Medium Shapes the Message (2)

Like in any form of art, telling a story wants to elicit a response from its intended audience. There are many ways in which the story can be told: traditional ways such as novels, plays, or poetry or newer media such as blogs, vlogs, podcasts. Depending on the media used in telling the story, its message can be perceived in different ways. I will illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of blogging as a medium by using the story of Chanie Wenjack as told in  Secret Path,  a  song album by Gord Downie with a graphic novel by Jeff Lemire.  Chanie Wenjack is a boy who escapes a residential school in Canada in 1966 and tragically dies trying to get home.  Downie, Gordon, and Jeff Lemire.  Secret Path . , 2016. Print.

In a blog, newer information is presented at the top. This can be an advantage because new things can be added at the top as the blog author remembers to add events. It can also be a disadvantage and make it bit more awkward to write if the final format is to look like an essay; in that case, last paragraphs should be posted first. It also seems awkward that each new blog theme needs a new address; at least in this current editor I could not find a way to add another topic with associated blog posts, and had to create a completely new blog entry.

To start off, using only a blog as the medium to tell the story from “Secret Path” has some challenges. A blog has a shorter format than the other media, and it is hard to tell a story with a lot of detail. However, a blog can be engaging, if written in language which is accessible and appropriate to the topic and audience. Blogs are short, but mighty. One way to add more information to a blog, for instance, is by inserting links to sites which contain related relevant information. Here is a  link to the “Secret Path” project . Or, blog authors can insert  youtube video , like in this example with one of Gord Downie's haunting songs about Chanie's story.

It is harder to manipulate font and headlines in the text of blogs to bring about the same emotion as from say paintings or drawings.  For instance, in the graphic novel, Chanie's current life is painted in sepia tones to convey how dreary, and bleak everything is for Chanie. In contrast, the flashbacks to his family and home are bright and colourful. The blog author could try a similar approach based on font type and colour, but it will be harder to convey the same imagery as in the graphical novel.