Week One: Storybook Favorites

I enjoyed this project because it showed the variety of projects and individuals. The creativity of retelling stories of ancient India inspired me to be creative when I do my own assignment.  I chose the three following stories that I liked for different reasons.

The first storytelling project I picked was "How I Met Your Mother." The stories told in this project were based on the popular television show about a father telling his children how he met their mother. The author of this project used the stories of three fathers (Santanu, Nala, and Satyavan) in a format like the TV show with references to characters and their popular sayings. I found it a unique way to modernize the stories and make them interesting to read for fans of the TV show. I liked the introduction and the author's explanation of why and how she chose to retell the stories as she did. It might have been better if it was more concise. The use of illustrations was helpful in picturing the vivid stories in my mind. The format of the website was clean, easy to navigate, and I liked how the text font and color imitated the TV show.

The second storytelling project I chose was "The Oscars", which was a unique way to use awards for different characteristics to describe important characters in Indian epics. The main awards presented in the retelling were the Comrade Award, the Backstabber Award, and the Hero's Oscar. I enjoyed the transcript format, so it seemed as if the characters were conversing. Although I really liked the idea of the Oscars and the storytelling method, I did not like the design as much. It was very dark, and the blue and black did not contrast as much as I would have liked. While it would have been understandably difficult to find pictures that fit the Oscars and ancient Indian stories themes, I believe the website would have been better if images that were not edited were used instead of the pictures used. The quality wasn't the best, and it detracted from the creative story. In addition, I didn't find an official introduction, and that would made me appreciate the creative process the author went through in order to write her story.

The third storytelling project I found to be interesting was "Epic Festivals of India." What first drew me to this project was the brightly colored home page photograph of Holi, which is a festival in India celebrated by throwing dyed powder. The website design is clean and easy to read. I enjoyed learning more about current Indian celebrations and their ties to the epics and Hindu religion. It was very educational, and all of the photos and videos really contributed to visualizing the cultural practices. The introduction was probably the best out of the three I chose, and as I read it, I became more and more interested in reading further. It was the best because the author's voice was very relaxed and welcoming and the introduction included many definitions and teasers about what the other pages would contain.