3012 Don Bosco's dreams
austraLasia #3012

The dreams
ROME: 8 February 2012 -- Settle down now, in front of a monitor, and be prepared for an interesting half hour or so.

Responses are coming in to the question posed two issues ago:
"I would like to know how others may be working to:
-  create Salesian social media
- that prompt youth reflection, authentic questioning, prayer and sharing
.

There were other questions too, but let's just take this one, and begin to share some of the responses coming in - and particular the examples being offered.

First of all watch 'The Dream'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRDV7XxsqaE. Here you see an extraordinary 'mashup' by a young digital native, and as Fr Patrick Sherlock commented, on sharing it:

"It's about 12 minutes long and includes 'live action', video and still images, background music and graphic effects, and a very clearly delivered narrative - a lot of hard work and initiative. The Salesian message is very much alive in Chertsey!"

He's not wrong. This is one of the better Youtube efforts on the 'Don Bosco' theme.  It would be appropriate, at this point, to bring in the comments of another respondent to 'the question', since a number of readers took up the invitation, a week or two ago, to watch the Doug Barry 'dynamic strolling' episode.  In the light of this, now watch another of these, 'The snake and the Rosary' (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXLy_bG9K70).

"Remember Negroponte predicting the convergence of media devices? Those devices definitely need content right? So we are at a period when the convergence of audio and video has started to pour in abundance. And many times we are so drowned with it and could not critically evaluate its quality because of the quantity it is "bombing" us with (cfr "youtube sensationalism"). That's the reason too for your digital spaces in the religious life and in spirituality, right? (Quality and effective content)

Now this media here (Dream of Don Bosco - the reference is to the first of these, which we offered you on 24 January in #2997), I feel,  is actually more of an invitation to listen. We all know that nowadays people are impatient listeners. Unless you have flashy presentations(ppt) and smashing movie clips to accompany what your are saying, people's span of attention are more limited now that before.

But this one here is different. Doug Barry comes up with this ingenious "dynamic storytelling" and gives a stunningly effective visual to accompany the audio. This is another medium we could explore in our ministry and another idea for lessons in soc com. If we do our homilies like this, like most probably the way Don Bosco did it, wow, I'm at a loss for words.

Listening to this is not limited to "watching the dvd." It's worthwhile burning it on mp3, placing it in your table, your i-pod, or even your cellphone and listen to while driving, jogging or working out, or even to lull yourself to sleep (instead of reading a book).  Hmmm that last thing before going to bed reminded me of Matthew Kelly's: ""The actions of our lives are determined by our last most dominant thought." (Rediscovering Catholicism) Beautiful book about our spiritual north star, but that's for another time".

Now, just about everything this commentator has to say about watching the Doug Barry series (or at last jut one or two of them) could probably be said about our young Chertsey lad's effort - why, he must be all of 13 years of age! That's why it is so wonderful!

Another person wrote in - this one was not from our region but an interested reader nonetheless - and his reflection was not so much on practical content of the kind we see here, but on who9 might, in a Province, be responsible for doing this kind of thing:

"I think the fundamental question is who should implement... and maybe (Fr) Fabio's and Filiberto's last joint letter answers very well that question. (This reference is to a letter that many may not have seen - a Euroclip Don Bosco short film festival being organised by the SC and YM Departments, for 2013). The only real suggestion that comes to mind on the how (and maybe it is very obvious) is:
1) Have clear objectives and what will be done to arrive there; this will help to clarify part of the second question
2) the means (on a more technical level) - which media will be used, and whether a more general approach with future expansion in mind will be better than a specific approach. I would easily add, knowing the internet: think it through well and think big!!"

So, it is getting exciting!  Do you have some ideas or examples you would like to contribute to this debate?