I've recently been having a discussion with some of the people in my life who are interested in talking about things. How the world works, how to make it better, what's coming in the future, what the world needs now. (It's love, sweet love, by the way).
My thoughts have been forming around stories shaping culture and the tools available these days that enable ANYONE, to shape the culture of the planet with new stories.
It has always been the story tellers that teach the "tribe" what to believe. It's the story tellers that shape the world view of the people who grow up and hear those stories around the fire. The stories we tell about each phase of life we encounter on our path from birth to death and even beyond. These stories, create beliefs and our beliefs manifest reality in the way we behave in the world.
Today, and I can only speak of my experience in the "western world", the storytellers that shape our behaviour are the advertisers and the marketers. The stories they tell us are necessary to perpetuate the economic system we all live within at the moment. The big winners in this system have the resources and power to continue shaping these stories to their advantage. Their tight control on the media for such a long time made this a relatively easy task. Those with alternative stories were left out due to prohibitive costs, or the general inability to compete.
The internet has changed that. It's democratized communication, media and storytelling. Those with alternative views no longer have to be pushed aside, forced tell their stories to limited audiences and not taken seriously. In some cases, it's true, maybe they shouldn't be taken seriously, but there are many who have beautiful, important stories to tell. The audience should decide and can recognize the truth when they see it. (Or enough evidence of it.)
So in the explosion of the last decade or so, people have been stumbling around trying to figure out how to deal with the internet. The "old guard", are trying hard to maintain their grasp on their dying mediums while attempting to control this new one, the way they eventually controlled the radio waves when that era was born. But the general public have realized they can have a voice. Some kid in his basement can speak to millions of people with nothing but a cheap computer and a web cam. Or even just a cheap iPod he can carry in his pocket wherever he goes.
If you're reading this, you know this already, but do you ever contemplate what that really means? What does it mean for the world? Facebook has more than twice the population of the United States. If it were a country it would have the 3rd largest population in the world. (over .8Billion, vs india 1.1B, China 1.3B). But this population has no geographical borders and it's growing. And facebook is only 1 "community". There are many others that connect users from all over the globe. The planet is looking at itself and learning new things.
So now that everyone has a voice and a better picture of what's going on, what can one do to shape the world around them? Tell better stories. Do we really believe the ones currently shaping the world are doing it all right? Do we think maybe they're doing many things very wrong? Stories create culture and culture creates behaviour and behaviour creates reality. If the stories are false, misleading, or just missing some facts, the culture will be shaped accordingly and perhaps our behaviour won't represent the facts.
I think that those who wish to tell an important story in the world need to look at the techniques of the marketing and advertizing masters that shape things currently. Especially online. There are ways to spread a message far and wide. A formula. Just like traditional story telling has a formula that will make it engaging. But because this medium is interactive people can participate in the story. They can make the story and the shaping of the culture a living thing.
I was very excited by something that popped up on my facebook wall today. It's a perfect example of what I've been trying to describe to the people I mentioned at the beginning of this post. It's a true example of the world seeing another part of itself very clearly. Of a human being, passionate enough about the facts to tell a story that's compelling people to engage in the story. Of a group of people using the new tools at their command to shape their culture and share it.
I believe that examples like this can help make this one planet. This is one issue in the world, but it shows how we can become aware and engaged as part of the collective humanity. How together, voices around the world can work together to tell better stories, to shape better culture, to make a better reality for us all.
Yes, I say this as a privileged westerner, and I'm grateful for what I have in this world. I hope only to figure out a way to improve what I can, in some way.
Please watch this short film for an example of what I'm talking about, and more importantly to hear the story they tell. Think about the stories that shape your life and if you think you could/should have new ones. Maybe you want to share.
UPDATE:
First, this post is not about supporting Kony2012. It's about using story to change culture. I may have been quick to post this as an example of strong story telling moving culture with todays tools. I should also have also placed a little stronger emphasis on the "audience deciding" part.
Part of the culture I'd like to see is the ability to look deeper and interpret the stories we are told. Not only to consume stories or tell our own, but discuss them with other members of our society so that we may get additional perspective on the reality. Again, never before have there been more powerful tools to accomplish this. In fact one of my favorite storytellers, Neil Gaiman has used a modern tool to share a different perspective on the Kony2012 story. He approaches the subject with the thoughtfulness it deserves and shares something written by Grant Oyston on the subject.
Perhaps I needed more thoughtful consideration of the subject of the Kony2012 film before re-posting, but again, my focus was on the act of storytelling and not specifically the subject matter of the film or the accountability of the people behind the movement. So please use your own "knowledge and research" to understand the facts of this story yourself.
So I am posting this addendum to my original post with a link to another perspective on the Kony2012 movement. If you have thoughts on "Storytelling Shaping Culture" feel free to comment here.
http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/18900935579/i-think-this-is-what-im-m...
Read more about Kony2012 and Shaping Culture With Stories
