From Canadas formative history, to present day media, you can find stories created in the wake of World War Two everywhere.

Stories, that are meant to both solidify the change that occurred as a result of WWII, and commemorate things that were done so that they may never happen again.

Intro: From the 1950s to Now

In the Hey Boomer Project, it was our job to build on to our existing knowledge about WWII and its impacts on Canada. We used these insights into the past to create truly a time capsule of a project, a radio play.

Based on the hit movie made in 1998, Pleasantville, our radio play was about two modern day kids navigating a 1950s suburban world, and realizing how truly different it was.

 The interesting part about the project that enjoyed the most was the creative aspect, where we had the freedom to as small groups create scripts for scenes of the final play, and implament themes of historical significance and satire along the way. But in order to create a world set in the 1950s, how did we show our comprehension of that time in the first place?

Creating Canada Post WWII Notes

Well, this is where our where our post WWII Notes come in. As a class, we watched several documentaries about the change Canada experienced after WWII. These documentaries focused on:

  • The history of how Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada through the symbolization and spread of Canadian patriotism. 
  • Key figures who drove change in the face of discrimination as a product of immigration, and old, outdated ideas. These figures were such as Viola Desmond and Jonny Smallwood.
  • The growth other Provinces of Canada amidst economical struggles and booms, like Alberta, Quebec and BC. 

As you can see, although my notes vary in tidiness, they were very effective in helping place me in the world of early post WWII Canada, and now I could begin building this world by helping write the script. After working in small groups as a class, we were all collectively able to create a full script comprised of 5 acts, each with two scenes. 

The Script of Happytown

The act my group was assigned was act four scene two, which was essentially the climax of the story, which was very interesting to create considering I acted as the antagonist of the story. 

In our story, called Happytown, I acted as a stubborn and old fashioned principal, who stood against change regarding Happytown. It was a really fun role to act, and to have some creative control over the final product of our project. Below is the script my group wrote.

 

 

 

 

 

My note showcases both our groups understanding of how the plot molded in with the particularly unusual and unique storyline, and also the challenges we faced along the way in comprehending how to form essential history and satire into a story. There is room for much more showcasing of certain pieces of Historical evidence that we could’ve implemented, but overall I think our script explains the feeling behind Act Four Scene Two quite effectively. 

The Radio Play

After every group had formulated a part of the final script, and had all collaborated and synthesized our ideas collectively, the story was complete. The final part? Presenting it.

 

 

 

After some fairly successful but also challenging trial runs, and many issues with sound effects and voice acting, our story was ready for the live stage. 

Well, as much as a radio play can be, anyway. We filed into a choir room and it play, on our YouTube livestream, and it went as planned to a great extent. After lots of group and technical work, the class was able to put on a real presentation, which I am proud to say I was part of. Thanks for Watching!