So why does this blog exist? Well, if I had to sum it up in a single word it would have to be: storytelling.
Some of you might be thinking hey, aren’t you cheating? Storytelling looks suspiciously like two words. It’s one, I promise. But if it makes you feel any better you can replace that word with story instead. It will technically work either way, but I’m going to stick with the first choice because it’s a better fit.
In the modern era I think the true power of storytelling is often taken for granted. I’ve heard the phrase “It’s just a story” countless times and in many different ways.
It’s just a movie, it’s just a song, it’s just a book, etc.. I’ve even thought this myself at times. In attempting to understand why I’m so passionate about storytelling and explain why I think it is a worthwhile pursuit, I was forced to challenge this deeply ingrained concept.
So, how do I go about challenging the status quo? Deep down, I know that storytelling is important but it’s not necessarily easy to point to why, let alone convince others.
But if someone is going to pursue a career in storytelling, it would stand to reason they would have a compelling argument for why it matters, right?
At least one would hope this would be the case. With that in mind, here is my attempt at presenting a case for why storytelling matters. And not only why it matters, but why it is essential to the human experience.
That’s a tall order. Bold. Some might even say – a little crazy… but I think I can pull it off. Hey, what can I say? It sort of comes with the territory. It reminds me of a quote from William Goldman.
“It’s an accepted fact that all writers are crazy, even the normal ones are weird.”
If that’s the case, It looks like I’m in good company. Please excuse the tangent. With all that in mind, here’s my two cents.
We often categorize storytelling as merely for the sake of entertainment and the general sentiment I’ve personally encountered time after time, is that storytelling doesn’t really have substance or that it’s “artsy fartsy” and is essentially useless in the modern world.
Either that or the general consensus that storytelling has the surface level value of throwaway entertainment and nothing more.
I vehemently disagree. Stories have been a part of the human experience since the beginning of time. One very important example that most of us can probably relate to is the almost ubiquitous ritual of the bedtime story.
This is practiced across countries, classes and cultures. Why? If it was just about throwaway entertainment as so many are quick to suggest, I highly doubt it would be such a time honored tradition. If you think about it, this is typically one of the first modes of learning we are introduced to as children.
Before we are anywhere close to being old enough to go to school and learn about life, we are introduced to how our world works through stories. They can provide a framework for how we view the world, convey complex information in a natural and engaging way, present moral values, and help instill those in values in us. Stories can also introduce us to complex dilemmas and simultaneously provide a framework for how to resolve them.
Stories are widely used in other types of learning. Even if you are studying something seemingly unrelated, different forms of storytelling can be applied to help us remember that information. Some might argue that music is better at this and that is up for debate, but music often utilizes story as well. It’s almost like humans are built for storytelling.
In fact, if you take the time to analyze any aspect of human endeavor you can find elements of story that are vital to its success. It’s also vital to our psychological development. Fairy tales are a great example of this. Its an almost universal experience to have heard and enjoyed a fairy tale at some point in our lives.
The modern literary world often looks down upon fairy tales. I’ve often heard these ancient tales criticized for being “too simplistic” or “problematic” as if complexity in itself is a virtue. There’s a reason we have the saying ” If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
All too often in modern storytelling, the attempt to be sophisticated and complex backfires and results in a convoluted mess that is confusing and unsatisfying. Einstein famously said “Genius is making complex things simple, not making simple things complex.”
Or at least it is attributed to him. Just because something is seemingly simple, doesn’t mean that it isn’t deep. Those who look down on the power of fairy tales with a supposed sophisticated, intellectual, perspective are missing the point. Stories don’t need to be overly complex to be engaging and powerful.
Another great example of this is the Hero’s Journey, which is still widely used across different industries today. In case you are unfamiliar with its history, this concept was developed by Joseph Campbell and was most famously used to model Star Wars. The most popular story franchise of all time.
The term “Blockbuster” actually came from films like Star Wars. It was so popular that the line to see the film literally stretched around the block.
Campbell studied storytelling deeply across the world and found common elements of story across time, geography and culture, which was eventually distilled into the Hero’s Journey. This demonstrates that story is a universal human experience that is integrated into how we understand reality.
Now back to how stories affect our psychology. There was a psychologist named Bruno Bettelheim who wrote a book called “The Uses of Enchantment” that focuses on the meaning and importance of fairy tales.
I think he makes a strong case for how fairy tales and other stories help in psychological development and the ability to deal with existential issues in a healthy manner. Most of us have probably heard that art imitates life, but it actually goes both ways. Our stories help develop our psychology, values and culture. This means that the quality and content of our stories matter!
Think about it, if we create positive, inspiring, stories it will have a positive impact on those who read it. A great story can inspire generations to hold to worthwhile values or warn us of dangers. This is the underlying purpose and value of history.
When looking over the entirety of human history, empires have crumbled, cultures have faded, but what remains is our stories. Some of humanities oldest creations are pictures that (you guessed it) tell a story!
Some of the most inspired writing including philosophy and scripture directly influenced the very structure and values of western civilization. And these invaluable works are a collection of real events conveyed through story.
So that is my argument for why storytelling is essential to the human experience and why it’s so important to me. I think the modern world could benefit greatly from extracting wisdom from ancient storytelling.
These works focused on depicting stories that espoused the ideas, concepts and values that shaped the greatest civilizations in human history with simple, elegant, yet profound storytelling that didn’t rely on chasing complexity, but instead concerned itself with the quality and content of the story and how it would shape future generations.
So, hopefully by now, you can see why storytelling is more than just disposable entertainment. But a story on its own doesn’t have value unless there is someone to tell it to. The most important thing to a storyteller besides the stories themselves, is the audience that experiences that story. That’s really the joy and purpose of storytellers.
This blog exists because storytelling matters and I hope to contribute to that time honored tradition in some small way. My goal with this blog is to build a community and I hope to have a positive impact through creating and sharing positive stories.
Thank you for reading and taking part in the process!