Storyboard

Due to time constraints, it is impossible to fully present all 14 levels (12 of which contain independent memory stories with substantial content), so the “exam level” is selected as an example for level content explanation. The protagonist of this level is a girl under educational pressure, whose parents impose strict demands on her: she must achieve full marks and remain first in every exam, or face verbal humiliation (such as being called “idiot”) and comparisons with others if she fails to meet the standards. Figures 1 and 2 depict the girl’s daily routine: she still studies at 2:30 a.m., and must wake up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for school—combined with the typical 7:00-7:30 arrival time at Chinese schools, along with morning recitation and evening homework tasks, her daily rest time is only about three hours. Figures 3 and 4 show memory fragments: the girl once received a severe scolding from her parents for scoring 95 points (missing 5 points) on an exam, leading to her falling into despair. Figures 5 and 6 portray the girl developing depression and self-harm under dual pressures from family and academics, being discovered by her parents and subjected to violent treatment (strangling and beating), and being accused of being “useless” and “poor grades yet sentimental.” Her parents attack her with phrases like “everyone else can handle it,” “girls are just delicate,” and “you shouldn’ t have been born.” This phenomenon is somewhat prevalent in China, and there are many similar families around me. Even though the general situation is not as drastic, domestic violence is also present in families with poor economic status and low level of parental education. Conventional stereotypes about gender make certain parents think that girls will get married to other families and do not require being raised, which makes their daughters burdens.