Forming Constellations
Upon reaching the end of another semester, I find myself once again reflecting on all that I’ve learned, both inside and outside of the classroom. While development in each sphere of knowledge is key to self-growth, the barrier between the two seemed to fade away as lessons I learned inside the classroom meshed with those outside of it. The knowledge gained from my 5 academic classes not only seemed to blend well with one another, but also to help me expand my perspective on daily occurrences. This class in particular, through its experimental, multi-faceted nature, helped me to identify various connections and make sense out of them.
In one of my other courses this semester that surveyed global issues, we came across an article written by Teju Cole that called the public to begin to “think constellationally.” In the context of his article, this way of thinking requires one to notice the ripple effects of is or her actions. But to me, it became so much more. Ever since I read John Green’s “The Fault in our Stars,” the following quote has stuck in my head:
“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”
As a metaphorically-minded individual, I’ve always loved this metaphor of connecting the various dots of my life into a picture that has intrinsic meaning. In making a portfolio website for my MEJO class this semester, I pulled from this quote in making my tagline: My thoughts are stars written into constellations. And after reflecting over what I’ve learned all semester, it seems I’ve been in the practice of constellation-forming for the past few months, particularly in this class.
While we’ve used a plethora of platforms this semester to analyze and create literature, from Twine to audio essays to video poems to musical playlists, all of our projects exist to experiment with storytelling in the modern world. This class is an experiment in providing more outlets for creativity in education and making literature more accessible in our technology-centered world. The stars may look different, and some might have shone brighter than others, but the constellation represents living literature.
In reviewing others’ projects and creating my own, this class allowed me to think constellationally to understand others’ stories and how they might relate to my own. It taught me practical programming skills and enhanced my communication ability, connecting to stars in other classes and helping them to shine brighter. Above all, with the various constellations I was able to form with the help of this class, I have learned the benefit of expanding my own perspective to better understand the people and events around me.
So, as you explore some of the stars in this particular constellation below, I hope their added light allows you to see more of your own world or provides a new lens through which to view it.
Star #1: Character Analysis Playlist
The first project I created in this class was a musical playlist that served as an alternate form of character analysis. Because of my love for Dicken’s “A Tale of Two Cities,” I decided to draft a playlist that showcased the development of Sydney Carton, the novel’s ultimate silent hero. Given the fact that much of his development stems from his love for another character (Lucy Manette), I thought that creating this playlist would be a simple task, as there is a true multitude of love songs out there for all to enjoy. However, I soon found that this was not the case, thanks to the nature of musical analysis and ill-timed technological failures.
Because a song is so much more than its lyrics. Back to the constellation metaphor, each song is its own amalgamation of intentional instrumental notes, key changes, pauses, crescendos, and more. And to find a song that mirrored Sydney’s traits I was trying to highlight in the playlist, I needed to not only analyze the lyrics, but the music behind them as well. Although sonic analysis was quite new for me, I found the process to be very interesting. It allowed me to appreciate each decision that went into crafting a 3 or 4 minute piece, as well as the harmony that exists between instruments, voice, and empty space. It broadened my perspective of what constitutes literary analysis and opened my mind to the true masterpiece that is music.
Star #2: Twine project
They often say that perspective is the key to facing adversity. Well, suffice it to say, I gained a lot of perspective with my Twine project. Although I love suspenseful stories, I had never used a coding platform like Twine to compose one. As I soon found, twine was much more complex than it originally appeared. While I had my story idea in mind, much of it relied on the use of variable boxes and alternate paths. I programmed them according to what I had learned, but no matter how many times I tried to fix it (many, many times), there seemed to be a bug I could not eliminate. This roadblock was not only frustrating technologically, but it also taught me about the right I have to write freely.
I’m a huge believer in the power of storytelling in promoting understanding between different groups of people and passing on knowledge. Thankfully, I’ve been able to share my stories my whole life through writing, talking, acting, drawing, and more. And I’ve also been able to listen to, read, and watch others’. But this is not the case everywhere in our world. From censorship to a lack of protection for an individual’s freedom of speech or expression, people’s stories go unheard all around the world. My Twine story was supposed to shed a little light on the issue of sex trafficking, ending with a link to the End It movement’s homepage: a movement that works to eliminate sexual slavery. 
But with the technological glitches, parts of my story were inaccessible, particularly towards the end, making the societal critique/expose either less meaningful or altogether invisible. Through my frustration with this project, I was able to step outside of my own problem and gain perspective on others’, one again learning to think constellationally rather than being blinded by the light of my own malfunctioning star.
Star #3: Video Poem
The Video Poem was probably one of my favorite assignments that we did in this class. While Premiere Pro is certainly a beast to tackle, getting practice with the program in this class certainly helped me as I began to edit videos in my Media and Journalism course. Far more than the tactical skills I learned in the process of making this project, however, was the creativity I saw in my classmates’ work. The way various members of the class used layering, music, and imagery to deliver their poems blew my mind, as each person used the same tools to create diverse, unique projects. It was clear each person put their heart and soul into these videos, and I was impressed by their dedication to doing so. After watching some examples in class, I was inspired to try out some new techniques on my own video in its second draft, switching an audio rendition of the poem to intentionally-placed lines and background music that progressed with the poem.
