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LIBRARY

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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

MY FRIEND, MARY MAGDALENE
- A PILOT PROGRAM OF “THE HOLY SISTERS:
WOMEN IN THE GOSPEL STORIES”

presented by

YOUNG-Ml JEON

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

MA I.‘ll'elecommunication

degree i

 

 

 

WJ/ 047

Major professor

 

Date MM 9; 200!

0-7639 MSUis an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

 

PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record.
To AVOID FINES return on or before date due.
MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested.

DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE

JAN

 

6/01 c:/CIRC/DareDue,p65-p,15

MY FRIEND, MARY MAGDALENE
- A PILOT PROGRAM OF “THE HOLY SISTERS:
WOMEN IN THE GOSPEL STORIES”

By

Young-Mi Jeon

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
In partial fulfillment Of the requirements
for the degree Of

MASTER OF ARTS
Department Of Telecommunication

2001

ABSTRACT

MY FRIEND MARY MAGDALENE
- A PILOT PROGRAM OF “THE HOLY SISTERS:
WOMEN IN THE GOSPEL STORIES”
By

Young-Mi Jeon

This thesis is about a web Site which tells the biblical story of Mary
Magdalene. Its audience will be Korean—American Christian teenage girls. This
project will recreate the story from the perspective Of Mary on the basis Of
biblical studies and knowledge Of contemporary teenage girls. This program
will be designed Specifically for them in its style and format. This project will be
fun to read like a Short novel, letting users feel and think as they want. Then
users can share those feelings and thoughts using the internet technology.
This program will be a pilot project Of “Holy Sisters: Women in the Gospel

Stories.”

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Purpose: A Feministic Theological Approach ......................... 1
ll. Audience: Korean American Christian Teenage Girls ................. 5
1. General Understanding ..................................... 5

2. User Case : a Korean American Christian teenage girl, Esther . . 10

Ill. Communication Objective ........................................ 12
IV. Program Content ................................................ 13
V. Production and Presentation ...................................... 14
1. Main Page ................................................ 14

2. Intro Movie ................................................ 15

3. Option Pages ............................................. 16

1) Option 1: Her Story ................................... 16

2) Option 2: Behind-Story ............................... 18

3) Option 3: Your Story .................................. 19

4) Option 4: Send Story (Under Construction) .............. 20

VI. Timeline and Distribution ........................................ 21

Vll. Test with Users ................................................. 22

1. Research Method: Focus Group ............................ 22

2. Focus Group Report ....................................... 23

1) About Main page .................................... 24

2) About Intro movie .................................... 24

3) About “Her Story” page ............................... 25

4) About “Behind-Story” page ............................ 26

5) About “Your Story” page .............................. 27

6) Overall Evaluation ................................... 28

VIII . Reflections and Future Work .................................... 32
1. Encountered Challenges ................................... 32

1) Production Timeline: Vision vs. Reality ................. 32

2) User case : General vs. Specific ....................... 33

3) Usability: Artistic vs. Practical .......................... 33

2. Future work ............................................... 34
APPENDIXA Consent Form ........................................ 36
APPENDIX B Focus Group Questions ............................... 37
Bibliography ....................................................... 39

I. Purpose: A Feministic Theological Approach

Mary Magdalene has been described as an adulteress and repentant prostitute
in numerous novels and movies until now. The predominant image of her is Of
a voluptuous woman with long golden hair, weeping for her sins, “the very
incarnation Of the age-Old equation between feminine beauty, sexuality and
Sin.”1 However, this image has nO biblical or historical foundation. All we truly
know Of her is from the four gospels which say Mary Magdalene was one Of
Christ’s female followers, was present at Jesus’ crucifixion, and was the first

witness Of his resurrection.

Discoveries Of new texts from the dry sands Of Egypt shed light on
proven the true portrait Of Mary. On the basis of her study Of these texts, Karen
King, professor Of New Testament Studies and the History Of Ancient
Christianity at Harvard University, asserts that Mary Magdalene was indeed "an
influential figure and leader Of one wing Of the early Christian movement that
promoted women's leadership."2 According to King, these writings elaborate

the portrait Of Mary as a favored disciple and her role as "an apostle to the

 

1 Haskins, Susan (1993), May Magdalene: Myth and Metaphor, p. 1

2 King, Karen L., Women in Ancient Christianity: The New Discoveries,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/women.html

l

apostles."3

Then, how and why had She become the Church’s symbol of penance?
Many scholars agree that the image Of Mary Magdalene has been refashioned
continuously to suit the needs Of the times. Starting in the fourth century, Latin
theologians associated Mary with the unnamed sinner who anointed Jesus'
feet in Luke 7:36-50.4 They confused the account in John 1221-8, in which Mary
(Of Bethany) anoints Jesus, with the anointing by the unnamed sinner in the
accounts of Luke. Once this erroneous identification was happened, Mary
Magdalene could be every unnamed sinful woman in the Gospels, including
the adulteress in John 8:1-11 and so on. Mary the apostle had become Mary
the repentant whore. Elaine H. Pagels, professor Of Religion at Princeton
University, suspects there were Christians who were trying to challenge Mary’s

status among groups who saw her as a great one Of the disciples. 5

Throughout church history, despite the contributions and sacrifices of
countless women, their roles and achievements have been underestimated

and even forgotten. AS the early Christian communities were institutionalized

 

3 lbid.
4 lbid.

