Rebecca Schmidt ‘10
Writer
Storytelling is what I do; I am a storyteller first and a film major second. Storytelling is my passion and film is my medium of choice. The fact that I was given the opportunity to try my hand at writing for another medium was very exciting. I have been around games for years, but I never really gave much thought to actually writing stories for them, especially if the story was to be used to teach values. Working on Empowering Play is a new experience for me, but writing a game for change, that is just something new.
Storytelling, historically, has been a teaching device. Take the fables of old, or the fairy tales of our childhood. Although they may have been Disney movies for most of us, they were originally told to teach one thing or another. Little Red Riding Hood teaches us not to talk to strangers; Beauty and the Beast, among other things, teaches us not to judge others by their outward appearance (they might be a prince on the inside!). It seems logical that story could be used to teach something as important as respect for women. Who knew a modern fairy tale would include soccer?
Being a woman, at least for me, makes working on this project that much more important. I have been privileged to grow up without abuse and violence in my life and I am blessed with wonderful men within my friends and family who respect me. Now I have the opportunity to use the talents I was given to make a better world. Storytelling is not just about entertainment, but also about imparting values. We may not be able to change the whole world with a video game, but if we can make one person stop and think, then maybe that will be enough.
