Finding Stories
A picture of a story, a story of a picture
When we break down a story, or piece one together, there is just that: pieces. The arrangement can be composed to combine the triggers of different emotions in various orders, taking the audience on an emotional rollercoaster. Whether it ends badly, or well, with a conclusion which ties up questions and resolves the story, the tension created by the story elements and execution can pull the reader further in. Even if the story is scary, the reader searches for the tension to be resolved.
If we were to represent the whole story in one picture, taking the eye through the ups and downs, we would have a great deal of complexity in the piece. If we were to find a story in a picture we would find the complexity. If we apply this to the world, we can find story and inspiration in the mundane scenes of our everyday life.
The most compelling cinematic experiences I have had are examples of weaving the audience through gore, sex, fear, intimacy, beauty. All human things that demand us to feel. So if we see our own humanity in the world, we see a story and we can invest in our story.
What does it mean to invest in our story? Being aware of it, considering it, feeling gratitude for it, nurturing it, exploring it and sharing it. The sharing aspect is particularly interesting. As Daivd Bowie said, the greatest things to learn is to love and be loved in return. To share our story-and I don’t mean factual details about our life-I mean all those aforementioned features we attend to in ourselves. Considering , nurturing, exploring and being grateful for others in our lives builds connections and therefore the kind of humanity we want to cultivate. The direction of secluded-robot-reliant-people is still humanity (because we are effectuating it), but it doesn’t have to be the side we value the most.
Stepping into the future- and away from some many tangible experiences- to find a picture in the world and search for its story, is a value which will inspire connection and inspiration. An innovation in our emotions rather than economic progression.