Group Research Project: The Mirror

For the Interaction Lab Group Research Project, my group and I decided to create a magical mirror based off the story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin. We titled our performance “The Mirror.”

The Design Process

Before settling on an artifact to create, my group members and I compiled all of our ideas into a single Google Doc. Our selection was based on which design was the most doable (to create) and which design connected best with its respective story that it was based on. In the end, The Mirror was chosen.

Our concept of The Mirror was that it would show the sacrificial boy from “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” when people showed joy to remind them that their happiness came at the cost of the boy’s suffering. The point of the mirror was to promote conversation amongst the citizens of Omelas, so they could reassess their society and figure out if they were doing something wrong. 

Since we could not create a mirror that changed its screen from a reflective side to a see-through side that showed the boy (given our time constraint and lack of knowledge on how to create it), we opted for a mirror that swiveled around when people showed happy emotions instead.

Our initial designs:

Our final design and prototype:

To showcase the mirror’s function, one of my group members created a script for the performance based off of our concept of promoting communication and conversation:

[It starts with the boy being bullied for a little bit]

Boy: “Please, I’ll be good, I promise I’ll be good

Bully: Shut up, filthy. You disgust me, you represent everything that is wretched

[bully walks off stage]

boy, alone: But I’ll be good

Someone at the side where the audience can’t see:‘ hurry up we have to get to the festival’ 

12: ‘Okay okay let’s go’ 

[skipping with a 8 year old across stage until they see the mirror, maybe there’s bells chiming or they’re laughing or something and then they stop when they see the mirror]

8: I’ve never seen this mirror before

12: Do you see that? Inside, in there! It’s a boy

[points]

8: Quick Quick we have to get him out

12: [ name of 8 year old ] we can’t

8: What do you mean we can’t?

12: I’ve seen him before, hasn’t your mom told you about him?

8: No. . . but why can’t we let him out?

[pause]

12: Think about it like this: You’re happy, right?

8: Well, sure of course

12: How do you know?

8: [shrugs]

12: When you see that boy, you know.

8: But he’s just like me, why can’t I be his friend? 🙁

12: [frantic] Hey hey! look! when you frown I can’t see him..

8: Oh.. But every time I smile because of something that makes me happy he comes back

12: I wonder who put this mirror here, I’m not sure I like the way it makes me feel …

Horse: What are you kids doing here? Quickly, go up to the Green Fields for the procession

12: yea, we should do that. Quickly [ name of 8 year old ], c’mon

[ walk off stage]

Horse, talking to himself/horse: Oh what a lovely day it is to be joyous. What a lovely life . . . easy, quiet girl, can’t you see the beauty of the world around you? It’s the first day of summer, and the sun is shining so. What a gift it is to know joy. 

Horse: Come with me, observe the beauty of your mane in the reflection.

[stands in front of the mirror] 

[slowly realizes and gets disgusted]

[kids come back with their parents] 

[parent one steps up, kids and parent two talk in a little circle farther on stage]

Horse: have you seen this mirror, this monstrosity?

Parent 1: The children were just telling us about it, but sir it isn’t so bad is it . . . It’s not as if you didn’t know 

Horse: yes, I knew, but do you think it should just be out like this . . . wouldn’t you rather forget at times?

Parent 1: Well, sure, but we shouldn’t

Horse: Look at me, aren’t I the picture of joy? Exuberance? And my horse, don’t you think thinking about . . . it. . . that, takes away from the festivities?

Parent 1: I think you should be wary of vapid irresponsible happiness, lest you end up like him, unable to be helped. . .

[bully enters again, kicking and spitting on kid in the mirror] [people watch in shock] [bully walks around stage as if to walk out of building and towards town square]

Bully: Shouldn’t you all be out enjoying life?

Horse: look, this mirror, we just saw you through it

Bully: ugh, not that poor wretched thing

Horse: I suppose so . . .

Bully: I think it’s good to go and give it a good kick sometimes, keep things in order

Horse: wouldn’t you rather just forget it exists at all?

Bully: don’t you understand you can’t just forget about it? You need to hurt it. You can’t let it know that it is important or even cared for, that will ruin everything

Parent 2: you’re supposed to take those feelings and put them in your own children, don’t you understand?

Parent 1: This is just the way things are

Bully: This mirror shows you how the world works

Horse: I do understand but I don’t like it, it horrifies me . . . I don’t think I can stay here, are we not just prisoners? 

Parent 2: Maybe we are . . . but you can’t just leave Omelas. Too many young people have just left and never returned. You don’t know where you’re going and it could be dangerous out there

Horse: But how can I stay when I know that this is happening, when this mirror reminds me of reality every time I am happy?

