Magic Lantern

Magic Lantern

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Revised Philosophy of Storytelling


I never really thought about it before, but we tell stories all the time. We are always trying to communicate some kind of information and by how we craft that information is storytelling. For me storytelling has always been very literal. Things that are actually happening. I’m not the biggest fan when it comes to philosophical ideas, and its hard for me to wrap my head around stuff that is “out there”. So when I hear a story that questions big ideas I get scared by them. A professor I once had said, “We can not not communicate.” Meaning, we are always communicating whether or not we know we are. I feel the same way about storytelling. I argue that we can not not story tell. Everything we do tells a story. A story that may be intentional or unintentional. So for me storytelling needs to be as concise as possible. It needs to be as clear as possible. Because to me storytelling provide vital information to its audiences. Storytelling also has to be creative. To engage the audience that is listening is also important. Crafting a story is that of an art and takes skill to successfully tell that story. Stories use stylistic devices and organizational tools to accomplish this. Most importantly, being aware that there are stories all around you allows you to critically analyze those stories, which allows for a much more open dialogue about how stories play such a significant role in our society. Embrace other people’s experiences and learn to build off others and don’t be afraid to tell your own stories.

4 comments:

  1. You're so right, communication is a massive part of our society. I have to agree with you also on the fact that real-life stories are much better than philosophical stories. I just don't find a piece as interesting to read or listen to if I cannot follow the perspective or opinions of the author. While I of course think that people are entitled to their own viewpoints, whether philosophical or objective, I just tend to personally find more enjoyment in the more objective of pieces. Especially the pieces of the creative-type as you brought up. I really like what you said about crafting a story. It really is an art that takes skill and time to compose. I think that you have definitely applied this concept into your video project! It is cool to see how your philosophy influenced your project or vice versa. Nice work!

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  2. I totally agree that I think it is nearly impossible to go through life without story telling. Unless you only speak of the things that happen to you right then and now, you are telling a story. I think the idea of a story being concise is very important as well, but sometimes having greater detail and having it become drawn out helps to make the story more alive and vivid. This also helps to make the listener or reader want to continue more, but at the same time if it is too long then people will get lost or bored with the story, so there is a very defined balance between the two.

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  3. I like your point about how we are always communicating, and are often doing so through storytelling. I also focused on this idea in my philosophy of storytelling. I think storytelling is an essential part of everyday life, and we are always communicating via stories.

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  4. I find this really interesting! I think there are situations, such as when you are relaying facts, that might not technically be considered stories, but I never really thought about how much we tell stories in everyday life either. Very cool and unique point of view!

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