#stakeholder feedback

A very important part of my change in perspective had to do with my purpose; I did identify empathy to be the outcome I want, building stronger empathic connections amongst each other, but what about the uncertainty?

When I first started, I investigated on the lack of understanding migrants/ immigrants and what they go through, seeing a disconnect them and the general population they were in. Us vs. them. Outsider/ insider perspective.

When my research moved on to older generation experiences, mainly due to my grandparents’ migration experience from Turkey to Greece, I could clearly see the problem but I didn’t really know how to position it, or define it.

Talking with Lottie Bolster in October helped me rediscover the issue I was tackling, by finding new ways of expressing it.

Lottie’s dissertation in MA Art and Science degree dealt with empathy, and the way it manifests in the art world. What was interesting when reading her dissertation was the use of the word (de)humanisation. When talking to her about her research, her initial interest on the topic stems from her own prejudice towards certain groups in society.

She showed me this diagram developed by one of her secondary research sources, a sociologist analysing the different levels of empathy-apathy scale, and the reason behind our quick judgment.

It was fascinating to read and understand such diagram, because it made me realise the missing link in the why, in the motivation for doing my own research: we are all quick to judge someone as we see them, and that leads to our own will to engage with the individual or not. When it comes to less privileged groups (according to the context or circumstances), it is easy for people to show apathy, or indifference towards them. But apathy becomes a form of discrimination, prejudice that does not manifest but is still innate in our thoughts.

So, thanks to Lottie, our conversation and her incredible dissertation, I was able to find a clear motive for my research path, and it highlighted the importance of empathy in our society even more.

This was one of my most complete interventions to date.

The reason I say this is because of the multiple issues it tackled. It provided me with a good foundation to see the validity of this in the future. Why is that important for me?

Well, ever since I started doing workshops with the drama society, ever since I started reading on empathy, I started seeing the potential of applying my learning to external groups and audiences.

After the intervention, my research question changed slightly, into:

How can we use metamedia narratives as a catalyst for creating stronger empathic connections in the future?

The reason I introduced the word CATALYST in there is because it is a very assertive, hands-on word, suggesting change in a very active way. I kept the word future because I want to show that I am thinking of carrying this research and experimentation after the course comes to an end.

This intervention not only proved the validity and necessity of it, but showed me as a researcher, the universal language of interaction, storytelling and play. Of course, language in communication is fundamental in building any kind of connection, but there we were, in a room full of individuals from all over the world, connecting on multiple levels of cognition. Connecting on various emotional levels, empathising towards an imaginary dead man, crying over the loss of a girl that never existed, feeling worried and confused about the burning of a building that never happened.

I am aware that immersive theatre, role play and all these techniques exist. I am aware that this is very much making reference to such techniques that have been around for a while now. The only difference with my focus and direction is in the element of storytelling and narrative: I am adopting these forms, these METAMEDIA forms, to find a more real, engaging, empathic way of narrating personal experiences. New ways of connecting with different cultures and age groups, because it is a loose, fun form of role-playing with the intention of bringing people closer together.

After sharing it with them, I wanted to see what kind of emotion it will trigger for young migrants that grew up with images of this culture, with their grandparents, thinking about the nostalgic connections/ relations with personal experiences.

For Konstantinos Mouratidis, an architect and entrepreneur who moved from Greece to London 10 years ago, this short brought feelings of melancholy because of the connection he made with his grandparents, who passed away. He goes on to say the images and actions he sees in the video refer to the past, actions such as shaving in such manner feel very old-fashioned.

“It’s a mixture of what I see, which reminds me of my family, and the way you constructed the narrative, by adding music and sound, pauses, making it more of a tribute or an ode to them, which makes the whole thing more immersive and more nostalgic”.

When receiving this feedback, I felt I did purposefully transition from raw footage documentary style to something more of a ‘poem’ to them and for them, because it made more sense with the way my grandmother was sharing that particular story, also making reference to a song which blended the whole atmosphere nicely.

Right before leaving from Athens, I made a short video to show the documentation process to the subjects themselves, my grandparents. They were curious to see what the past 7 days had been about, and I felt it was an important part of the process, to capture their reaction and to receive from them, what were they witnessing, how it made them feel, how did it capture their story.

It was an emotional journey for both of them, not only because they shared personal memoirs and stories that put them in a vulnerable position, but to see themselves on camera was very impactful. The combination of their storytelling with their facial expressions and actions brought a lot of emotion, because they felt exposed to the world. They have never been in front of the camera, so to see themselves in such context was very striking to them.

An interesting realisation came from my grandfather: he had never seen or heard my grandma read her writings out loud, and because part of the narrative is tied by her writings, he got to listen to them for the first time. He was very surprised at how poetic and symbolic her writing was, the telling of her stories that connect back to her childhood, tales she never told him, but also stories that they share together, told from a very different place, a place of nostalgia and sorrow and almost grievance. Due to this, they both admitted to my filming having brought a lot of memories and in a way, helping them remember the why and how of their existence together but also as individuals. Through these thoughts, I kept thinking how this relates to me, what is it about their storytelling that brings me closer to them?

Images: personal footage