories were brought to the surface and highlighted with photos and narration. Some of the participants ultimately refused to share the stories they had spent so much time on, or they simply abandoned the stories after the project and did not look at them again. This information could potentially dissuade the reader of my essay from seeing the value of digital storytelling for elderly adults; inflicting emotional stress on the elderly is a concerning result. In my essay, though, I intend to show how this will be managed by qualified counselors, which were not available in the BBC project discussed in this source.

Like Joe Lambert, Daniel Meadows, is considered a significant contributor and facilitator in the field of digital storytelling due to his influence as the field was just developing. Meadows has published several books on photography and "participatory media" (e.g., video interviews, documentaries). He is also a professional journalist and photographer in the United Kingdom. Kelly McWilliam has an advanced degree in digital media, and has conducted research on the social impact of participatory media. She has two books published, and one is related to the analysis of film and television media.

Source 3:

"Older Adults: Depression and Suicide Facts," NIMH

This source provides reliable statistics on depression in the elderly, along with insights about depression in the context of older adults. It is a very short article, and its main goal is to just briefly explain the prevalence of depression, symptoms, and potential treatments. Unfortunately, the treatments listed only include psychotherapy and medication; art, storytelling, or other creative endeavors are not mentioned in this article; this may further serve as a counter-argument in my essay, and I'll have to find research to support the suggestion of not relying only (or at all) on medication to prevent depression, and instead use digital storytelling as a creative outlet. This source is considered reliable since the NIMH is supported by the government, which means they are held accountable for their research and posted findings; the NIMH has an advisory board of physicians and scientists who serve to support the mission statement and efforts of the organization. The source also includes a significant list of references to support all the research in the short article.