The Stakes of Storytelling
At Folktellers, we’ve built a business and a transmedia platform on the simple premise that stories are the way we find meaning in life, as individuals, as a community, and as a society.
By simply living, we are telling a story, whether we are conscious of it or not. But the real magic happens when we begin to take control of our own personal narratives and start to see its alignment with others. It is only then we may see a new collective consciousness forming, one that creates a deeper, multi-dimensional story that carries across cultures and resonates at a universal level.
Our journey begin with creating our own personal mythology. According to Dr. David Feinstein and Dr. Stanley Krippner we are all crafting personal myths about ourselves everyday:
“A personal myth is a constellation of beliefs, feelings, images, and rules — operating largely outside of conscious awareness… Personal myths speak to the broad concerns of identity (Who am I?), direction (Where am I going?), and purpose (Why am I going there?). For an internal system of images, narratives, and emotions to be called a personal myth, it must address at least one of the core concerns of human existence.”
In the world of storytelling, we often speak about the Hero’s Journey, or the monomyth, made popular by seminal mythologist, Joseph Campbell. Campbell codified the systematic path of the individual hero in his book, Hero with a Thousand Faces, noting:
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”
Debate on the validity of Campbell’s 12-Stage Model for the hero’s path rages on to this day. But what most people can agree on is the fact that there is a process and a pattern to the myths we establish for ourselves on a daily basis. Experts agree that no one is able to look at life events without trying to provide their own meaning through myth.
“We do not discover ourselves through myth, we make ourselves through myth,” writes psychologist Dan McAdams in his book The Stories We Live By: Personal Myths and the Making of the Self. He adds, “A personal myth consists of the way we have interpreted the events of our lives. What is ignored, what is amplified and given outside importance? What are the reasons that we create, and how do our stories affect us?”
In the past, we were content to root for the individual hero, cheering them through every trial and tribulation until they emerged victorious and triumphant upon their return home. We were inspired by their deeds, and emulated their actions, integrating their traits and behaviors into our own personal narratives.
But now, in this modern age of interconnectivity and cultural diversity, the monomyth feels a bit cold, distant, and singular in its approach.
TIME TO LOOK AT A COLLECTIVE JOURNEY.
In his usual, jaw-dropping fashion, transmedia guru, Jeff Gomez, brought the first light of the Collective Journey torch to the entertainment space, noting that traditional monolithic hero tropes are too simplistic for modern audiences. Jeff trumpets:
“There are other TV story worlds that reflect many of the traits of the Collective Journey: Westworld, Euphoria, Steven Universe, The Deuce, The Good Place, and Pose are examples. But what they all have in common is a strikingly simple message:
NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE YOU.
These stories are not about the glorious eternal return of heroes. They are about communities struggling to achieve efficacy through the power of their own diversity.
Hero’s Journey stories are about how the individual actualizes by achieving personal change, but Collective Journey stories are about how communities actualize in their attempt to achieve systemic change.
These stories tell us that if we are awaiting a savior, we are consigning ourselves to doom, and to erect one in his place can be just as bad. We, collectively, must become our own salvation.”
Wow.
How do you walk back to Odysseus and Hercules from that? The answer is — YOU DON’T.
What you can do, however, is pick up the gauntlet of your own personal journey and begin asking questions about where you are going in relationship to your community and society as a whole.
The challenge will be is that the world is aware you are searching for direction, and opposing forces know the power a great story has to engage, enchant, and sway your own personal mythology into joining theirs (rife with hidden agendas, of course).
So, here we stand, crafters of our own mythology, engaged, accountable and seeking a meaning and purpose that aligns with the world all around us, knowing full well that…
GLOBAL NARRATIVES ABOUND, AND NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE US.
