Kai Williams, COM 304
It was hard to choose stories for this assignment. Initially viewing animated stories, I knew I had to shift my focus since our goal was to listen. I don’t enjoy listening to other people speak as a leisure activity, so I had to find one that not only kept my interest but also ones that I felt were unconventional. Devoid of any visual aid to guide my experience, I was drawn to stories about death, using the speaker’s emotive voices to latch onto the story being told.
The first story I listened to fully had the excerpt, “I had this whole story about how she lived in a city on the moon.” The story comes from a daughter and father duo who reflect on the mother’s suicide a decade after the event. Told primarily from the viewpoint of the daughter as she remembers the day her mom dropped her off at school but didn’t pick her up, Dad occasionally interjects with his own guilt-ridden memories. What I liked about this story is that the father’s memories always melded into an open-ended question, having the daughter recall her past emotions. In her recollection, she is able to recognize her growth and I find this really beautiful. Dad’s voice is somber and warm, contrasting nicely with the daughter’s pleasant, nostalgic one. The story is a narrative interview with a natural pace. Their relationship is really what makes this story special, as you can tell that they are close to one another. The lack of an outside third-party interviewer creates an intimate environment. The clear, crisp audio allows the listener to hear even the tiniest voice crack and hitches in breathing when one can infer the speakers are getting teary. Although the entire conversation is surrounding the late mother, the story’s focus is truly on the pair– the recording room is still and quiet.
The second story had the tagline, “We had a sense of humor in our stuff, but the backdrop was people we loved were dying.” This story was about a man, Mark Woodley, who was a Macy’s mall Santa that was fired due to being on HIV/AIDS and mental health medications. In protest, Mark Woodley, Jon Winkleman, and the ACT UP organization donned Santa suits and sang carols with HIV-themed modifications at Macy’s. The pace didn’t feel as natural as the other story, feeling as if parts were cut and pasted between the two toward the end. Likewise, the tone and energy of the two were mismatched. This was definitively an interview, with Woodley asking questions to guide the conversation, feeling like it should belong more to a news segment special.
Both start with intro music, story background, and outro music. The first story had end credits about the Story Corps mission. I understand the necessity of its inclusion, but it took away from the story for me. In story two, I would have liked the music to be integrated into the background of the story and perhaps vaguely Christmassy, to add to the atmosphere. In the other story, the outro was jarring after the definitive closing statement. Overall, the stories are clear, natural, and engaging, giving listeners a peek into the lives of others.