Level Up

Level Up is a motion comic on DVD that delivers the message that staying in school can provide lifelong advantages and opportunities for Canadian First Nations youth. The story and artwork uses the context of video gaming to raise awareness and spark conversation among Aboriginal young people living in Canada. The title refers to winning the video gaming level to move to the next level and is used as a metaphor for moving up to high school and the university.

The main character is Terry, a youth who is contemplating dropping out of school, but before he gets a chance, he is asked to spend some time with his cousin Dave, a successful game developer living off the reservation territory in a city. The character of Dave uses a strategy of comparing the importance of school to character strengths and weaknesses in a video game. Having had the importance of school put into terms he can understand, Terry is portrayed as better able to make a decision for his future.

The motion comic is carried out by the Courtenay, British Columbia (BC), Canada-based Healthy Aboriginal Network (HAN), a non-profit endeavour to promote the health, literacy, and wellness of First Nations youth through the use of visual art as a medium to effect change. They have released 16 comic books on diabetes prevention, the residential school, living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), physical activity, and youth mental health, among others. (Please see related summaries below and the HAN website.)