ASSESSMENT TASK 1 TELLING LIVES

Stage 1. RESEARCH

1. The digital story I chose is: “Colours” by Eve Green in the Challenge section.

Why did you choose this particular story?
I chose this particular story because I’ve always been interested in the conflicts, doubts and assumptions that grow up inside people’s minds, in this case an “innocent child” with absolutely no idea about what it means to have mixed racial backgrounds, having one of the parents of a different colour. And just out of curiosity, back in April when I had to write a small story for my application to the school of cinema, I focused on a character’s intern conflict very much like this, one finding his own identity, when his parents don’t share the same skin colour.

What did you find interesting?
What I found most interesting was the fact that Eve’s son; whom represents children line of thought in general; instantly connects colour to religion, brown people, his mum Eve, are Muslims and white people, himself and his father, are Christians. I think it illustrates beautifully how young, innocent children think, however it leaves us thinking that maybe they think like that because of the racist, xenophobic mentality of the society we live in today.

What did you find out about the life/community of this person?

I found that she comes from Yorkshire, has an East London accent and at the time being is living in Wales. She’s also passionate about creative writing and communication between people. About her community, I found that the stigma of racism and depreciative thinking towards different people are still very deeply rooted in our minds, whether it’s Wales, in this case, or any other country.

What did you find out of cultural interest?
Of cultural interest, I believe that everything I said before is valid, the way of children thinking, their instant connecting between colour and religion, their assumptions and doubts that reveal “our” narrow minded society, on a global scale of course. All that little nuances that said by little children reflect just the way everyone thinks in this world of ours, were colour and religion are the most used arguments for starting wars. The difference is that the kids don’t know what they’re saying.

Are there any similarities between you and this person?

The similarities I found between me and Eve are for the most part in the fact that we are both keen on creative writing. Well, she’s passionate about it, I’m just starting to devote myself to it.

What do you know about Wales? The Welsh language?
I found that the Wales’s culture is strongly influenced by the Celts. Celtic tribes came to Britain and settled there long before the Romans could even think about conquering it. But after the roman conquest, there were the Saxons, who pushed the Britons further west to their Celtic stronghold of Wales, which explain were the name of the country comes from, “waleas”, Anglo-Saxon word for foreigner.

I also found that the Roman influence is hugely marked in Wales, with their roads, forts, luxurious bath houses, military and domestic artefacts, etc.

Wales are also known for being the “Land of Castles”, unveiling other influence, the Normans, who were the first ones to build castles there.

This small country squeezed into the west shore of the Isle of Great Britain is well known for it’s world class writers, Dylan Thomas and Roald Dahl ( Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as well as their Myths and Legends; their said to be excellent storytellers; in which we find the tales of King Arthur and Merlin the Magician, of kingdoms lost beneath the sea and battles between dragons, of haunted castles and knightly deeds; whose origin doesn’t come only from the fertile Celtic imagination, but also by the inspiration given by Wales beautiful landscapes and seascapes.

About the Welsh language, what can I say? It’s the most distinguishing feature of the country, seen and heard every where, this language, (which has ancient roots and is related to the Breton tongue of northern France as well as the Irish and Scottish Gaelic) one of the oldest in Europe, is the foundation of its unique identity and culture.

2. United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain, and The British Isles:

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, usually shortened to the United Kingdom (abbreviation UK) is Great Britain plus Northern Ireland since 1927.It is a sovereign state occupying much of the British Isles.

The constituent countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Great Britain

Great Britain (abbreviation: GB) is the largest of the British Isles and the political union of three nations, these being: England, Wales and Scotland. It is the largest island of the archipelago (sometimes informally referred to as Britain).

The word "Great" simply means "larger" (no connection with "greatness" in other senses is intended). Great Britain may well be a translation of the French term Grande Bretagne, which is used in France to distinguish Britain from Brittany (in French Bretagne).

Albion is the most ancient name of Great Britain. It sometimes is used to refer to England specifically. Occasionally, it refers to Scotland, or Alba in Gaelic, Albain in Irish, and Yr Alban in Welsh. The origin of the name Britain may be connected with the Brythonic 'Prydyn' (Goidelic: Cruithne), a name used to describe some northern inhabitants of the island by Britons or pre-Roman Celts in the south.

Britain

Britain is a shortened form of Great Britain

The British Isles:

The British Isles is the traditional term used to mean the island of Great Britain plus the island of Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands, including the Isle of Man and, in some contexts, the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey, which in turn includes the smaller islands of Alderney, Herm and Sark). However, the Channel Islands are often not included in this designation, as they are located approximately 12 miles off the coast of northwestern France and are geologically related to mainland France.

Due to the changes in the common usage of the word "British" (to mean "of the United Kingdom") it is a controversial term.

Stage 2 WRITING

I would risk to say that our lives are made of passions, passions that move us, passions that compel us to lose our minds, blinding passions, passions that become the reason of our existence.

I’m no different, and from all the passions I have, for the most diverse things, be it a girl, a great book, something given by our grandfather, etc., I’d say that Cinema is one of the most significant, or at least it is at this precise moment the one that has the biggest impact on me.

I’ve always loved movies since I was a little boy, of course I didn’t know that it would play such an important role back then, it was a latent passion, still asleep.

But it grew on me and soon I would no longer be the boy that was just fascinated by that world of make-believe, where our most amazing and wildest dreams can come to life, no, I would now be that same boy with the will to bring to life those same dreams himself.

Because that’s what Cinema is to me, the ability to illustrate dreams, to take you on a journey on that couple of hours where in that dark room it’s just you and the movie, just you and those images that come pouring into your eyes, you sort of become one with it, everything else shuts down, disappears, when the lights are out and the opening credits begin. And it already happened, before you could know it, there you are, immersed in that visual poetry.

That’s what Cinema is to me, a journey, the gift to touch someone’s life at some point, an inspiration.

That’s what I want to do, to touch someone, make them cry, laugh, think, wonder, travel, etc. I want to fascinate and amaze the little boy I once was. I want to make someone passionate.

Because what is life if not one passion after another?

What are we if not passionate beings?...