5 Pagels, Elaine H., Women in the Early Church,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/roles.html

2

starting around the second to the fourth century, women's leadership in ancient
Christianity was eventually declared heretical, and evidence of women's early
leadership roles was erased or suppressed. The same is true of the biblical
stories of women. Though women had strong faith and significant roles in
Jesus' ministry, their stories have been rarely told and, when told, have been
treated as background stories for the stories of other male disciples. According
to Elizabeth Clark, professor of Religion in Duke University, Paul's letters do not
mention the women as witnesses to the resurrection whereas all the Gospels

describe women as witnesses to the resurrection.6

Mary Magdalene has been misrepresented most among women in the
Bible. Her story has been distorted and her true story lost, becoming part of
what is now called the forgotten history of women. Haskins says that, if the
“victimization” of Mary Magdalene can stand as a metaphor for the historically
subordinate position of women in Christianity, now that the woman so long
regarded as a penitent sinner has been shown in her true light, then it may be
that Christianity’s view of woman in history itself requires some kind of radical

revision.7

 

6 Clark, Elizabeth, The Roles for Women, in From Jesus to Christ,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/roles.html

7 Haskins, p. 386.

Fortunately, in the last twenty years, the history of women in ancient
Christianity has been reconstructed by some enthusiastic theologians. They
claim the true feminine model, according to the Gospels, which embodies
strength, courage and independence, all feminine qualities which the Church
has attempted to suppress by subordinating women to the restricted model it
has created, the obedient virgin and mother.8 The reconstructed picture will
have greater relevance and resonance for women looking for active roles both
within and outside the Church.9 The true Mary Magdalene story has a different
message when freed from the restrictions which centuries of gender bias has
imposed upon her. The true Mary Magdalene, the disciple by the cross and
herald of the resurrection, would be far more edifying as a figure of
independence, courage, action, faith and love, and would serve women better
as a symbol for today. To tell this modern story of ancient times, an interactive
multimedia project will be created which represents Mary Magdalene as one of
Jesus’ faithful disciples with courage and love by telling her story again,
coming out of the shadow and sharing her experience of life and of Jesus
Christ. Teenage Girls will learn about her faith and courage and the love of

God.

 

8 Haskins, p. 387.

9 lbid. p. 394.

ll. Audience: Korean American Christian Teenage Girls

1. General Understanding

Teenagers are the internet generation, the so called N-generation. They study
and learn on the internet, find useful information through internet, enjoy games
on computer. They chat with friends via internet. They spend enormous time
with the computer everyday. The internet becomes inseparable from their lives.
The internet is a great place for them to exchange and learn from each other
and share their feelings and thoughts. So it is an effective medium to reach

teenagers.

In terms of gender and computer use, much research indicates there is
no difference in ability to use technology between girls and boys. But some
people suggest there is a gender difference in playing pattern and preference.
According to Janese Swanson, president of Girl Tech, girls tend to like depth
and connection to people and information that helps them in their lives as a
part of their play.10 Girls do things differently with a computer but it's just as
much joy for them to be able to use a program where they can create a greeting

card and send it off to someone on the internet, as it is for a boy to shoot up an

 

10 Swanson, Janese, “Girl Tech’s Mission,” from Interview Excerpt in
Digital Divide,(http://www.pbs.org/digitaldivide/gender-voices.html)

5

alien in space war game. According to this research, most girls do not like

destroying something.11

Ernest Adams, interactive software developer, mentions that some
computer games perpetuate old stereotypes about girls.12 The early games
for girls concentrated on clothing, make-up, hair and teen-age angst of various
sorts.13 The images of women portrayed in many games also need to be
changed and improved. Computer game characters are one source of role
model which contributes to who girls are and how they see the world.
Therefore, to offer positive female role models through the internet or a

computer game could provide positive alternatives for teenage girls.

Regarding physical development, teenage years are a time of explosive
change as teens transition from childhood to adulthood. As their physical
appearance changes dramatically, they get interested in sexual differences
and continue to develop their attitude toward the other sex. They may be more
prone to internalize a stereotyped sexual role or image more intensively than

any other period. According to developmental psychologists, teenage years are

 

11 Ibid.

12 Adams, Earnest, “Games for Girls,” from Interview Excerpt in Digital
Divide (http://www.pbs.org/digitaIdivide/gender—voices.html)

13 lbid.

a time of great confusion, anticipation, anxiety, and vulnerability. This period is
characterized by identity crisis. Teens are in need of acceptance, affirmation,

and significance. Teens need self-affirmation to build self-esteem.

