Hello Lovely Readers, and welcome back to another blog post. Today, we are going to be talking about my most recent project, The Hidden Chapters of World War Two. This project took us through different perspectives, twists, turns, books, eerily similar real-world connections, intense intro music competitions, and more, all relating to World War Two. We focused on the untold, or shall I say hidden, stories that lie within the war itself. In the end, we created a class podcast, with 23 different episodes; each one focusing on a specific aspect of World War Two.
We started off with looking at conflicts in time. Just as we were starting this project, the governing head of Russia, Vladimir Putin, declared war on Ukraine. I find that World War Two always feels incredibly distant, yet incredibly ubiquitous. We spent time in class researching, determining perspective, and writing a literature note on what the heck is going on in Ukraine. Watching a mass conflict happen on a phone screen is an experience that will never stop feeling bizarre. Personally, I can sum it all up in one quote.
“History never repeats itself, it just rhymes”
A part of this project was our book groups. We were assigned groups based on book preferences, and then had a different assignment for each book chat. Logan, Ryder, Ryan, Jordan, and I all read All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. This book was so powerful, descriptive, and captivating. I completed four different roles over the course of our five book chats, and I have to say, my animation is probably my favourite.
WARNING!!!! THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!!! DO NOT LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS IF HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK/ARE PRO-SPOILER!!!
As a class, we took perspectives from many different forms of media. As well as our books, we watch documentaries, read articles, and listened to other podcasts to get some inspiration. I had never made a podcast before, and I found that strategically listening to them helped a lot during this project. By picking out techniques that the creator used, I was able to get some really good ideas about what my podcast would sound like, and I was able to use those techniques to improve my script.
After we wrote our first script draft, we got feedback from peers. It is always super helpful to know what other people think, and it gives you an idea about what an outside audience might hear that you don’t.
Comprehensively, I feel like I learned so much, not only about World War Two, but also about how to start a podcast from nothing. I was able to improve my story building, script writing, and research, as well as learn new podcasting skills.
An insurmountable number of people died during World War Two, borders were forever changed, people were forever changed, and the way that technology and warfare coexist was shaped. All of those things continue to effect us to this day. By thinking critically about the events that happened during World War Two, we are able to understand so many more perspectives, and those perspectives help us understand World War Two as a whole.