Children's Short Story Turn Socially Conscious Read: A Reflection

A key element of a strong assemblage is the ability of its components to work together seamlessly, and in a book titled Disney’s 5 Minute Christmas Stories, it does just that. This collection of short stories centered around the holiday contains twelve separate readings that incorporate popular Disney characters. In doing so, each tale is wildly different from the last; yet, they form a cohesive whole because of their two defining elements: the Christmas holiday and their Disney origin.

My second project for Writing and Editing in Print and Online required that I remix and/ or remediate an assemblage to convey a new message, and in remixing a story from the Disney children’s book, I was able to create a socially conscious and politically driven short story. My aim is to inform the readers- be it parents or children- of the issues that come with the failing healthcare system present in the United States. Because this story is derived from a children's short stories book, it is still written in language that is appealing to all audiences- including its original audience: young children. Though Santa’s Little Helper was originally written for children, the remixed version of the text could be reproduced into a storybook that teaches children valuable life lessons.

In relation to the creative process, writing and composing are two inherently different things: Writing tends to focus on making additional comments after a work has already been created, while composing is, generally speaking, starting from the basics. For this project specifically, I utilized the writing portion of the two terms as I made changes to an already completed work.

In order to deliver this text, I used a digital medium as it much more accessible to the audience. In doing so, I am able to distribute my remixed short story in a way that is both more timely as well as environmentally friendly. The shift from print to digital helps support the change in content as digital media is more accessible by adults than it is by children.

In reviewing both the content and the creative process of this project, my audience has much to gain, although two specific points are notable: the design medium as it is environmentally friendly and the message as it is imperative that our nation provides universal healthcare to all of its citizens.