Especially teenage girls have unique problems of self-esteem. A nation-
wide research of teenage girls (1999) by the American Association of University
Women Educational Foundation shows that teenage girls are struggling to find
their true identity in the face of the strange, pervasive, and narrow standard of
women set by media. Many teenage girls reported that it is hard for them to find

who they really are.14

In the church, female teen’s self-esteem as women has also been
oppressed by sexually discriminating interpretations of biblical passages. In
fact, women pastors are still rare in churches, while most women serve
churches in submissive roles. Teenage girls have heard lots of men's stories
from the bible, while they may have heard of few women's stories. In addition,
the stories they have heard have often been used to reinforce so called
feminine virtues such as obedience, chastity, and submissiveness, repressing
their feelings or sexuality. These teachings may influence girls' identity as

being inferior to boys'. They might not dream to be a leader in their

 

14 Haag, Pamela, Voices of a Generation (NY; Marlow & Company,
2000), p. 15

congregations. This multimedia project shows teenage girls there are female
role models in the bible, who dare to live and to follow Jesus as men did.
Teenage girls could benefit from hearing stories about female leaders and

ancestors in Christian tradition.

Outside churches, teenage girls also struggle with issues of dating,
sexual relationship, and pregnancy. They seek for security, acceptance, and
love.15 Also, some girls report experiencing sexual harassment, rape/date
rape.16 Throughout the Christian tradition, punishment for sexual sins has
been much more strictly applied to women than their male partners. Most
churches still have negative attitudes toward female sexuality. Researcher,
Pamela Haag, suggests that teenage girls need confidence in their sexual

identity.17

On the other hand, some girls recall people belittling their ambitions,

insulting their intelligence, or challenging their ability in general.18 They often

 

15 lbid, p. 36.
16 lbid, p. 37
17 lbid.

18 lbid, p. 103

hear, "She can't because she is a girl."19 They need respect and affirmation of

their abilities and decisions.

The survey also asked about what their definition of 'sisterhood’ is.
Teenage girls identified "sisterhood" as a consoling, comforting relationship
which includes being there for other girls and helping them through tough
situations.20 A 14-year-old girl emphasized the leadership aspects of the
bond: Sisterhood imposes a responsibility "to help out when girls or women
need it, to guide and to lead into the future, to be at least a good role model to
all women...”21 This multimedia project will attempt to support sisterhood
among teenage girls. They can send letters to women in the Gospel stories.

They can share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Acknowledging the present situation, this program will provide a female
faith role model, connecting contemporary teen issues of low self-esteem,
identity crisis. As they reflect and share their experiences and thoughts,
teenage girls today can form a sisterhood or friendship with ancient biblical

women in their imagination.

 

19 lbid, p.104
20 lbid, p. 81

21 lbid, p. 85

2. User Case : a Korean American Christian teenage girl, Esther

User case is a methodology for designing multimedia. The designer begins by
researching target users, narrowing down to a specific hypothetical target
individual. A brief history and personality are invented to help keep the user

vividly in mind throughout the design process.

Esther is 17 years old. Her parents immigrated to the USA when she
was 5. Her family is Christian. She is the youngest one in her family and has
two elder brothers. Her parents expect her brothers to be a pastor and a lawyer
respectively, while Esther is expected to be a good daughter and good wife in
the future. They teach her to be obedient, polite, neat, and pretty. She feels
boring and unsuitable. Though she likes pretty dolls and fancy things, she is
also active and outgoing. She wants to be someone more than being a good
wife. Her parents work at a laundry for every weekday. Both of them are
conservative. So she finds it hard to talk to them about her problems. She

wishes she had a sister.

At school, since she is a Korean-American, she looks different from
others and feels like an alien among her peers. She has black hair and yellow
skin. She is short and thin. She is smart and active. Sometimes she is afraid of

being too smart for a girl. Her classmates sometimes mock her unpopularity

lO

since she has no boyfriend. Though she is comfortable without a boyfriend,
she feels pressure from peers. She is confused and struggles with her true
identity and the meaning of her life. She grows curious about her korean
tradition. She is not good at computers. She doesn't like math and science.
She likes to read novels and romantic cartoons. She likes to collect pretty cards

and pictures.

Her family goes to church every Sunday. Her parents sing in a church
choir. Esther and her brothers attend the Sunday School youth group. Esther
has heard many biblical stories of faith ancestors, including Noah, Moses,
Samuel, David, Peter, and Paul. She has rarely heard of female faith ancestors.
She knows some women in the Bible, such as Ruth, Esther, and Mary. They
seem old fashioned and boring. Her bible teacher tells her the same thing as
her parents, saying that women should be obedient and chaste. Whenever she
reads biblical passage of women's subordination to men, she feels annoyed
since she wants to be independent and does not think herself inferior to boys.
She feels no interest in the church. She thinks the bible doesn’t say anything

about her problems.

lll. Communication Objective

The goals of this project are:

- to entertain teenage girls by telling an appealing story of Mary

Magdalene
- to provide a female faith role model from the Bible

- to provide an aesthetically appealing technical experience on the

internet.

