BBC World Service - “A short history of story”
(Noah Richler) (programme
1 and 2)
IPlayer
Podcast
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Part 1.
Noah Richler traces the development of storytelling from the
earliest creation myths through to today's online gaming and the recording of
our personal lives by way of social media.
In the first programme he shows how creation myths and
cautionary tales were created to explain humans' place in the world, and how we
should conduct ourselves in it.
And when groups came into contact with each other, myths and
epics were invented which showed how they might deal with the threats and danger
that sprang from conflict.
The arrival of the novel he argues came at a time when
society felt less threatened and so could explore the highways and byways of
living our lives.
Among those taking part in the series are Steven Pinker,
Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, anthropologist Hugh Brody,
Canadian poet Robert Bringhurst and artificial intelligence expert David
Ferrucci.
Part 2
Noah Richler traces the development of storytelling from the
earliest creation myths through to today's online gaming and the recording of
our personal lives by way of social media.
The second programme looks at how creation myths and epics
in the 21st Century continue to be part of our experience of storytelling, and
that through computer games and social media people assume different identities
– hero, villain, warrior, and peacemaker.
The series ends with the thought that perhaps we humans are
the servant of the story, the vessel through which story lives, and it's the
survival of 'story' that is paramount.