A big part of creating excellent media is understanding point of view. What is point of view? It a skill media makers and artists use to tell the story of the media they’re creating. It’s taking a story, and deciding *who gets to tell it*. Will it be a character in the story? Will it be the artist who is creating the story?

Think about those old English class terms here: first person, third person point of view. Think about Eminem–and how some times Slim Shady tells the story of the song–and other times it is Marshall.

You can also check out the following movies, which are excellent examples of how different points of view help to shape different stories.

Synopsis:

Based on the award-winning novel by Christos Tsiolkas, The Slap is a family drama which tells the story of a misbehaving toddler who is slapped at a barbecue by an adult unrelated to him and with no authority over his behaviour. All eight episodes, each from a different character’s standpoint, trace the shattering repercussions of a single event upon a group of family and friends.

You can get links to all eight episodes at this link. I haven’t watched all the movies yet, so please watch at your own risk.

I’m going to return to this post after I have watched all the movies, but until then, think about the following:

Who usually doesn’t get to tell the story in different types of media? Think about Detroit. Who *usually* tells the story of Detroit? Conversely, who *doesn’t*?

What are some of the reasons different groups of people typically don’t get to tell stories?

How would the story of Detroit be different if it were told by the people who don’t usually get to speak?

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