Week 4 Lab: Stories and Storytelling
Quick Notes:
The danger of a single story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi (source)
-wrote stories very similar to the British stories she read--> impressionable children
-shift after reading new books--> stories aren't just one story you can't relate to but sound like other stories
-people have a "single story" towards things they don't know much about
-be sure not to show a group as one thing all the time, sticking with what everyone else defines them as
- some people read a story and it makes an unrealistic and single line of thinking, making an incomplete story of a topic
Imaginary friends and real-world consequences by Jennifer Barnes (source)
-How long have people invested in fictional stories?
-What effect does fictional characters have on us?
-Why do we feel so connected to fictional characters--> parasocial relationships
-it feels like we feel true connections with celebrities or fictional characters
-parasocial relationships can provide emotional support of a kind
-fictional grief can affect a person just as much as a true, real world loss
-overvalue fictional characters, and undervalue human lives
-but literature can also teach empathy
Overall:
I honestly had mixed opinions about both of these videos. I thought each of them made a reasonable point, but I also thought both women seemed a little close-minded. Adichi seemed to use very anecdotal evidence, because I don't think know a single person who read a book and thought that it's the only way a book should be written. She described someone who formed opinions based only on what they read, got frustrated about it, and then described how she fell into the very same problem. In my opinion, this happens because we form opinions based on what is presented to us and readily available, and can't know everything about every country unless we spend hours researching each one.
Barnes made some good points about our over attachment to fictional characters. I personally know many people that get obsessed with characters like she described and probably care more about their characters than real people. However, in Barnes's research, it seems that she asked very broad questions, putting our relationship with coworkers and random people in the gym to the same level. Typically people are not going to feel a connection or think deeply about the life of one random person they don't know, because that person doesn't have a direct connection or influence in everyone's life. I agree this is a bit of a problem when we'd rather save a fictional character over a real person, but I don't believe the blame lies in the books we read.
The danger of a single story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi (source)
-wrote stories very similar to the British stories she read--> impressionable children
-shift after reading new books--> stories aren't just one story you can't relate to but sound like other stories
-people have a "single story" towards things they don't know much about
-be sure not to show a group as one thing all the time, sticking with what everyone else defines them as
- some people read a story and it makes an unrealistic and single line of thinking, making an incomplete story of a topic
Imaginary friends and real-world consequences by Jennifer Barnes (source)
-How long have people invested in fictional stories?
-What effect does fictional characters have on us?
-Why do we feel so connected to fictional characters--> parasocial relationships
-it feels like we feel true connections with celebrities or fictional characters
-parasocial relationships can provide emotional support of a kind
-fictional grief can affect a person just as much as a true, real world loss
-overvalue fictional characters, and undervalue human lives
-but literature can also teach empathy
Overall:
I honestly had mixed opinions about both of these videos. I thought each of them made a reasonable point, but I also thought both women seemed a little close-minded. Adichi seemed to use very anecdotal evidence, because I don't think know a single person who read a book and thought that it's the only way a book should be written. She described someone who formed opinions based only on what they read, got frustrated about it, and then described how she fell into the very same problem. In my opinion, this happens because we form opinions based on what is presented to us and readily available, and can't know everything about every country unless we spend hours researching each one.
Barnes made some good points about our over attachment to fictional characters. I personally know many people that get obsessed with characters like she described and probably care more about their characters than real people. However, in Barnes's research, it seems that she asked very broad questions, putting our relationship with coworkers and random people in the gym to the same level. Typically people are not going to feel a connection or think deeply about the life of one random person they don't know, because that person doesn't have a direct connection or influence in everyone's life. I agree this is a bit of a problem when we'd rather save a fictional character over a real person, but I don't believe the blame lies in the books we read.
Old Books
(source)
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