Story Tellin'

Spurred by a fascinating discussion last night on the merits of storytelling/world-building in media (particularly movies), I spent some time thinking about what it is that makes a tale memorable or interesting for me.

The discussion effectively boiled down to whether it was more important for a story to be told well, or for it to have a practical message being sent.

Despite the fact that I'm a pragmatist well before I'm interested in achieving the perfect theory, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have an enormous soft spot for complicated narratives that don't necessarily tell the most savory of stories. "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable."

Stories with unpleasant messages can nevertheless be important perspectives. Stories can function to trigger our deepest emotions despite having no basis in the world that represents our day-to-day lives. I will never interact with the characters in stories personally. I will never live in the world inhabited by those characters. I will never have to confront a reality proposed by a narrative. However, they will still always make me feel things.
I may not agree with a character's actions, but I might understand why those decisions were made.
I may not personally have any interest in a cognitive or behavioral style as carried out by a fictional character, but I might still be able to learn from the unique emotions that said style imparts upon them.
I may not find a character's choices conscionable, but I might learn something new about my feelings based on the perspectives I'm witnessing.

Watchmen, the graphic novel (and later movie) represents an excellent example of a story with characters who are all on extreme ends of a spectrum, virtually unrelatable in their individual circumstances. But despite this and despite the fact that the message of the film is not a practical or joyous one, the story is nothing short of phenomenal.

I do not often find that I'm terribly put off by a movie that has no useful message to send so long as the story is fundamentally well-told (often, a well-told story has a message to send, but there are times where a good story is simply an adequate exploration of fascinating ideas). Not because the message is unimportant to me, but rather because I do not think it is the obligation of art to agree with us, but rather, to allow us to explore and feel things.

#storyrants

-
Wad