Category: Culture

Storytelling 101 – Why one version works and the other does not.

I saw this short animated film today from a Facebook share. It’s called “The Present” and it has won a bazillion awards at film festivals. It’s touching, simple, visual, emotional – all of the things we know makes an idea “stick.” The comments in Vimeo and on FB posts are pretty uniformly positive. It’s definitely worth a viewing.

The Present from Jacob Frey on Vimeo.

Now, for a comparison.

Facebook is so helpful to give us the “people also shared” links on this stuff, so we can sometimes stumble on other interesting items (anything to keep us swiping and clicking.)

So, I took the bait and clicked on this link:

http://9gag.com/gag/aXXWodz

It’s a comic version of the exact same story. For some reason, it doesn’t affect me the same way as the short film. From looking at the comments (language-warning), it doesn’t have the same effect on readers either. Just a different audience?

I’d suggest it’s a radically different visual and storytelling style. It’s graphic, static, and less warm-and-fuzzy, for sure. Also, notice that, in contrast to the film version, the story is told through dialogue – especially the boy’s feelings toward the dog. What was left shown and un-said in the film was expressed definitely and very on-the-nose.

What other differences do you see? Think about the difference in the impact of each version and think about what you can learn.

(Note, this comic is just a clipping and not the whole comic. Click on the link above to see the whole thing.)

3-legged dog

 

 

“She looked for love, and then…” – New Web Clip

In a place where young people aren’t allowed to meet face-to-face; relationships can be risky.

In a place where young people aren’t allowed to meet face-to-face, relationships can be risky. I just finished this new web clip for Arab World Media. It’s a light-hearted, cautionary tale about ‘phone dating.’

Here’s a link to one of the Arabic-language pages where it’s embedded at Maarifa.org

Or, you can watch the English version here:

“She looked for love, and then…” — English version from Tom Khazoyan on Vimeo.

Zero Dark Thirty: A Tale of Bias and Burqas

What can we, as storytellers, do to avoid biased and inaccurate (perhaps offensive) portrayals of others in our films? As much as I may intellectually value other voices, it is exceedingly difficult for me to recognize the impact of my own inner biases when I am creating stories.

As a filmmaker passionate to cross-cultural stories and also dedicated to crafting authentic stories that present accurate depictions of culture, this article is a great caution for me. While I think of myself as one who values other voices and hates simple stereotypes, I’m sure I am guilty of falling into the same traps. I am, after all, tremendously influenced by my own culture, religion, and upbringing. As much as I may intellectually value other voices, it is exceedingly difficult for me to recognize the impact of my own inner biases when I am creating stories. I may really be committed to presenting authentic points of view, but I have to acknowledge that I often can’t see the impact of my biases.

Here’s what this author says about the portrayal of Muslim women in two Oscar celebrated American films.

Zero Dark Thirty and Argo have twelve Oscar nods between them. There has been much heated discussion on their portrayal of Muslims and how much of it ought to be excused do to artistic message. In the end, though, their many accolades serve as one more example of anti-Muslim women dialogues in Western society being fervently rewarded.

Read the whole article here, from Patheos: Zero Dark Thirty: A Tale of Bias and Burqas.

What can we, as storytellers, do to avoid biased and inaccurate (perhaps offensive) portrayals of others in our films?

The Proper Posture for Mentoring

I try to shift my own thinking and self-perception when I’m in a situation where I’ve been brought in as the ‘expert’, especially if I’m foreigner.

It’s nice to come into a situation where you’re the expert–often treated with honor. It feels good. But I try to shift my own thinking and self-perception when I’m in a situation where I’ve been brought in as the ‘expert’, especially if I’m foreigner.

It may be true that I have special experience and gifting that separates me from the group in a significant way. However, my goal is that, by the end of our time together, we will have bonded together in such a way and I will have shared what I bring in such a way as to have broken down many of the invisible walls.

In the words of John Perkins, pioneer of Christian community development…

Go to the people.

Live among them.

Learn from them.

Love them.

Start with what they know.

Build on what they have.

But of the best leaders,

when their task is accomplished,

when their work is done . . .

the people will remark:

“We have done it ourselves.”

Poorer, Poorer. Slower, Slower. Smaller, Smaller.

“As my extended family gathered around the Thanksgiving dinner table before the market crash in 2008, conversation with cousins flowed about friends making big money with technology start-ups: “more, more; faster, faster; bigger, bigger.”

A hail of laughter greeted me when I quietly muttered that my ambition was, “poorer, poorer; slower, slower; smaller, smaller.” – Bob Sabath [quoted from an post on Sojo.net]

Click here to read: Poorer, Poorer. Slower, Slower. Smaller, Smaller. – Bob Sabath | Gods Politics Blog.

I don’t find it embarassing, nor do I feel it’s a lack of faith in God’s provision and power, to say that I’ve become more enamoured with smaller, slower things. I would not even chalk it up to age – now that I am turning 50 in April.

It’s mainly that I have lived through enough initiatives, organizations, programs, movements, and projects to have discovered that my particular gifts are best expressed in what might be described as ‘smaller’ and ‘slower’ and ‘poorer.’ And, actually, I believe this hard-earned insight can be found in much of God’s work throughout history. Certainly we know that Jesus worked in a way that was tremendously counter-cultural, and would certainly be in our day. He came to serve. He was born in a backwater town. His kingdom is not founded on any of the power systems or cranked-up business models of his day or ours.

Can I encourage you in this? Even we who are or have been leaders and servants in organizations, businesses, and churches need to be constantly reminded of the power of slow, poor, and small.

Here’s why I’m thinking of this as I write; I’m on my way to a conference in Europe. I am leading a team of media trainers for a multi-day video production training session. The students will come from all over Eurasia. We have people from Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, and other countries that are very closed to the gospel. They want to learn how to visually communicate the good news of Jesus in effective ways to many people groups who have never heard it before.

This conference will never compete with the great public events of our day. It doesn’t even make a blip on the evangelical Christian news screens or blogs. But, I believe what will happen there will prove our faith and will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God in its own peculiar kingdom way. I have been exchanging e-mails with a group of participants in the training – a couple dozen people. When I read their e-mails, where they are working, their desire to learn, and the opportunities they have, I have a strong sense that God is doing it again. He is taking the weak things, the despised things, the things that are not (1 Cor 1:28) and using them for His glory.