Making meaning
We are a peculiar species. For example, many of us continue to risk our long term survival for the pleasure of puffing on a stick of nicotine, while others make it very difficult to walk by wearing uncomfortable high heel footwear. Read more »
Plotting the course of storytelling over the past 200 years
In The Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker argues that storytelling has changed dramatically over the last 200 years, and that he focus on the inner state of a hero(ine)’s inner state and eventual transformation has shifted to a focus on more outward (material) transformation, gradually moving the plot away from the primal archetypes towards more ego driven narratives. For example, in the film Limitless (2011) a Faustian bargain at the start of the film evolves into a wish fulfilment fantasy in which the hero suffers no ultimate penalty for his bargain nor does he undergo any serious ‘transformation’ or ‘enlightenment’. Read more »
“The point of a story can penetrate far deeper than the point of any bullet.” - Laurence Nault
Getting to the point
There are seven basic plots in storytelling as we have seen over the last few weeks. These plots form the backbone of myths, fairy tales, novels and movies, and also of advertising, brand stories and how we can all communicate in business, including market researchers telling the story of their data. Here are seven reasons why stories will help you communicate ideas more effectively, helping you to build your story and helping your audience to remember the point of it all. Read more »
The evolution of colour
We share eyes which can form images with around 95% of animal species, and colour is an important signal in nature for the safety of food, the detection of predators and the identification of sexual readiness (and Mark Changizi argues also for interpreting the emotions and intentions of others). Colour is caused by the reflection of some types of light and the absorption of others, and all our eyes can tell our brains are which wavelengths (or frequencies) of light are present and which are not. From this information our brain creates the colours which we see all around us, but have these colours always been experienced in the same way and had the same meanings? Read more »
The quest for the original plot
Writers such as Joseph Campbell and Robert McKee have identified the Quest (or variants of it) as the single original plot. The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey (and the Aeneid) all follow the outline of the Quest plot and are two of the oldest and greatest stories we know. Although only one of the seven plots outlined by Christopher Booker, it is an important one which appears frequently, sometimes combined with other plot structures, and often as a framing device for multiple individual stories which follow other structures. Read more »
“Culture is the collective programming of the mind.” - Geert Hofstede
A world of symbols
What makes us all so interesting to researchers and marketers is our enquiring mind, and nothing shows this more vividly than the web of beliefs and ideas that we have created to make meaning from the complexity of the world around us. A very important part of this framework is the vocabulary of signs and symbols that help remind us of our link to the world and each other. Read more »
“I’m working on a dream
Though sometimes it feels so far away
I’m working on a dream
And how it will be mine someday” - Bruce Springsteen
Working on a dream
The American Dream is deeply embedded in the dreams of many, and for a few lucky people has been played out for real. It is the heart of the national ethos of the United States including the promise of the possibility of wealth and success for all, based on their equality at birth and their inalienable right to the ‘pursuit of happiness’ as written into the country’s constitution. This theme comes up in classic American literature of Mark Twain, Hunter S. Thompson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Arthur Miller and many more. It’s even written into the title of Barack Obama’s biography, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. Read more »
Over seven (and more) coming articles we will explore the basic plots outlined in Christopher Booker’s classic book. The first of these is “Overcoming the monster”.
Dragons and ogres
Every culture has it’s stories of overcoming the monster, such as the English myth of George and the Dragon (perhaps the dragon is usually more fearsome than the one in the picture above). In The Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker discusses many examples of this plot including the original story of all which is the Epic of Gilgamesh. Overcoming the monster is the basic plot for Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk and other childhood fairy tales, Greek legends such as many episodes from Homer’s poems and of course Perseus and Theseus, as well as Beowulf (based on an old English poem), Dracula and The War of the Worlds as well as the films High Noon, Jurassic Park, The Magnificent Seven and The Three Musketeers (to name a few). Read more »
“God created man in order to tell stories.” – Hasidic saying, quoted by Franz Kafka
Where did stories start?
In The Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker charts the history of stories and where he believes that they have gone wrong in the last 200 years, after outlining seven archetypal plots in detail with a rich array of examples. It’s a long and fantastic read, despite some flaws, which will enrich anyone interested in stories in any form (for example, there are many movie examples). Read more »
The evolution of emotions
Although some key emotions can be clearly seen on our faces (read more here), our emotional lives are complex and intricately bound into the behavioural strategies we have evolved over thousands (perhaps millions) of years to improve our chances of survival and success. Each emotion tells a story about our immediate goals, our perception of the context we find ourselves in, and our interpretation of the events in our lives. Read more »
