Behind the Story EXEMPLAR
Topic: Storytelling
by Emma, 2019 Cohort
When I was in kindergarten, I wanted to be a ‘fairy princess’. This was odd really, given that (a) I spent most of my childhood running around in a hand-me- down boys’ scout t-shirt from my cousin; and (b) ‘fairy princesses’ don’t actually exist as something you can ‘be’ in real life. It wasn’t so much the glamour, the clothes and the status that I wanted, but rather I wanted to be like the protagonists that I had read about- you know the ones, the Cinderella- esque girl whose ‘heart of gold’ leads her to overcome adversity. I was uncertain about my future and so I projected myself into a known
Bruner’s research into cognitive phycology explains that the human brain is innately attracted to narrative. We are genetically wired to be receptive to patterns- indeed, being able to identify patterns in our environment (the fact that a rustle in the grass often meant a predator was near) meant we survived the evolutionary process. Stories are patterns too- event A, leads to event B, causing outcome C. Indeed, the term ‘storytelling’ itself is defined in the Oxford dictionary as the communication of “an account of events”. Add emotion, and we’re hooked. Stories appear logical to our brains. Thus, they’re not just used by four-year- old girls, we all use them. Indeed, what is religion but a story explaining the complexity of the world and humanity’s interaction with it? Indigenous Dreamtime stories explain the creation of the Earth’s rivers and mountains; the Bible tells the story of Adam and Eve to explain the creation of humanity; and Buddhism uses the exemplar of the Buddha to present principles and morals to help its followers navigate the complex situation that is social
The use of stories to understand complexity is not, however, always subconsciously done- it is an active tool used by political society. Narratives frame situations and thus can manipulate our perception of people and events. Indeed, think of the careful way Jacinda Ardern has responded to the Christchurch massacre. She has crafted a narrative. She refuses to name the attacker and in doing so refuses to validate him as the protagonist of a narrative. Rather, she consciously chooses language to make the narrative about love explaining that New Zealand was “not chosen for this act of violence because we condone racism, but because we are none of these things”. She casts each one of us as having a role to play in rejecting racism, and perpetuating this collective narrative. And in this confusing time, through narrative, she helps use make sense of it
We use the explanatory power of narrative- generated by its logical structure, emotional drawcards and tendency to simplify- from a time when we are still young enough to want to be ‘fairy princesses’. But don’t just take my word for it. See for yourself. I deliberately ran a story from my childhood through this primer to make you more engaged and thus easier for you to understand. Did it
Pictured: ‘A Fairy Princess’. The drawing I made at four years-old when my kindergarten teacher asked me ‘what I wanted to be when I grew up’.
Disclaimer#
This content has been contributed by a student as part of a learning activity.
If there are inaccuracies, or opportunities for significant improvement on this topic, feedback is welcome on how to improve the resource.
You can improve articles on this topic as a student in "Unravelling Complexity", or by including the amendments in an email to: Chris.Browne@anu.edu.au