XR Storytelling Items of Intent
A working guide to rebellious and revolutionary writing
The rebellion will be complex.
The revolution will be nuanced.
The time has come to break away from static and archaic ways of thinking. The time has come to build new worlds, to imagine ourselves free. The following items are intended to shine light on the cracks of the ideologies we hold steadfast, to question the beliefs and behaviors that often feel natural and intuitive but are learned and endemic of our breaking-down society.
Extinction Rebellion’s first demand is to Tell the Truth, yet contemplate what was once considered true: the earth was flat, rainbows were comprised of three colours, marriage was a union between a man and woman, and fossil fuels were a happy breakthrough in human progress.
While we need governments and media to tell the truth about the scientific facts of the climate emergency, we need writers and storytellers to explore what lies beyond those truths. This is the heart of both art and science: the process of peeling back layer after layer of “truth” in the hopes of revealing deeper and deeper understandings. As such, these items of intent will change and grow and evolve as we change and grow and evolve.
To be an artist, you must imagine and create and world build. To be an activist you must do the same because an activist must imagine a world that isn’t there and make it so. Activism is art, and art is activism.
Ava DuVernay
Be precise.
Because we understand that truth is protean at best, we vow to be precise: to tell the truth as best we can access it. Be it emotional truth or peer-reviewed research, our job as writers is to be as precise as possible.
We have a responsibility to exercise due diligence, conduct comprehensive research, be as informed as possible, and to ask the question: what is the whole story? We do not rely on soundbites or clickbait. Precision is about integrity, consideration, and clarity. We source, cite, and think critically about all the facts available to us.
We do not publish truths so much as intellectual stepping stones, thought-provoking opinions that move the conversation forward and catalyze the evolution of our minds.
Stay hopeful. Balance is the goal.
Dismantle. Rebuild. Dismantle. Rebuild.
We vow to put the same amount of energy into building new systems as we are putting into dismantling and disrupting the old systems. Our role is not only to share our fears, but to share our hopes and envision wildly positive futures. Whenever possible, our work will include action-items, questions for reflection, and mental, spiritual and/or physical tools to advance our growth.
It is up to us to imagine new worlds. If we can dream it, we can build it.
Whether this comes as radical science fiction, biting satire, philosophical or metaphysical musings, open letters or political stances, we strive to attain balanced thinking that, whenever reasonable, errs on the side of optimism.
We are all products of the same ecosystem.
We understand that blame is a waste of our energy. We have all been shaped by the same capitalist fear-consume ideological cycle; there is no separation between rebels and big oil CEOS; we are all part of the same whole, a singular ecosystem, undivided.
Yes, people need to be called out, but let it be in a way that retains their — our — humanity. The external is a mirror for the internal, and we believe that shaming others comes from self-shame, and so we pledge to move beyond shaming into the realm of honest accountability and personal responsibility.
Here, we work to dissect the ways in which we’ve been taught to blame and shame ourselves. Here, we investigate the culture. Here, we lift the hood on the stories we were told and disrupt the system with kindness, gentleness, and compassion. We ask you to view all things as inseparable, as nature is an interconnected whole.
We uplift all voices and make particular discipline to feature the voices of those most impacted by the current systems. Those who have been most oppressed by the planet-degrading systems we currently live under must be at the forefront of imagining and building our new systems.
We humble ourselves to impacted voices, no matter what discomfort arises. We are open to new ways of thinking, however radical they may seem at first, and strive to subvert hierarchy and all forms of categorical or boundary-based thinking.
Act Now. Slow down to speed up.
While the situation at hand requires immediate action, we do not rush or grind to publish our work. We recognize the need to rush as one of the capitalist behaviors we seek to dismantle. The problem will not be solved by the same mind that created it.
We allow urgency to guide us away from perfectionism and second-guessing. We employ humility as our ideas are questioned and our ways of thinking grow and change; we are allowed to make mistakes, and to learn from our mistakes through dialogue with others. We set clear deadlines, expectations, and responsibilities, but allow flexibility for the realities of life and trust that working with the flow will always allow for the best outcome.
The time has come to build new worlds. The time has come to break away from static and archaic ways of thinking, to imagine ourselves free. Dissent, discussion, and radical thinking belong here. The rebellion will be complex. The revolution will be nuanced. This is how we set ourselves free.
These are our intents.
