Storytelling that Transcends Time: Exploring the Art of Narrative
From ancient myths to virtual realities, a few timeless arcs continue to unlock the heart of human culture. Where is storytelling headed and who will be the author?
☀️SOL Edition #5☀️
Think of someone you know who always has a great story to tell. How does that person make you feel? What sets them apart? Not all storytellers are the same, but a great one captivates the audience, drawing you in. They make you feel something. You feel present in the scene. Curious to know what will happen next, your imagination becomes involved. Is it the details, the irony, the relatability? The high stakes? The art of storytelling has changed mediums throughout history but kept the same core components that keep us invested. From oral storytelling passed down through generations, the invention of the printing press, famous authors crafting novels, to the brilliant minds of today that captivate us via cinema, enjoying a good story is innately human.
Storytelling has undergone a paradigm shift, moving from traditional mediums to increasingly visual and interactive formats. Digital platforms of social media, streaming services, and virtual reality are democratizing storytelling, empowering individuals to share their narratives with global audiences instantaneously. Black box algorithms now largely determine what stories are told most and to whom based on user engagement.
The shift towards visual storytelling (now viral TikTok videos and immersive VR experiences) has ushered in a new era of creativity and innovation, where multimedia experiences blend text, image, and sound to personally immerse an individual user.
As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, portions of the storytelling landscape will remain consistent. Yet, there is no shortage of opinions on how fast and how drastic AI will influence the creation and spreading of select narratives.
Throughout history, storytelling has undergone a constant evolution, adapting to changing technologies and serving as a conduit for cultural transmission and collective memory.
Four past eras of storytelling, with an eye towards the future era on the horizon:
- Ancient Oral Tradition (Prehistory to Ancient Civilizations)
Stories were passed down orally, such as the epic of Gilgamesh, shaping cultural identities.
2. Written Traditions (Antiquity to Middle Ages)
The invention of writing systems led to the preservation of stories in texts like the Odyssey, aiding cultural dissemination.
3. Print and Enlightenment Era (Renaissance to 19th Century)
The printing press democratized storytelling, enabling widespread access to literature and fostering intellectual enlightenment that often brought forth challenges to the status quo such as Martin Luther’s 95 Theses.
4. Modern and Digital Age (20th Century to Present)
Technological advancements birthed new storytelling mediums like film leading all the way to social media, both reshaping narrative consumption.
5. Future Era | AI Integration and Enhanced Narratives (Present to ___?)
AI algorithms are poised to revolutionize storytelling, personalizing narratives and reshaping audience engagement.
How Humans can Become Better Storytellers:
It’s easy to want to jump to the end product, but the presentation and delivery of a story is the final piece of the equation. First you need a collection of experiences, details and stories to draw upon.
- Create your own “Story Bank”
- Why can it be so hard to answer a question like “Tell us a funny story you have!” Obviously we’ve all experienced funny moments in life, but many of us would draw a blank when asked such a broad question. This is why it helps to create a story bank. Categorized however you see fit, this could be a personal word doc you continue to expand on. Anytime you experience something that noticeably moves you to emotions, see if you can capture that feeling of emotion through the lens of a story. Being able to call back on the details will make even small experiences that much more memorable.
2. Keep a Central Storytelling Arc in Mind
- At the very least, know the climax / tipping point of your story, and do your best to provide important context before and after that moment. Great stories don’t have to be long, rather engaging.
3. Practice Sharing Quick Stories
- It could be as simple as creating an interesting quick one or two sentence story to answer the age old and often stale breakroom question of “How was your weekend” or “What were you up to last night?”.
Explore Notable Storytelling Arcs
Certain archetypal story structures continue to provide a framework for crafting compelling narratives and eliciting emotional resonance. A few examples include:
- The Hero’s Journey: Popularized by Joseph Campbell, the hero’s journey follows a protagonist’s transformative quest, marked by trials, challenges, and eventual triumph. From ancient myths to contemporary blockbusters, this archetype resonates with audiences due to its universal themes of self-discovery and personal growth.
- The Tragic Hero: In tragic narratives, protagonists are often brought low by their own flaws or circumstances beyond their control. These stories explore themes of hubris, fate, and the human condition, eliciting empathy and catharsis from audiences as they witness the protagonist’s downfall.
