“Whenever I see a film of a Pacific Islander, I feel more grounded in my experience and my existence on this planet. Whenever we're able to center BIPOC voices and stories, I think ultimately even though those stories may be hurtful in themselves and telling things that are difficult, in the end it helps to support the fact that it's not just you. It's not just you and your experience. It's not just you, that you felt weird during that conference call. This is bigger, right? This is an issue in the way life is built and structured.” Drawing It Together As production for That Got Weird wraps up, Rapu is working to film his final few interviews and edit the often- hour-long conversations down into five-minute impactful exchanges, which will then be animated. He has partnered with illustrator Mychal Batson, known artistically as Myc Dazzle, to design the characters that will populate That Got Weird . Batson currently resides in Texas, but grew up in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul. “Myc is really creative and he jumped on board wanting to explore something that he’s never done before and I’ve never done before and just kind of take a chance creatively,” Rapu said. “His characters look fun and exciting, which is not necessarily something that you would picture when you think about a series on racism. I think that juxtaposition is what he brings to all of this, and I know he’s super aware that these conversations may get into not-so-happy stuff and that’s important. I think he’s open to the full range of what this can be.”
Designing the characters is a multi-step process, with the interview subjects first identifying a few key characteristics they want to see in their illustrated anonymous figures, including gender identity, skin tone, and hair style or head covering. Then those details, along with an audio-only version of their interview, are shared with Batson, to avoid any potential for bias. Batson then creates the illustration, along with specific anchor points and triggers that Rapu can animate. The final elements include a title design by TPT designer Ben Malley, some sound effects by audio engineer Terry Gray and a few surprises still under wraps. “I hope audiences that watch this feel empowered to just share their story,” Rapu said. “And even if they don't want to, to know that racism impacts everyone and it's not okay that that happens. But the more of us that see that, maybe the more we feel like a bigger part of a group instead of just individuals.”
Stay tuned to RacismUnveiled.org to watch.
This story is part of the Racism Unveiled digital storytelling project with generous funding from the Otto Bremer Trust, HealthPartners, US Bank and the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation.
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