Narrative Overload?

If you know me at all, you know that I love storytelling. I believe that our lives are a collection of colliding narratives and subnarratives. And living in a media culture with constantly evolving digital technologies, stories are thriving. But are we possibly suffering from narrative overload? Coming from the perspective of a movie writer of such classics as Raging Bull, Paul Schrader writes...

Storytelling began as ceremony and evolved into ritual. It was commercialized in the middle ages, became big business in the 19th century and an international industry in the 20th. Today it is the ubiquitous wallpaper of the postmodern era.

Find his full story HERE.

Schrader's article is more concerned with what media forms narrative will take in the future. And I agree with his conclusion that narrative will continue to go strong in the future but "mutated."

But the article did make me think about just how many media stories we are bombarded with from reality shows to video games to movies, television, hulu etc. What affect do all of these stories have on our connections with people, relationships, politics and even emotions and psyche. Are we becoming part of the wallpaper?

The CEO As Storyteller In Chief

Forbe's magazine says it all in this article on the value of storytelling in the marketplace. Here is a quick quote...

"Explanatory talk and statistics appeal to the intellect, but people aren't inspired by reason alone. Compelling stories convey loads of information while also appealing to our emotions, ensuring that we not only listen, but get engaged and inspired.

Storytelling can be extremely effective at simplifying complexities. It can help us reveal and assess the assumptions, values and beliefs behind new ideas and connect them to our world. So a company's mission is not just to sell more and better coffee; it is to share the passion that fills that cup."

Self Convergence Diagram

Scot McKnight put this up on his Jesus Creed blog today and I just had to pass it along. It's creative and funny with some insight to chew on. In my creative cookbook, that is the perfect recipe!!

In the Year 3000...

Funniest moment on Conan O'Brien last night...

In the year 3000 Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook will merge into a superwebsite called:

YouTwitFace

Microsoft Raises the Game

I found these updates from the E3 conference from Brandon Grissom's blog. Wow. If this is where things are headed...again, wow!