The Communication objective of this project is to tell the new story of Mary

Magdalene as a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

12

lV. Program Content

This project depicts Mary Magdalene as a positive female role model of the
Christian faith, in her own decision and commitment to follow Jesus despite all
the traditional barriers for women at that time, which deserved to be called a
true disciple of Jesus. The image of Mary Magdalene is independent, active,
open-minded, and also warm and caring. This story tells how Mary Magdalene
met Jesus and how sincerely she followed Jesus with faith and love. She
followed Jesus throughout his ministry, helping with all her means. She was
the one who stayed with Jesus under the cross and finally became the first
witness to Jesus' resurrection. According to research, she became a leader of
one of the first Christian communities. This story is recreated on the basis of
the insights from recent theological studies of the Gospels and research about

contemporary teenage girls.

In addition, this program provides background information of the story
and general information about women's everyday life during the biblical period.
Considering the potential of the web site as a social medium, it provides an
interface to share viewers' thoughts, and feelings about the program through

internet. And they can write a message to a friend by sending an e-card.

13

V. Production and Presentation

* Computer programs: Macromedia Flash 4, Macromedia Fireworks 2, Adobe

Photoshop 5, Painter Classic, SoundApp PPC, SoundEdit 16 version 2.

This project is an interactive, multimedia web site using various programs

described above, and includes the following dimensions.

1. Main Page

lts layout appears to be a movie screen. The dark blue background color is
intended to be calming and mysterious mood. The menu image of Mary
Magdalene is the same image shown in the last scene of her story, presenting
her as faithful, joyful, and inviting. The title is faded in with little sparkling star
animation to attract viewers’ attention. Following this, the four star-shaped
option buttons appear from the title one by one like falling stars. When viewers
roll over a button, it explodes into many small stars with a circle of light. It is to
surprise and to entertain viewers as they play with buttons. Also with the star
explosion, the brief description of each option appears above Mary’s left hand.
Since the option titles, her story, behind-story, your story, and send story, are
implicit, not explicit, they need some explanation to tell viewers clearly what

each section contains. To meet that need, brief descriptions for the buttons

14

appears. Also, the menu has a button to open an intro movie at the right lower

corner of the screen.

2. Intro Movie

One of the distinguished feature of this intro movie is that viewers can choose
to see or not to see it. If they want to see this movie, they can click the “Intro”
button on the main page. This intro movie is created to stimulate viewers’
curiosity and imagination. The preloader message, “From a remote place and
time, she is coming...,” sets the tense situation where an unknown woman is
coming and she is about to reveal herself to the viewers. For some computers
with low speed connections, viewers will see a special effect when they roll
over the message. They can enjoy the effect of little stars are falling like snow.
When the download of the intro movie is finished, a woman appears with
music. A clock image moving backwards symbolizes the fact she is coming
from the past. She is marching to us through dark and disgraceful history to
speak out for herself. The sentence, “Who am I?” implies the common problem
of self-identity which contemporary teenage girls also share. The following text
animation, “People have called me a sinful woman. But I am a precious
daughter of God.” conveys that a true self-identity comes from inside, not
outside. This intro is intended to make viewers want to read the story of Mary

Magdalene, and feel sympathy for her.

15

3. Option Pages

Each option page will have the same menu bar and layout design for
consistency so that viewers can go easily anywhere in the program whenever

they want.

1) Option 1: Her Story

This page includes the option title, Her Story, buttons to go to main and other
pages. A wide screen is used to display the story. As this option page opens, a
series of text animations is played automatically, starting with, “This story has
been recreated on the basis of the Bible.” This animation is created to entertain
by showing an interesting technical experience for viewers. Right after finishing
the animation, a different message replace the previous one, saying “The story
has five parts. Click a thumbnail to enter her story world.” Five thumbnail
buttons already appear under the wide screen. As they roll over a thumbnail,

viewers can see the title of each story segment on the screen.

Once a story segment is selected, the screen shows the text and image
combination, scene by scene with background music to set mood. A different
button set appears right under the screen to control the story movie. It has back

and next buttons. If the movie reaches the last scene, the next button becomes

16

disabled automatically. Between the back and next buttons, there is a small
status bar to indicate where a viewer is in the story segment. To choose
another story segment, viewers can click the “Back to Stories” button to return
to the first page of option 1. Each story segment has different background
music to suit its content and mood. Music can be stopped or played by clicking
the “Music On/Off’ button. When “Back to Stories” is clicked, the music is also

stopped.

The five story segments tell the story from the first-person perspective.
This project lets Mary Magdalene tell her story, since her voice has been
unheard. Throughout history most women could not have spoken in public.
They could not express themselves explicitly. So this project brings Mary
Magdalene to the front stage and lets her speak. The five story segments are

the following:

* Story 1: Nightmare
- This segment introduces the environment for the whole story of Mary

Magdalene. It tells how Mary might have lived before her encounter with Jesus.

