T TEEN RATED © lime 2013
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alright , i'll tu rn it down. can yo u go no w?
My Life I My Choice tells the story of Nathan, an aspiring rap artist who, through a series of poor choices, becomes involved in gang life – with devastating consequences.
Nathan’s Story
a'
MY LIFE | MY CHOICE GRAPHIC NOVEL
we head ed to thewhere The story is written around a series of events and discussions that lead Nathan to a point his choices become more and park after that... more difficult. Each of these is known as a nexus point as Nathan could have taken a different course of action which could have led to a different outcome in the story. Activity G introduces this concept to participants and gives them an opportunity to reflect on Nathan’s choices and how they become much more difficult as he gets more deeply involved with Banksy. WHEN I CATCH ‘EM, I CAN MATCH ‘EM, MATCHSTICK LIGHT ‘EM UP...
I’m at work tonight so I wo getting uldn’t some sle ep. If down, you do I’ll th row th at thi the wind ow!
..GET THE STRAP OUT, FIND THE GLOVES, CLAP ‘EM, JACK ‘EM, LEAVE ‘EM WITH CHINA BUMPS...
Nathan’s Dad
•• Is the clash inevitable? •• How could the situation be diffused? •• What could Nathan, his Dad, Banksy or Kane do differently?
Issues of conflict and respect surface as Banksy and Nathan’s Dad clash. Nathan’s Dad unhappy that What are you doinis g man? here, take it and leave me his son’s friends show little respect for his home, alone! stand up!! particularly as he is trying to sleep! Banksy becomes frustrated that Nathan’s Dad seems oblivious to his street status.
listen hear man. I like your flow and that but you gotta stop yer gassin'
RIght! that it! get out no w lot of you!
you ain't jacked no-one in your life blud!
if i see you in my yard again i won't let you off so easily.. here, smoke this!
The Bus Stop
•• Did Nathan have any other choice than to go along with Banksy’s threatening behaviour? •• How significant is this? (Did Nathan miss a huge opportunity to turn his situation around?)
Enraged by the earlier confrontation with Nathan’s Dad, Banksy’s anger boils over when seeing their friend Tammy with a boy from another part of town. Banksy threatens and humiliates the boy before stealing Tammy’s phone and the whole encounter leaves Nathan torn between what he knows is right and the pressure from Banksy and his growing desire for control. banksy, are you mad?
t you got c'mon, wha for me?
don't need to prove nuthin ' to you blud.
dick head!! e We ar s jav, kim's at wa yeah? uds! Th night yo bl nce to ere. to a da a be th going gonn
yo, who do you're you think tal kin g to?
yeah, I'm here, where you at?
The Park
Nathan and Kane get some respite from Banksy’s behaviour while he is off ‘taking care of business’. h or you hig said my ing? i there. someth nna be en r's go pen wh brothe a hap ' gonn re! he's the
nna r u're go so yo d up fo shanke tting ? risk ge gally some
nuthin
hang
•• Is this an opportunity fornever Nathan andMy,Kane to mind where I am. boy's gonna be there in a minute. He's got something i need you take stock of what to bring to me at bar Citrus. is happening? what, •• Should the two decide to abandon their friend tonight?! are you dumb blud? Yes tonig or could they help him inht,some How? just get it way? done, be there for 9pm. don't be late and forget the ting! there •• Is Banksy a victim in don't all this? Are external pressures on him? (E.g. the mention yeah, of course, i'm your man, i got it of his brother.) bruv. send me the n all you bee have u got Where en't yo ? Hav r me? My life ing fo someth
if i see
on!
smoke it!!
u girls 've yo Where life? all my been
ya here again, I'll kill ya!
go on then, go crying to your momm y, come bluds!
u at yo so, wh then? sayin'
nothi
who do you blud? yo think you're talkin u don' g to t know do yo u?
I said n't I? ng, did
address and I'll be there. is kim gonna be there?
cool! KIM, Hi, I'm name? s your
what'
The Night Club
g... t evenin club tha to the went so, we
here yeah, yeah, . you go
We are introduced to Banksy’s older brother, Jav (19) who is a local drug dealer and seemingly well connected. The scene enables us to explore a range of relationships and identities and the impact (positive or negative) that these may have on Nathan. We also witness Banksy’s violent nature when he hits one of the girls. , nathan um…N
!
my ere's n. Wh sup' ma r?! brothe
he didn't, he just told him not to com e by the house no mor e
The Pick-up
wait for me…i'll get the bag!
Events have led Nathan to a point where he has a fundamental decision to make: go along with Jav’s plan or bail out. why's your dad been threatening my little brother?
•• What effect do the girls have on Nathan? •• How is this interpreted by Banksy? •• Could the girls have handled the situation differently? •• What is their role? •• Is this a significant stage in Banksy’s story? Why? •• Does this provide Nathan with another opportunity to turn his life around? ed ognis t I rec you? Though aren't e mc utube. You'r you. on yo n you I've see
•• How much more difficult is Nathan’s decision now? •• Has Nathan ‘chosen’ to reach this point by his previous inaction? Did he ever have a choice? •• What is ‘joint enterprise’?
well that's not what I heard so are you calling me a liar?
No!
do what?
The Burglary shit!!