Throughout this project, I learned a lot about the role context plays in developing the perspective through which one hears or reads a poem. Typically, when merely reading a poem, you don’t get this context unless you do research. But with the video poem, each classmate was able to provide their own context to the words with their own imagery and composing style. This extra touch allowed me to see each poem through their eyes, and many times, view it through a different perspective than I would have if I had read the poem on my own. I think this goes to show the power of a storyteller in sharing the story. Sometimes we are so zoomed in on the story, itself, that we forget what it means to the person telling it. Once again we see the star rather than the constellation. But through editing and watching these video poems, I was able to see that a story truly is only as good as its storyteller, and at the end of the day, stories exist to share a little bit of the storyteller’s soul with the world-- to add another star to each person's sky.
First Draft:
Second Draft:
Star #4: Audio Essay:
As you know by now, a metaphor is likely to show up in nearly every work I create. This is ever apparent in my audio essay, which focuses on comparing hiking boots to relationships. I was able to really be in my element with this project as we had unlimited creativity with our subject, voice, background sound/music and more. I had never really worked much with editing in audacity prior to this project, so I’m glad I got the chance to learn how to properly use the program. That being said, for this project, I found that the program was less challenging than the task at hand.
When you’re writing something, whether it’s a poem or a paper, the words and how they’re strung and structured are what matter. But with an audio essay, you can’t merely rely on your words. You need to use your voice as well--its rises and falls, its pauses and emphases--in order to properly articulate your story. Something I found is that no matter how well you’ve written your story, it won’t come across unless told in the proper diction and cadence.
That fact, in itself, is a metaphor for modern communication. With all of this communicating over screens (as I am unironically doing now), sometimes the meaning gets lost due to the lack of voice. Our words can be misinterpreted or misunderstood when we lack the means to properly deliver them. This project allowed me to see past my own limited perception of others’ virtual communication by understanding the role my own tone and voice played in communicating well.
In revising my first and creating my second draft of this essay, I was able to remove distractions that took away from my own voice and enunciate more clearly to better the listener’s understanding. You’ll have to be the judge of whether I succeeded or not, but I hope it makes you more aware of how your own words can be interpreted and gives you grace in interpreting others. I hope it allows you, too, to think constellationally.
Draft 1:
Final Draft:
Star #5: Instagram Videos
The instagram/tall videos proved to be a very interesting form of literary analysis. I loved the concept of analyzing both books through the lens of social commentary and getting to exhibit this not merely with words but images. Especially in today’s world, I feel like words and facts numb us. Poverty rates, mortality rates, inequality rates-- they’re all just numbers to many of us. Reading or hearing about a constellation is nothing in comparison to witnessing one light up the night sky. But when we bring in images and videos of these problems as I did in my “The Road” social commentary, it changes the game. It’s often harder to unsee something than to forget or disregard a statistic. Sometimes we need to humanize the problems in order to spark true empathy, and that’s what I hoped to do through this video.
The Road Social Commentary:
As for the Watchmen video, I played with social commentary as well, but through the book’s own words. I found that it is entirely possible to establish analysis using primarily the source, if you string quotes or pictures (in this case) together in the right way. It was particularly interesting to see how many of the Watchmen panels fit together even if they were 100-200 pages apart. This video project once again allowed me to see the entire book as a constellation with its various stars, some dim and some bright, lit up to question our world’s problematic habits.
Watchmen Draft 1:
Star #6: Improv Videos
They say practice makes perfect... while I can't say any of my projects were perfect, it was definitely helpful to experiment a bit in class before tackling large projects. One must flicker the light before it is able to fully shine.
Experiment with clips and effects
Star #7: Comments
In this class, learning from others was a key to success. Whether that be reading articles on people who inspired various virtual storytelling platforms or watching classmates' videos, collaboration was essential for growth and learning. I loved being able to interact with my classmates' work and see how creative they were in their various projects. It's really amazing to see the variety of constellations produced and notice the stars they created along the way.
- Reflections
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- Reading Comments
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"Lights Out"
"Soliloquy"
"Good Learning"
"Twine Stories"
"A Tale of Two Soundscapes"
"E-Poetry E-Portfolios"
"Recasting Writing"
"RIP: A Remix Manifesto"
"What is E-Poetry?"
"Poetry"
- Peer Reviews
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For Chris's Playlist:
For Karis's Audio Essay Script:
For Alex's Audio Essay Script:
For Autumn's Audio Essay Script:
For Karis's Twine Project:
For Autumn's Twine Project:
For Alex's Twine Project:
For Harper's Playlist:
For Crystal's Playlist:
For Autumn's E-Poem
For Alex's E-Poem
The Concluding Constellation
It’s safe to say that I learned a great many skills from taking this class. But more than any programming tactic, it made me appreciate literature and expand my own definition of it. Literature exists in many forms, as does its analysis, but its overarching purpose is the same: to shed light on a problem or experience, in order to enhance understanding and broaden perspectives. All literature is a constellation of small, intentional decisions-- when looked at together, they make our world, or at least our understanding of it, a bit brighter and a bit more connected.
I'm so grateful to have had the experience and practice of connecting my stars into constellations throughout this class and to have shared it with so many other constellation creators. Keep writing, keep collage-ing, keep creating, but most of all, keep connecting and keep shining.