Why Do We Need to Understand/Use Narratives?
In his New York Times Magazine article, “When the Narrative Becomes the Story,” Mark Leibovich describes the way that controlling the narrative in the media becomes more important in politics than anything else. Leibovich asks: “when did a plain story become a perpetual narrative?”, showing the power that a narrative can take on.
In the way that Leibovich discusses narratives, the media creates false (or over-determined) connections between the things that happen in the lives of candidates, and how they do in debates and the success they will have in office. These narratives express assumed beliefs and value systems of the politicians.
An example of this is brought up in the composition that Cabria shared with us on Tuesday, that discussed the narrative of the black woman becoming a teen mother.
However, this story demonstrates the exact importance of individuals sharing their stories. These stories provide evidence contrary to the prevailing narratives. These stories also provide information that may not be obvious in more traditional forms of argument.
Think about the narratives of patients in a patient history. Patients can give details in their description of the incident that they may not know to provide if they were just filling out a form.
What should a narrative do?
- The essay should have a purpose
- The essay should be written from a clear point of view
- Use clear and concise language throughout the essay
- The use of the first person pronoun ‘I’ is welcome
- As always, be organized
What is a story arch?
setting: description and imagery
characters: characterization (voice, symbolic description, archetypes,
plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
narration: omniscient narrators, semi-omniscient narrators, flawed narrators; first person, second person, third person
tone: jargon, colloquialisms, inflection, rhythm/ style
Now. Give it a shot:
Analyze the following video for these five elements.
(Mariner’s Revenge By The Decemberists)
Then:
(1) Decide as a class on two major genres of music
(2) Break into two groups for each genre (four total) to analyze the major narrative conventions of the genre
(3) Find three songs that demonstrate narrative in that genre
(4) Make 3-4 claims about typical narrative conventions in that genre
(5) Present claims to class using pieces from the songs as evidence no longer than 30 seconds in length. (So, open the song several times in different windows at the appropriate moment).