- The Redemption Arc: Redemption arcs focus on characters seeking forgiveness, atonement, or a second chance at redemption. These narratives explore themes of forgiveness, transformation, and the inherent capacity for change, offering hope and redemption amidst adversity.
By understanding these common storytelling arcs, creators can effectively structure their narratives to resonate with audiences on an emotional level, and bring their stories a component of timeless relevance and universal appeal.
What has separated great storytellers from the pack in the past?
For Malcom Gladwell, a bestselling author and journalist known for his thought-provoking explorations of social psychology and human behavior, it’s his ability to look at known problems and stories from a new angle, leading to insights previously undiscovered.
For Christopher Nolan and Hans Zimmer, both world renowned in their success as a director and composer respectively, it’s their collaboration using tense visionary filmmaking with evocative and timeless musical scores that combine to blend together an epically powerful narrative experience for the viewer.
Ernest Hemingway, the iconic American writer, is commonly renowned for his minimalist yet powerful storytelling style. His approach is characterized by concise prose, vivid imagery, and an emphasis using the “iceberg theory” — where much of the story’s meaning lies beneath the surface, relying on the reader to infer greater depth of a narrative. Hemingway’s writing often focused on universal themes, relatable characters, and moments of profound emotional resonance. Through a mastery of language and keen understanding of human nature, Hemingway crafted narratives that continue to captivate audiences worldwide. Like many respected writers, Ernest used real life experiences (his passion for bullfighting, time spent involved in the Spanish civil war, or fishing off the coast of Cuba) to fill in the details of a story with fictional characters. Without living an interesting life and being observant of details, customs, trends and behavior around him, Hemingway would not have been able to add the depth necessary to give true color in his fictional timepieces. Just like your uncle who can tell a great fish story, drawing on one’s personal experiences has historically been of utmost importance to a great story.
In his groundbreaking book “Sapiens,” Yuval Noah Harari dived into the essence of storytelling and its pivotal role in human evolution. Harari argues that Homo sapiens’ ability to communicate through complex narratives played a crucial role in our species’ dominance over other hominids. Through storytelling, early humans were able to share knowledge, coordinate actions, and forge collective identities. Our capacity for storytelling enabled Homo sapiens to transcend biological limitations and establish intricate social structures, ultimately shaping the course of history.
Harari’s insights underscore the profound impact of storytelling on human civilization, highlighting its capacity to shape beliefs, foster cooperation, and define cultural norms. From ancient myths and religious scriptures to modern-day ideologies and social media narratives, storytelling will continue to exert a profound influence on our collective consciousness, shaping our perceptions of reality and guiding our behavior.
An Atlas to the Future:
As discussed with Ernest Hemingway’s use of lived experiences to influence details and create environments for his fictional characters- artificial intelligence will be able to provide storytellers unique details to unlock depth in a world they have yet to physically experience. Creating an artificial or simulated form of depth will still capture the imagination of audiences. AI will be used to inspire, provoke thoughts and aid in the creation of new stories across all mediums from books to music. What percentage of content and stories will be created solely by AI remains to be seen. TikTok could begin to incorporate its own AI-created content based on user interest, knowing exactly what people want to see better than any singular individual could know. If judging storytelling content numerically through the lens of cost / revenue, the cost and speed to achieve quality content from artificial authors will surpass those of human creators. Human creators will need to add value in a way that surpasses either the depth of emotional resonance or the understanding of a topic beyond what a current computer model can achieve. To the extent a model or system can predict (and accurately portray) human emotional responses to scenarios, those systems will be able to elicit and ultimately capture our attention through common storytelling arcs.
It’s evident that narratives hold a profound influence on human consciousness and culture. Stories shape us. As we continue to evolve further in the digital age, storytelling will remain a fundamental aspect of the human experience, bridging gaps, fostering empathy, and shaping our collective understanding of the world. I’m optimistic we can create narratives where the focus is to inspire, educate, enlighten, and unite us in our human experience and shared journey through life. — Atlas
What is the ☀️SOL Series☀️?
SOL simply stands for a Subject Of Learning. I am pushing myself to process thoughts into more concrete understandings of the world providing material conclusions while simultaneously improving my writing.
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