* Story 2: Encounter
- It describes the situation of how Mary meets Jesus and her experience of the

grace of God. She decides to follow Jesus after all.

17

* Story 3: Growing Love

- It depicts how Mary would work and live as one of Jesus’ disciples.

* Story 4: The Hill of Despair
- It tells the story of the last moments of Jesus on earth including the last meal,
Jesus’ arrest, trials and the cross, and Mary’s desperation. This story shows

how women followed Jesus sincerely until his death.

* Story 5: Heavenly Calling

- Mary goes to Jesus’ tomb and discovers the tomb empty. She cries and hears
a voice. She meets the risen Jesus. Jesus asks her to be the first witness to
his resurrection. Mary runs to tell the good news to others. The last scene tells
the story after that saying “Being the first witness to the risen Jesus, Mary
Magdalene became one of the leaders of the first Christian movement. Her
love and faith have shown us that she was a true and prominent disciple of

Jesus Christ after all.”

2) Option 2: Behind-Story
This page provides the background information of the story of Mary
Magdalene. As this page is opened, viewers can see a brief introduction of

Mary, “Who is Mary Magdalene?” While reading this, viewers can see three

18

other options to know more about her: Biblical passages about her, Women in
Jesus’ Time, and Other Women in the Gospels. This information is intended to
give better understanding of where Mary Magdalene and other women came

from, and how they lived in general.

* Biblical passages about Her: Summaries of the biblical passages of Mary
Magdalene and provides four text buttons to go read each Gospel passages

where Mary Magdalene appears.

* Women in Jesus’ Time: Tells about the social, cultural life of women in Israel
when Mary Magdalene lived, including marriage. Viewers can see Mary

Magdalene from a more realistic perspective.

* Other women in the Gospels : Introduces other women who are mentioned in
the four Gospels among the many Galilean women who followed Jesus. This

shows how women are an integrated and a significant part of Jesus’ ministry.

3) Option 3: Your Story

This page provides an interactive form to post and to share viewers'
opinions and experiences with one another. It asks three questions to
encourage viewers to write;

Q1: Share your thoughts and feeling about the story of Mary Magdalene.

l9

02: Share your story about how faith changes your life.

Q3: If you have a female faith role model, tell us who and why.

Viewers can choose to answer to any of these questions and to post
their answers. When viewers click the button “View Stories,” they can see the
list of stories posted by other viewers. Through this activity, viewers can hear
other voices and opinions and become more aware of the significance of

women in churches as well as in the Bible.

4) Option 4: Send Story (Under Construction)

According to research, teenage girls enjoy sending cards through the
internet since they are more relationship-oriented than boys are. Most images
on the cards will be the portraits of Mary Magdalene or the highlights from the
five story segments. Viewers can choose an image and can write their own

personal messages for different occasions.

20

Vl. Timeline and Distribution

This project has been done according to the following schedule:

May - June, 2000 : Proposal & Research
July - August, 2000 : Character Development & Storyboard
September, 2000 - March, 2001: Production

April, 2001 - Post-production

This project will be distributed over the internet, making links to other

Christian or feminist sites, submitting to search engines, and advertising

through banners. Also it can be distributed through church youth groups,

Christian education programs, and Christian middle and high schools.

21

Vll. Test with Users

1. Research Method: Focus Group

Two tests with users have been conducted. For the first test, informal feedback
was gathered from seven teenage girls when the story was partly done to ask
about teenager reactions to the story of Mary Magdalene. The researcher sent
volunteer participants e-mails with the story files, asking their opinions about
the story. The second test was the focus group at the end of the project to get
feedback from the teenage girls about the entire project. Again, files were e-
mailed to the girls in advance so they could explore the project prior to the
focus group interview. This chapter will discuss the focus group research and

its result.

In accord with Morgan’s rules of thumb, this focus group project had 7
participants.22 The participants were Korean American teenage girls among
the students of youth groups of Lansing Korean United Methodist Church and
Somang Korean Baptist Church. The age range of participants is from age 11
to age 18: one 11, two 148, two 153, one16, and one 18. Since the participants

include students under 18, the researcher asked for parents to grant

 

22 David L. Morgan, Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, p.24

22

 

permission by signing a consent form (See appendix A). Information was
presented to enable teens to decide voluntarily whether or not to participate as

a research subject.

After getting parental permissions, the researcher sent e-mails to the
focus group with the URL of the project and questions, asking them exploring
the web site in advance. The next day the focus group gathered at a classroom
of Lansing Korean United Methodist Church. Since this classroom has one
computer, the researcher presented the project, discussing each section of the
project with the focus group. In other words, this project used a structured
group approach to listen to concrete reactions of the participants. The
researcher was the moderator and asked the structured questions for each

part of the project. (See appendix B.)

The length of focus group interview was an hour. This discussion was
recorded on a tape recorder. In writing the actual report of the results, the
researcher tried to make a balance between the direct quotation of the
participants without identification and the summarization of their discussions to

convey the vivid interaction that happened in the focus groups.

