The Power of Storytelling

I watched the following 5 Reel Works videos-


"A Girl Like Me" by Kiri Davis
      • I chose this video because the description drew me in, and I felt the topic would be of interest to me. The line "...and realizes little has changed since the Civil War era" was striking, and I couldn't wait to watch the video after that.

"Invisible Poverty" by Cleeford Cedant
      • The title intrigued me and made me curious. Upon reading the description, I discovered that I have similar feelings regarding helping the impoverished people living in our country.

"Double Standard" by Tibian Ahmed
      • As someone who loves history, I have always been hyperaware of the fact that we were living and present during one of the most horrific tragedies America has ever faced, the September 11 terrorist attacks, a series of events that would (and will) become a very important part of our history. Because of this, I have always felt a connection to the victims of these attacks. I must admit, though, I've never considered that there were other victims of these events than those who lost their lives and their family members. The title and description of this video caused me to rethink that.

"Run" by Joey
      • When I think of eating disorders, I typically associate them with women. I was interested to hear about one from a male's perspective.

"Swinging for the Fences" by Joey Schweitzer
      • I love stories about sports and personal discovery, so I felt this would be right up my alley.


The story I connected with the most was "A Girl Like Me". Once I began watching the video, I realized that I have seen it before (in one of Dr. Lindstrom's classes, I believe). It was still just as powerful the second time, however. I like that the girls being interviewed aren't afraid to be candid in approaching topics that are surely a little uncomfortable for them to talk about. It shows courage and strength for girls so young to be so outspoken about racial issues such as hair style and color, skin color, and overall beauty, but also about deeper issues such as heritage and how they were so desperate to know more about theirs, while others only seemed to want them to hide it away. From this story, I learned that there are children who feel that the way they look is "wrong"--and it's not something as trivial as not having the coolest new shoes or brand name clothes. It goes so much deeper. I was shocked and saddened almost to the point of tears as I watched the young girl select the white doll when asked which one was good, and the black doll when asked which was bad. Then, when the interviewer asked her which one looked more like her, my heart wrenched as I watched her uncomfortably shift, ponder, and hesitate before finally, slowly, reluctantly selecting the black doll she had labelled "bad" only seconds before. This story showed me that digital storytelling can be a powerful way for young people, young women in this case, to build self esteem and to raise awareness of social issues and stereotypes. These young ladies set out to prove that some stereotypes are so strong, even the people being stereotyped start to believe these things about themselves; but with strength and courage you can rise up, and prove that the stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media have no substance or truth to them at all. This story definitely showed that these young women are interested and actively engaged in learning more about their own heritage. It was painful to hear them describe what it's like to not know anything more about where they came from than the broadest description of a continent half a world away. It's inspiring though that they are so passionate and invested in learning more about their culture. I believe this certainly supports a healthy respect for diversity in our country.