Nathan is given instructions to go into the house with Jav to steal drugs. They are disturbed and make a run for it. Nathan throws the bag but it goes on the roof.
I take threats like that very seriously so if you don't want anythin g to happen to you r dad, you need to do something for me.
•• Should Nathan run with the others? •• Should he have picked up the gun? •• What are his choices now? •• What are the consequences for each one?
Who's that nat han? what sor t of people are you getting involved wit
t mind on’t ke
ing ou t
Activities
A: Who are they?
This begins the process detailed in steps 1 and 2, whereby the audience is encouraged to begin identifying the assumptions that they make, in this case around the opinions they quickly make based upon nothing more than first appearances.
B: What are they thinking?
ep it
no yo u won't 'cos it' innit? s mine so stop your ga ssin'
C: Character Circle
t's w, the !
get ye r hand s off me don't , blud! touch me again !
you do n't
scare me , little man. Ge t out my house!
This exercise considers the emotional reactions of the characters and starts to force participants to consider their own responses and how ba sy man, al low it! these may be influenced bynkthe assumptions they hold in terms of what the characters are displaying through their reactions (step 3).
This encourages participants to explore the situation from another perspective – that of Banksy, and begin to understand why he behaves in the way he does. The intention is to encourage some distance from this kind of behaviour, using steps 3 to 5 to break down and understand it. It begins to broaden thegediscussion by t out no w befo re i call considering the impact that other people have on ourthopinions. e polic e!
D: What’s the alternative?
During this exercise participants can begin to practise alternative strategies by reflecting on the conversations that characters could have had and by doing so refine their own approach and behaviours.
whateve r, man!
well you've finally found your audience nathan.
E: The Group Effect
you what?!
you're a real big man when yo with yo ur frie u're nds na than!
Having developed alternative strategies, the idea in this exercise is to test them with the added complication of the group dynamic. This considers that there are usually a range of different and diverse opinions to deal with while beginning to recognise areas of common ground. at least these girls think you can spit!
his lyrics are wack, it's like listening to JLS!
he's really good, he should make a mix tape.
anyway, what do you know? you listen to the saturdays and dem tings der!!
and what do You do apart from sell drugs for your brother?!
nat, if i were you I'd stay away from him, you seem like a nice guy, he'll only drag you down!
F: Letter Writing
what? what are you gonna do blud? you'd better shut your mouth before I drag you down, bitch!
who do you think you're calling bitch?...
This exercise is designed to develop skills of empathy by directly considering someone else’s perspective. It enables us to move to step 4 and question the assumptions upon which previous decisions were built in favour of a more considered view. The focus here is still very much self-centric. what are you doing? you don't hit girls man!
little man!!
G: Different Choices
GO on then. Go write a song about it!!
This exercise introduces nexus points.It reinforces how much more difficult decisions become the further we continue along a particular path and therefore the preference of early and decisive action according to our core beliefs and moral code.
H: Who are you?
This exercise brings the learning process together. This is the advice that participants would give to others and reveals the new approach/ behaviour that they have adopted.
The Learning Process – What we are trying to achieve? This illustrated workbook is designed to elicit a process that is transformational for those using it. This is achieved through the use of an easy to follow narrative that also delivers the ten steps of the transformative process: Identification of Assumptions – Activity A This is largely dealt with by the story narrative alone. 1. Disorientation (this situation does not fit my preconceptions) – we know that the vast majority of young people will never encounter the situation that the characters face but we deliberately place a highly emotive situation in front of them in order to disorientate them. 2. Emotional reaction (fear, anger, guilt, shame) – the events in the story are designed to elicit an emotional response. The characters are designed in such a way that the audience likes and identifies with some of them, naturally leading them to an emotional connection whereby they do not want anything bad to happen. Analysis of Assumptions – Activities B & D Participants will identify with certain characters and begin to explore how they react. 3. Assessment of presently held assumptions – identifying with the characters and the decisions they are making actively forces the audience to examine their own worldview, raising it in their consciousness and providing an opportunity for examination. Questioning Assumptions – Activities C & D Participants begin to realise that alternative courses of action exist and using an empathetic approach build strategies for action based upon considering someone else’s perspective. 4. Understanding that you are not alone – decisions are often made in isolation, with thoughts that no one else has faced this before. Therefore the idea is to reassure that those feelings and decisions are ones that we all face in varying degrees. Developing Alternative Behaviours – Activities D, E & F Having identified alternative behaviours, participants are encouraged to try them out. 5. Exploration of new roles – the resources provide an opportunity to think about different courses of action that could be taken and enable the opportunity to test them in a safe environment. This adds an element of experiential learning without it being necessary to live through the actual events. Reflection – Activities G & H A cyclical process whereby alternative behaviours are continually refined and absorbed. 6. Creating a plan of action – having tested what works, the resource encourages the audience to build a framework of decision-making and action that they can call upon and apply to real-world problems. 7. Gaining knowledge for the plan – with continued reflection and revision as thought and knowledge builds. 8. Trying on the selected new role – the final steps deal with the assimilation of the new behaviours. 9. Development of confidence in the new role. 10. Integration of the new perspective into their life. The key to all of these steps is critical reflection and discussion and therefore all activities are designed to enhance and reinforce this process.
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