2. Focus Group Report

23

In general, most participants have basic computer skills and knowledge. They
often use the internet to find information and to chat with friends. All of them
have heard of Mary Magdalene previously and some of them have a positive
image of her, while others have a negative image like a prostitute as seen in
many movies. This focus group has discussed each section of the project as

well as about the project as a whole.

1) About Main page

All of them agree that its design looks pleasing and inviting. Especially, they
like the star exploding animated button with its descriptions. An 11 year-old
said, “It’s very charming. It looks like little shiny starts in the night sky.” An 18
year-old mentioned that the design was simple and well organized. She also
liked the roll-over effect, saying, “some designers use too elaborate roll-over
and feedback that are too distracting. But these buttons have nice and soft
feedback that feel more invited and warm.” Another girl at the age of 14 said

she liked the image of Mary Magdalene on the main page.

2) About Intro movie

Most participants liked the design that viewers can choose the intro movie later

instead of being forced to see the intro before getting to the main menu, except

24

one who has no preference. Among girls who were positive, a 16 year old girl
said ,“I really hate those intro movies even if they are well done and
entertaining. Right out of the bat, it forces me to watch something when I don’t
have time to watch. It makes me feel like I have no control. In that sense I really
love this idea giving the control back to the user.” Another girl agreed with her in
saying, “it is very convenient for me to choose the intro movie in case I don’t
want to see it.” In terms of the intro movie itself, they felt it was fresh and
interesting. They felt a build up of some expectation and tension about an

untold story.

3) About “Her Story” page

Q1: What did you feel or think of the story of Mary Magdalene?

A 16 year old girl said, “I felt her as a human-being whom you might
know in the real world, rather than a far-off woman whom I can only read about
in the bible. It really had a personal touch. It lets me improve my understanding
of Mary.” A girl at the age of 14 said that she realized from the web site that Mary
was the first person to see the risen Jesus. Another 14 year old girl mentioned
that she felt that Mary was a really brave woman. A common reaction was that
participants gained a better understanding of Mary Magdalene and became

more interested in her.

25

 

Q2: Is it easy to navigate the stories using the buttons?

Most of them said that it is easy and user-friendly. Also there were some
suggestions. An 18 year old girl said, “...However the stars, navigation buttons
were too small. I didn’t realize for several minutes that they are clickable. It also
had a status bar displaying where l was in terms of page length, but I would

like to see things like page numbers."

Q3: Is the background music effective?
All the participants agreed that the background music sets the mood of
the story. A 15 year old girl said, “I cannot imagine browsing this web site

without the music!”

4) About “Behind-Story” page

Q1: ls “Biblical passages of Her” helpful?

There were different reactions to this question. One of the pros said, “I
really wanted to know where exactly she appears in the bible, and it was right
there!” One whose age is 11 said that it’s helpful. but somewhat difficult. On the
other hand, a 14 year old girl said, “To be honest, I didn’t read all the bible

passages about her. It was little bit boring...”

Q2: What did you learn from “Other Women in the Gospels” ?

26

All the girls seemed to be encouraged by the fact that there were many
women who followed Jesus. An 18 year old girl said, “I felt that the women
were an integral part of Jesus’ life rather than just back drops.” A 14 year old
girl said that “I became aware that there were many great women as well as
Mary Magdalene.” An 11 year old said that she was a great woman who
followed Jesus sincerely until Jesus’ death. Another 14 year old girl said, “I like
the fact that more women were Jesus’ disciples than we knew.” Another 14
year old girl agreed by saying, “Women were great! I became aware of that

there were many women who followed Jesus.”

Q3: What did you learn from “Women in Jesus’ time”?

As a result, all the participants became more aware of the situation of
women in Jesus’ time. A 16 year old girl said, “it gave me a sense of how
women were mistreated at that time. It helped to better understand Mary as a
real person.” A 14 year old girl said, “I felt angry about the unfair situation where
women in Jesus’ time lived. Also, I felt sympathy for these women as a

woman.”

5) About “Your Story” page

Most participants said that this page was easy to use. An 18 year old girl said,

“I especially like features on a web site where a person can voice his or her

27

own opinion.” Regarding the three questions written on this page, participants

thought these questions were appropriate for the theme of this project.

6) Overall Evaluation

Q1: What is your overall impression of the design of this project?
Participants agreed that the design of this project was fresh and
attractive. A 15 year old girl said, “It’s fresh. Animations are very pretty and eye-

catching.”

Q2: Is this site helpful for your faith?

Most participants think of Mary Magdalene as their faith role model for
her faith and courage. A 14 year old girl mentioned, “I think she was a great
woman who was very faithful and courageous.” Another 14 year old girl said, “I
Want to be more faithful like Mary who followed Jesus even after other disciples
ran away.” On the other hand, an 18 year old girl mentioned, “In-depth
information about a person who is rarely talked about helped me to have better
understanding of the Bible. We only hear stories about Paul and Peter or other
men in the Bible, but we seldom hear about women. We should have more
web sites and other media programs like this one.” An 11 year old girl said,
“the image of God she(Mary) had was so big like the sea, I think.” Another 14

year old girl said that she felt more friendly about the bible after reading the

28

story of Mary Magdalene.

