Week 6 Storytelling: TED Talks

This week there were two TED talks that I watched: "The Dangers of a Single Story" and "Imaginary Friends and Real-World Consequences." Both highlight the importance of story-telling to both our individual lives and our society. As someone who grew up reading a lot of fiction, and still enjoys reading fiction now, I got a lot out of the "Imaginary Friends and Real-World Consequences" talk. Just the other day, I was watching one of the Harry Potter movies with my roommate. She has a different (incorrect) opinion about one of the main characters, and it led to a heated debate. Both of us were adamant about what was motivating the character in question and were actually angry that the other person disagreed - it honestly felt like one of my friends was being attacked when she criticized this character! I don't think that's an uncommon way to feel either, and the talk confirmed this. 

The fact that we can become attached to fictional characters can potentially be dangerous as it might lead us to perceive celebrities, politicians, public figures, or even just "internet friends" as merely characters in a book since we have a similar access to those people as we would to fictional characters (feeling like we know them for various reasons but not knowing them in real life).  But attachment to fictional characters can also have positive benefits as it helps us build empathy, especially as children. 

I think the ability to attach to fictional characters speaks to the power of story telling. Stories can feel real, even when we know they're fake. They can still shape our realities. Myths and legends are just like that as well - even if they are not totally believed, they are the stories that countries and families tell themselves about their past. They create real world identities. Having a shared mythology creates unity in a way few other things can. 

Due to the power of story telling, it is important to make sure that we are telling the right stories. This point is what Chimamanda Ngozi makes in her TED talk "The Dangers of a Single Story." The stories we tell about places have a huge effect on how we perceive those places in real life - and people from those places.

Bibliography:

The Dangers of a Single Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg

Imaginary Friends and Real World Consequences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22yoaiLYb7M&t=0s&list=PLAwvoUG9cvt3cYjWWHONBmugIu2gDVlk4&index=4&app=desktop

Ron & Hermione fan art :)
https://upthehillart.tumblr.com/post/154908830998/merry-christmas-ﾟ-ref-by-julie-cate