I ran across this website recently. The Big Myth is an educational site which seeks to inform students about mythologies across the globe. I’ve always been interested in mythology, ever since my mom would read African fables to me as a child. Myths and fables have traditionally served an important purpose within a culture. It is used to educate and, to some extent, indoctrinate the youth into the ways and expectations of a certain culture. Myths can also impart universal lessons that may be relevant to any culture. In fact when you look at different myths from different cultures you see that many of the lessons are the same. People do enjoy a striking similarity of values around the world.

A previous article in this magazine documents my exploration in bringing African fables to the digital age using motion graphics and animation. I was sure that I wasn’t the only one exploring this theme but have not run across many that approach the subject in a similar fashion. The Big Myth uses the same technology (Adobe Flash) but puts it into an educational framework including a teachers guide and forum. I also appreciate the fact that it includes five myths from Africa. I’m of the firm belief that African American youth would be well served by being exposed the unbridled imagination and time tested values that ancient mythology can provide, in contrast to the kind of gritty, “keepin’ it real” urban mythology that they are currently inundated with.

The Big Myth is funded by grants from the Socrates Fund of the European Commission, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences and Kennisnet. It includes animation, sound effects, music and narration.

Click here to experience The Big Myth.

As graphic designers we are in the unique position to create, influence, interpret and preserve culture. The visual materials we produce, both printed and electronic are records of our times. The western-based cultural tradition of writing dates back thousands of years. This history, stored on paper, tablets or scrolls is, for the most part, safe and stored in museums and archives.

Before the written tradition, however, was the oral tradition — the practice of spreading a people’s history and ideals through the spoken word, many times in the form of fables. This project seeks to modernize and archive the African oral storytelling tradition using computer-based motion graphics and interactivity. Using MacroMedia Flash MX (an authoring and animation software) the project merges the spoken word with interactive and kinetic graphics, music and sound…
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