Q3: Are you more interested in women in the bible after viewing this site?

This site has stimulated participants’ interest in women in the bible. An
18 year old girl said, “it made me want to read the Bible once again to find
more about these women. I will look at them in a whole new way.” A 14 year old
girl said, “Yes. I want to read more about women in the Bible. It reminds me of
the story of Deborah in Judges. So I decided to read Judges to know more

abouther”

Q4: Is it easy or difficult to navigate around this web site? Please cite where
you found difficult or confusing.

Generally speaking, it has been easy for the participants to navigate this
site. But some of them pointed out drawbacks of the navigation. A 14 year old
girl said, “the buttons were simple and easy to use. However, I often got lost. It
didn’t give me a status bar or any other feature displaying exactly where l was."
An 11 year old girl also pointed out that the arrows as buttons were too small.
Another 14 year old girl said that she felt uncomfortable because she could not
use browser back button to navigate this site since the whole site was a Flash

movie.

Q5: Which part do you like or appreciate most?

29

Most participants mentioned that they really enjoyed the story of Mary
Magdalene and the pictures. A 15 year old girl said, “I like the story of Mary
Magdalene because it elaborates her life and faith in detail. Also the story is fun
to read. I really enjoyed it.” A 11 year old said that she liked the beautiful
pictures in her story most. On the other hand, an 18 year old girl said that her
favorite part was the message board where she could share her thoughts and
opinion. Also the same girl said that she really like the idea of seeing the main

page first and viewing the intro movie later at the user’s leisure.

Q6: Which part should be added or improved?
Most of participants were satisfied with this site and there were few
suggestions for its improvement. One girl just suggested that she wanted to

see bigger pictures to fill empty space of the screen.

Q7: After exploring this site, do you feel more friendly in using computer?

All the participants agreed that they felt more friendly about computer
after viewing this web site. A 18 year old said, “I always thought of the Internet
as an information-gathering tool rather than an educational one. I really didn’t
like the traditional web sites that are text-based, like an encyclopedia. This site
was a nice mix of educational information and entertainment. The user-friendly

environment and mixed animation and text information kept me entertained.”

3O

In sum, most participants have enjoyed the story of Mary Magdalene and
the pictures. They thought that its navigation design was easy and simple.
Especially, they appreciated that the intro movie could be seen at viewers’
discretion and the message board provided a space to share their opinions.
Also, there have been some suggestions about navigation and the size of the

screen.

31

 

 

VIII . Reflections and Future Work

In this chapter, I would like to discuss what I have learned along the way
creating the project. First, I will describe three big challenges that l have
encountered throughout the production process. Second, I will conclude the
thesis by mentioning three lessons for my future work on the basis of this

project experience.

1. Encountered Challenges

1) Production Timeline: Vision vs. Reality

This project originally intended to create seven women’s stories in the
Gospels. As time passed, it was reduced into four women and then three
women. Finally I decided to choose only one woman, Mary Magdalene, among
them. It became a pilot program of the project that I originally planned. Through
this process, I realized that I did have an ambitious vision but didn’t have any
realistic sense of production time to achieve it. In fact, even in developing the
story of one woman, I have spent about six months just drawing pictures for the
story. By choosing one person, I could concentrate on developing her story in
detail and its design as a whole. Focusing on one story was one of main

factors to allow me finish this project successfully within the time limit.

32

2) User case : General vs. Specific

I thought that targeting a more general audience would be better to reach out to
more people. At first my audience was women from age 11 to college students.
It was shrunk to teenage girls and then Christian teenage girls. I read several
academic books about teenagers and teenage girls. Also, I looked up teen
magazines to understand their culture. After that, my final target audience
became focused on a korean-american Christian girl, Esther. If I focused on
her from the beginning, I would not have to spend so much time to research on

the whole group of teens.

Also, I was afraid that the project would 'be biased if I chose a specific
user case. I could not trust my singular imaginary target audience. How could
she represent other korean-american Christian teenage girls? But I tried to
follow this professional convention. As I worked, I found that it was the narrow
way to touch a truth of the group. A user case became a small door to enter
their world. Otherwise, I could not probe down to their world sincerely and
deeply. My experience confirmed that the more specific my user case is, the

more I can be professional and successful in my design.

3) Usability: Artistic vs. Practical

33

One of the big challenges I faced was viewers’ reactions which were different
from my expectation. As I worked, I asked several teenage girls about the
design and use of buttons. I had tried to design a button which looked good
and was suitable for the whole screen design. That was my priority. But when I
asked girls, they did not appreciate my concern and wanted more practical
functionality. So I had to change the whole button designs and functions

several times throughout the production process.

