Warning: that's not a rhetorical question.And it's something that's really been on my mind the past couple of weeks. As someone studying for a degree in English Literature, whose passion is storytelling, who wants a career revolving around storytelling... why? Why do I want to do that, to waste my life doing that, when such terrible things happen in the world as the attack in Manchester (my hometown) last week? In the light of that, and the awful things that human beings are capable of, the idea of storytelling itself being important- the idea which has been one of my core beliefs as long as I can remember- has seemed... Silly. Frivolous. Unimportant. Futile, even. If I had wanted to develop the skills and go down that path earlier in life, I could be on my way to being a nurse, or a doctor, or a policewoman. Or having some career that seems more obviously useful. Over the past week I've been trying to bring back my belief in the importance of stories because, after all, that's the path I have chosen and in fact is the one I have the skillset for. I suppose this blog post is another way in which I'm trying to do that.
I've always thought that the thing at the core of storytelling's importance is its capacity for creating empathy, which I suppose is a way in which I am seeing storytelling as failing. The people behind the Manchester attack, and many others like it, must completely lack empathy. I can see no other explanation for how a human being could be part of something so horrible. So storytelling must therefore be useless in this case. But. Just because storytelling fails to prevent awful deeds by people with no empathy, it doesn't fail completely. Storytelling does not always mean fiction: we've all heard the stories of Manchester after the attacks- the Sikh taxi driver who gave rides for free on the night, the homeless man who fearlessly helped the injured, the crowds singing Oasis' 'Don't Look Back in Anger' in memory. These are the stories- true as they are- that have built the narrative of a community coming together with strength in the face of grief and a horrific attack. And though the story may one day find its way into another form, for us it has been unfolding in front of us on our social media feeds and news shows and papers and websites. Which doesn't make it less of a story. Which doesn't make it less real. Which doesn't make it less important. Also, think about representation: of marginalised groups like the Muslim community, the LGBTQ+ community, POC, people with disabilities. Increased visibility of marginalised groups is incredibly beneficial to society. People seeing themselves represented in media and in storytelling is invaluable to their self-esteem, their acceptance of themselves, their feelings of belonging to the culture, community or society around them, their feeling like they can achieve things: their feeling like they matter. And it's just as important for people outside these marginalised groups to see them and see their experiences and- there's that word again- empathise with them, understand them and accept them. In a combination of these two scenarios, intersectionality is important to consider: a white bisexual man may feel as if he knows what it's like to be bisexual, but in fact his experience might differentiate entirely from that of a black bisexual woman. Storytelling can help us to be more open and understanding. And in another strain, it can help us to feel less alone. I've just found out that one of my favourite shows, Sense8, has been cancelled, which I am gutted about. As every show does it has its faults, but it is the most diverse show I've ever encountered, in terms of ethnicity, culture and sexuality, and completely celebrates human love, empathy and connection. I'm not going to talk much about the advantages of storytelling as escapism, because I feel like that concept speaks for itself. There's plenty worth escaping from in this world- as long as you remember to come back and help and participate and be in the world when you feel more able to deal with it. As I said before, the title is not a rhetorical question. I didn't plan this post out much before I wrote it, so when I started I had no clue what my answer would be, and I'm not sure I'm entirely convinced by the points I've made. Part of me still feels some sort of futility in regards to the power of storytelling. So please, tell me: why is storytelling important?
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"After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world."- Philip Pullman Archives
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