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kate_nepveu) wrote2024-07-15 03:49 pm
Readercon: The Tyranny of the Tale
The Tyranny of the Tale
In her New Yorker article, The Tyranny of the Tale, book critic Parul Sehgal launched a diatribe against "the doctrine of narrative supremacy", the idea that humans innately rely on stories to understand the world and so are best reached and persuaded via a good tale, rather than through data or non-narrative fact. Has storytelling truly conquered the political and marketing worlds to our detriment? How can artists defend against the "encroachment of storytelling upon art"? Should they?
Andrea Martinez Corbin (moderator), Andrea Kriz, Gregory Wilson, RB Lemberg, Will Ludwigsen
Andrea M C: essay is fairly free-ranging, will not summarize just springboard and occasionally reference. start with difference between our definition of storytelling & hers Will: storytelling is way of encoding experience to share with someone else. Andrea K: in scientific research, it's more like way to present data so that people viewing can understand. "I had this hypothesis" (maybe which is maybe not the first one you had, but one that makes sense in context), "data has this impact," etc. think as way of making more understandable, how characters are coming from RB: narrative such broad category. as linguist, learned narrative theorists, William Labov etc., narrative is events sequenced on timeline. but so broad. make sense of life through stories, approached differently by each culture and language. no one true way to do. but narrative is developmental milestone, we know, why need to read to babies and tell stories, a lot of storytelling is about teaching about world. take tale out, what are left with? one of beefs with argument Gregory: is the problem of The Tale in all caps the root of this article. formal definition, something like, a structured communication of theme and emotion through constructed events. (I think) all kinds of questions embedded in that. magic of how reader connects to story, to which only answer is, everyone wants narrative in some form (not just prose) because allows to contextualize world. trauma specialists talk a lot about how people who best survive are those able to develop story to contextualize, this who am I, this why, this is how it affected. the problem of the tyranny of this tale doing X Y Z, presumes particular kind of story and objecting to way this story is being done Andrea M C: all panelists presented inclusive ideas of story. is fan of experimental fiction authors, many works that would struggle to recognize as story, but enjoy. re: essay, familiar with author's writing, following for a while, willing to read generously: not talking about broad definition, talking about narrow that has overtaken some areas and become more like a rule. what type of story/rule has escaped fiction and invaded sciences, marketing, etc., as thinks that's what trying to get at, expectation Will: works in marketing and what finds alarming a bit: idea that storytelling is structure that going to cast like a spell that will have guaranteed result, trying to crack open someone's skull and press button to make buy thing. dozens, hundreds, of books all telling how to use storytelling as executive etc., all are, follow these five steps and cast spell and activate human zombie to do bidding. as writer, I can tell how to convey experience to show that learned something ... explained to company that in most stories, the discovery is that protagonist is the problem and needs to grow, and they didn't like that. Gregory: also conflates storytelling with lies, which reject absolutely. also with manipulation. sure authors will employ techniques to reveal things at right moment to reader, but it's for pleasure of reader (would not enjoy mystery reveal on page 1, with few exceptions). storytelling fundamentally about emotional truth, can be done through many different ways. Andrea K: hot take? understand what author means in essay: taught in science one true way to present data, all scientists do this who are successful, but think all good scientists realize not the truth because nature cannot be described by. works in brain research, none of hypothesis can accurately describe/explain. in fiction, cannot capture whole complexity of character, novels: what on page is not truth of world and cannot be RB: preface that come to Tyranny of Tale, in Western sense, as outsider, immigrant also neurodivergent: don't process in same way, not looking to consume same narratives, structures. true tyranny is 500 white village boys saving world, and that's society, hegemony. saw all data erased by Putin's government (I think), iterative narrative of resurrection and destruction re: queer and trans people. not story that editor of journal knows what to do with. but is happening, how to describe? Andrea K: scientific papers can be harmful for people not familiar with reality, leads to unrealistic expectations about science, should be space for untraditional narratives (can I publish my negative data) Gregory: agree about untraditional narratives, marginalized voices, why important to see that problem is not storytelling but stories being told. also consume stories in lots of different forms. video game Brothers: Tale of Two Sons, required to play with controller with 2 sticks, about getting medicine for sick father, being guided by ghost at one point (spoiler) that only works with that controller Will: as writers, think, what power do I have, at mercy of editors, publishers: encourage to experiment a lot more Andrea M C: in talking about books, often easy to fall back on criticizing in light of rules expect to be following; what can we do to be more encouraging of stories that don't follow those rules? Will: let self be surprised, praise weirdness as much as can, be openminded to what others are enjoying. Gregory: especially important in speculative fiction, which is fiction of what if? why would say, but not that. there are excellent examples out there so why recommends them. students should think of selves as part of criticism not separate audience. (deeply paraphrased) Andrea K: critique group, traditionally doesn't talk to author and ask for intent, maybe should; even if author is not there, sit with what intent might be RB: early on, response was create journal, Stone Telling; by expanding what accepting, created space for what want to see in world; ditto editing anthology Alphabet of Embers, funded out of own short fiction so wrote a lot of stories. teaches classes, asks students, where is center of storytelling for you. be aligned with that. otherwise, burnout real danger. audience: essay in Fantasy, We Are the Mountain, inactive protagonists; stories about survival, often kind marginalized people tell about ourselves (the second time this was mentioned in these reports, wonder if it was connected to prior!)panel notes
+1 (thumbs-up, I see you, etc.)?
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no subject
I deeply regretted that myself, I assure you.