Life in Diaspora (My Conceptual Plan)

After getting a constructive feedback from Dr T and reading some parts of Ohler’s book, in addition to browsing Ohler’s website I came to a realisation on what I ought to do next after writing my storyline: modify some of its parts.

Ohler wrote:

“The story understanding process always begins with a story core…which contains three basic elements:
1. The central challenge that creates the story’s tension and forward momentum
2. Character transformation that facilitates the response to the challenge
3. The response to the challenge that resolves the tension and leads to story closure” (jasonOhler.com)

This is how my DST entitled, “Life in Diaspora” (LiD) is restructured now.

LiD narrates my journey that began after I left my homeland to reside overseas. At the same time, it looks into the driving forces and how they negotiate with my struggle to rationalise my ‘destiny’. In pensive mood all throughout, my DST will combine a reflective essay accompanied by music that, I hope, will set the viewers in a contemplative mood.

With an aim to reach a wider audience, LiD will also indirectly show the disquieting plight of overseas Filipino workers who painfully resolve to work away from their loved ones with the hope of attaining better life for their family. Since the country’s economy is constantly struggling, money is difficult to earn in the Philippines. No wonder about 10% of over 90 million total population of Filipinos are overseas. It is huge by global standard.

To facilitate the meaning- making affordances of multimodality, I plan to use a combination of abstract, symbolic and real images to let deliver my mixed message of pain, excitement and hope as we make the most of our life in diaspora. Brooding and introspective in tone all throughout, I intend to project an “open diary”- like DST. To attain this, I will probably use a font which looks like a handwriting.

I am having difficulty finding relevant images to my DST especially that I have been moving from one place to another since 2001. I thought my pictures in other countries would be useful but my brother sought for them in vain. However through my sister’s and friend’s help, I have some real images of my family, my home and friends. I gathered some images that depict some problems my country face. Some symbolic images that I found relevant to my DST are an aeroplane to suggest the act of leaving my home country; 2 masks in one image which may connote two personas; and an eye with a tear to mean sadness and parting. I have found this stage of the project comparatively more challenging than creating a storyline.