Parent 2: [exasperated] Why can’t you honor this boys sacrifice? 

Horse: Because it is wrong

Parent 2: If that is wrong then all of our joy, the nobility of our architecture, the poignancy of our music, the profundity of our science is also wrong

Horse: I can not agree with you

Parent 2: I can not agree with you either, but please stay

8: please don’t go away

12: please don’t walk away from Omelas

Horse: I’ll stay

Parent 2: I’ve never been able to talk about the boy with anyone before, I try to just forget it like you, but no one here wants to ignore it anymore

12: maybe being able to talk about it is a good thing?

8: I think so too

Horse: maybe this mirror is what the people of Omelas need

Parent 2: There’s a chance it could make more people try to walk away, like you, but there’s also a chance that it makes people talk about the truth more

Bully: [kinda interjecting/interrupting, purposefully sounds awkward/ruins sentimental moment] Sooooo…. Do you guys want me to move this from the middle of town or..?

Parent 1: No, no, I think you should leave it

Horse: Yes, I agree, please leave it right there. 

Since there was a horse and horseman in the script, my group and I decided to create a cardboard horse as a prop. During a cardboard workshop, two of my groupmates created the base of the horse and the horse head, while I created the width of the horse to make it 3D. Afterwards, one groupmate and I used a hot glue gun to piece the horse together.

As for the mirror, everyone pitched in to paint and decorate it.

The Performance!

Successes and Failures of The Mirror

Overall, I believe our artifact did a fantastic job of delivering the message or moral of our performance. The artifact also complemented the original story of “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” very well, and in a one-dimensional sense, the artifact was pretty interactive; for instance, when someone shows a happy or positive emotion, the seemingly normal mirror turns into a see-through glass that showcases the sacrificial boy from the original story. Otherwise, the mirror remains a normal mirror. 

Although I believe our artifact was very well executed, we did have our shortcomings. In my opinion, we failed when it came to providing context when we did our actual performance with the mirror. At the end of the performance, some people inquired about the background information and the context of the mirror; we could have included some explanation in our performance. Also, we did not fully think our artifact through during the design process and failed to make it more interactive than it already was. 

Regarding the topic of interaction, the mirror did not relate to the established form of interaction that I identified in my prior research. My definition was as follows: interaction is an ongoing conversation that promotes freedom of expression without following a certain regimen or structure. As mentioned above, the mirror interacted with a user based on their emotions; if they showed a positive emotion, the mirror showed the sad boy. However, this level of interaction displayed a certain structure and did not have any other function that could make it even more interactive. 

Although the mirror was not as interactive as I hoped, I believe my group’s performance clearly showcased the mirror’s detailed interaction through the mini-skit we performed. However, if I were to change anything, I would try to modify our artifact to better fit my (and my group members’) definition of interaction, in addition to making the artifact itself more interactive with higher functionality. I would also try to take a different approach to the performance and provide more context surrounding the mirror and its origins and/or functions.

Assessment of the Barbie AI

I very much enjoyed the performance and the concept of the Barbie AI. I also think that the design of the Barbie AI artifact was very well done and aesthetic!

As for meeting the criteria, I believe the Barbie AI group did a good job making their artifact interactive. I also liked how their performance presented the artifact; it highlighted the function of the artifact well and in a fun, creative way. When their group first brought the Barbie AI to the stage, I did have a general idea of what it might do, but for the most part, I was very curious about its function. The scenario they used to showcase their artifact was clever (the students are so tired that they do not have time to pick an outfit, so their friend introduces them to her dad’s invention, the Barbie AI), and it demonstrated its interactivity excellently. 

If I were to suggest any improvements to their project, I would suggest adding more functions (just as I suggested to my artifact) to increase its interactivity. Other than that, I believe their group did a great job!

Conclusion

Altogether, this was a very fun project. My group was very considerate of everyone’s opinions and ideas, and I believe that our group dynamics were very good. We were on the same wavelength most of the time, and when we had differing ideas, we compromised and created something great. 

I also believe the work was well-distributed within the group. Everyone’s ideas were incorporated in some way into our artifact and performance. To contribute, I created our shared Google Doc to organize our ideas and remind the group of the rubric. As mentioned above, I also helped create the horse and the actual artifact, and I played the 8-year-old child in our performance. 

My biggest takeaway is that everything is a group effort, and we were only able to pull this project off thanks to our teamwork and communication. Shoutout to Group E 🙂