Digital Story Evaluation - Wk. 13

I am in my third semester of the graduate program in eLearning Design and Implementation at The University of Colorado, Denver. Each week we critique a digital story.

This week I am critiquing For Hosne Ara, by Zahid Al-Amin; a digital story related to my theme, social justice.

With this simple caption I was curious. What was Zahid's passion? How was it different from what was expected from his family?

This is a story of courage, brutality, resilience of the human spirit, sacrifice and passion for equality and social justice set in Bangladesh. A place where draconian Shariah laws often supersede their Constitution which proclaims equal rights for all citizens.

I critiqued this digital story on flow organization and pacing, story, and assets/technology used.

Flow, Organization, and Pacing

This 6 minute video is organized with emotion first and connection which fueled curiosity second. It caught my attention right off with the introduction of the characters. Who is the narrator? The second slide introduces Hosne Asa's mother and the fact that Zahid celebrates Eid (closest holiday I equate Eid celebrations with is Christmas) with her. I want to know who is Hosne and why Zahid celebrates such a special holiday with someone other than his family. Next in flow the storyteller tells us Hosne Asa's mother has no one except him. Why?

The pacing advances quickly as this storyteller explains how he comes to leave his village, work for repressed people, witness unbelievable horrors, witnesses a murder, almost gets killed, and still presses on for justice.

To tell a story that communicates such vivid detail in such a short timeframe is a testament to great planning, flow, organization, and pacing.

Story

Zahid's excellent choice of words always paints the emotions, sense of place, sense of who he is and what he believes. This story surprised me with how well it worked to say so much, with such power, in such a short period of time.

This is a powerful story. Not for the faint of heart. However, for the warriors for justice you may find it, like I did, to be a powerful catalyst to continue wherever you fight for social justice.

Assets/Technology

Part of the beauty and power of this story is the simplicity in how it is told. Zahid uses his voice. Just the right music. Out of focus pictures that somehow work and the most compelling an overlay of fire to illustrate the pain and cruelty the main character, Hosne Asa lived through and ultimately dies from.