Worldbuilding
English class was the foundation of the Narrative 2 Unit. The ideas we developed and expanded upon were the basis for my projects later on in Digital Media and Design. After reading a exploring the world of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, we began our own worldbuilding journey.
Narrative Treatment
The worldbuilding project began with the creation of any idea. After “speed dating” with the class, we organized ourselves into groups and began to develop our ideas further. The first part of the this project was to write a treatment — a pitch summarizing an film or television idea.
Research Essay
The next aspect of this project focused on academic writing. After creating my treatment, I brainstormed it’s themes and messages, and came up with potential research topics that connected back to it. My project was largely focused around the existence of a luxury space station that only the extremely wealthy could afford. Recent years have seen the rise of private space tourism companies such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. In my research essay, I explored the ethics of the private space industry and developed an argument against its rise, citing environmental issues, economic restraint, and the high risk of human casualty.
Pitch Presentation
The final piece of the worldbuilding project was to pitch our narrative story idea to the class. My partner and I decided that we were going to pitch our idea as a television series and the class would be playing the role of Netflix executives. For our presentation we prepared a slide deck using Adobe Express which included various media components including original character art and potential potential promotional posters for our series.
Jade Alexander
is a 22-year-old mechanic working on Polaris. After getting into an accident, she was paralyzed from the waist down. On Earth, she used a wheelchair, but on Polaris, she uses crutches. Although her family disapproved of her profession because they feared for her safety, she applied for work on Polaris to prove herself.
Rhea Solace
is a 20-year-old member of the Polaris kitchen staff. She is independent, humble, clever, and reserved. In an attempt to support her struggling family, Rhea applied for a job on Polaris, sacrificing the possibility of achieving her own dream to work as a chef.
Although posed as a narrative project, the worldbuilding project was is focused not only around fictional storytelling, but also thematic connection to contemporary issues. A multi-stage project, this project allowed for multiple opportunities to think creatively and critically in a way that I’ve never experienced in any other class. Of my time at Freestyle, I can confidently say that this has been one of my favorite units.