2. Future work

This project is developed as a pilot program of “Holy Sisters: Women in the
Gospels.” In this sense, I have learned a lot from working on this pilot project
for the future project. First, I will be more realistic in planning and producing a
project. I will carefully calculate and organize the production timeline on the
basis of this experience. Second, I spent lots of time doing research about a
general audience. Next time, I will try to focus a specific user case from the
beginning. Third, I will open my ears and hearts to potential viewers throughout
the production process. I need to compromise my personal design

preferences with the viewpoint of usability and preference by the viewers.

34

APPENDICES

A. Consent Form

B. Focus Group Questions

35

APPENDIX A Consent Form

This project involves the development of a web site to tell the stories of women in the
Gospels to Korean-American Christian teenage girls. This web site of the story of Mary
Magdalene is a pilot program of the original project. It aims to provide a female faith role
model to users, presenting the story using new technology of the internet.

You are only being asked to participate in discussion about this program. This single
session will last approximately one hour. During this session you will be asked some
questions about the content, functionality, and navigation of this web site. You will not
be involved with any risk of physical injury during your participation in this study.

You are being asked to freely participate in this study. Participation is voluntary and you
can elect not to participate in this study. At any time during this study, you may
discontinue your participation. You will not be penalized or lose benefits if you refuse to
participate or decide to withdraw.

Your comments will be helpful for project improvement. The discussion will be tape
recorded and all results from this study will be treated with strict confidence. This means
that your name will not be associated with the answers you provide to questions in any
report. Your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law.

If you have any questions or concerns about your participation in this study, please
contact the researcher Youngmi Jeon (jeonyoun@msu.edu). If you have questions about
your rights as participants in research testing, you may contact David E. Wright, Ph.D.,
Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects at 517-355-
2180 or ucrihs@msu.edu

Please indicate your voluntary agreement to participate in this research by signing this
consent form.

(If you are under the age of 18)
Parent Name (please print)

 

Signature: Date:

 

Student Name (please print)

 

Signature: Date:

 

 

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Youngmi Jeon

Telecommunication Dept.
Michigan State University

36

APPENDIX B Focus Group Questions

 

Part I: Before exploring the project, My Friend Mary Magdalene, please answer
the following questions.

 

1. Age: 2. Sex: 3. Religion:

4. General Computer skills:

( ) no interest

( ) afraid and barely use it

( ) can use basic functions

( ) use and explore various programs

( ) develop home pages using various programs

5. Internet uses (Please write numbers in order from most to least):
( ) never

( ) use for information

( ) use for fun

( ) use for game

( ) use for chat
other (describe it)

 

6. Have you heard of Mary Magdalene from churches or other media?
Yes ( )/No ( )
if yes, what do you know about her? Please describe her image you have?

 

Part II: After viewing the web site, please answer the following questions.

 

* About Main page
1. Your first impression

2. What do you think of button design and navigation?

* About Intro movie
1. Does it make you expect something in terms of her story?

2. What is your feeling of this movie?

* About Her Story page

37

1. What do you feel or learn about the story of Mary Magdalene?

2. Were you surprised to read that Mary Magdalene was an important disciple
ofJesus?

3. Do you think Mary is at all like you? Is she someone you would like to be
like?

* About Behind-Story page
1. Are the biblical passages of Mary Magdalene helpful?

2. What do think of other women in the Gospel stories?

3. What did you learn about life for women during the time Mary was alive?
* About Your Story page

1. Was it easy and convenient to use the form? If not, how should it be

improved?

2. Are the three questions appropriate? Is there a question you might want to
add?

* Overall evaluation
1. What is your overall impression of the design of this project?

2. Does this story challenge your faith?
3. Does it inspire you to read or study other women in the Bible in the future?

4. Is it easy or difficult to navigate around this web site? Please cite where you
found difficult or confusing.

5. Which part do you like or appreciate most?
6. Which part should be added or improved?

7. After exploring this site, do you feel more friendly in using computer?

38

Bibliography

Tim, Dowley. (1998). Everyday Life in Bible Times. Ml: Kregel Publications.

Morgan, David L. (1997). Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, Sage
Publications.

 

Haag, P. (2000). Voices of a Generation: Teenaqe Girls Report about Their
Lives Today. NY: Marlow & Company

Haskins, S. (1993). Mary Magdalene: Mflh and Metaphor, NY: Riverhead Books

Watson, Elizabeth G. (1997). Wisdom's Daughters: Stories of Women around
Jesus, The Pilgrim Press

 

 

Adams, Earnest. (2000). “Games for Girls, " from Interview Excerpt in Digital
Divide (http://www.pbs.org/digitaldivide/gender-voices.html)

 

King, Karen L. (2000). Women in Ancient Christianity: The New Discoveries,
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/women.
html)

Pagels, Elaine H. (2000). Women in the Early Church,
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/roles.html)

Swanson, Janese. (2000). "Girl Tech’s Mission, ” from Interview Excerpt in
Digital Divide, (http://wwwpbs.org/digitaldivide/gender-voices.html)

39

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