Storytelling
Exercise 1: Expressing memories
A memory that I remember very well could be a few years back, in 9th grade. My memory starts in a really sad day, I couldn’t find any reasons but I remember being really depressed and sad. I had been like that for a few days and couldn’t find a way to get rid of this sadness. In those days I could describe myself as a person that was constantly sad without any apparent reason and on this day I felt these emotions bigger than ever. I suddenly felt a necesity to watch something sad, I concluded that by crying, I could relieve some of my sadness so I investigated for a real sad movie and ended up finding a movie I will never forget “Grave of the Fireflies”.
The movie takes place in Japan during WWII, it narrates the story of a teen boy and his little sister and how they fight for their survival after losing their mother. I found it to be tremendously sad and heartbreaking and, in combination to my previous constant sadness, I couldn’t help but cry for around 2 hours. I can only relate this memory with a complete sense of sadness.
The next day I felt really good and my constant sadness stopped, I know it sounds crazy but I ended up repeating this several times from that moment up until now and I always feel really good afterwards.
Exercise 2: Your three favorite films
- Grave of the Fireflies: I was able to feel the sadness from the characters and, in some way, it made me free from the sadness that I was currently feeling. It has a touching story.
- The Boy and the Beast: I think I connected with this film due to the deep meaning that it has, it also has a touching story with a touch of heroism at the end that got me into deep involvement with the characters and their feelings.
- Surf’s Up: Movie that I have watched 10+ times. Initially it is, in my opinion, a super fun movie which gets you inmersed in the story. It has a deeper meaning of always fighting for your dreams but, in general, I just find it really fun and entertaining.
These three films have some things in common, first of all, they are all animations. I prefer to watch animations rather than conventional movies because, in my opinion, animations can portray feelings better than a person can. I do enjoy watching conventional films but the ones with which I connect the mst are animations.
Another thing that these films have in common is the deeper meaning within them. You can watch these animations normally and just see the surface but you can also try to analyze them better and get much more content from the same film.
Exercise 3: What if…
Part A: Return to your 3 favorite films and try reframing each of them in terms of a “what if” statement. Share these with someone (written or verbally) and see if they can guess what movie it is from!
Part B: Now it’s your turn. Come up with 3–5 of your own “what if” ideas.
Grave of the Fireflies: What if a boy and his little sister where left alone in the devastation of a war?
The Boy and the Beast: What if a human boy found his home in what appears to be a fantasy?
Surf’s Up: What if penguins could surf?
Own Ideas
- What if a kid could communicate by his thoughts with his future self?
- What if a man suddenly became invisible?
Exercise 4: Characters & Worlds
Surf’s Up: The main characters in this movie are Cody and maybe Chicken Joe or Big Z. This movie takes place in one world which is that in which penguins surf.
Grave of the Fireflies: In this movie we have the main character Seita and his sister Seitsuko. This movie, as stated before, takes place in Japan in the destruction from WWII.
The Boy and the Beast: In this one, the main character is Ren who is the apprentice of Kumetatsu, another main character. This movie is the only one that takes place in two worlds; the human and the beasts world.
I don’t identify myself with any of the characters but the one which connected the most with me was Ren because of his constant mindset to become better and because (as ridiculous as it sounds) he is the one who has the world closest to mine.
I tried mixing the characters and the worlds from my stories but they were all really different and I wasn’t able to make an acceptable connection still, thinking about penguins surfing in WWII was kind of fun.
