Topic 1: Fake News, and the Crisis of Credibility, Corporations and Governance

Transcription

1 1 Day 3 of the Think Tank Topic 1: Fake News, and the Crisis of Credibility, Corporations and Governance Story Structure: John Truby Crisis of credibility part of a lager movement going on. Seeing a blending of fiction (creativity) with non-fiction (truth). Seeing a blending of mediums, novels like film. Genres all mixed now. Used to be very distinct non fiction documentary. How things really happened. Truth. Fiction on the other side. Some years ago became creative non-fiction. Techniques of fiction infusing them into a true story. Memoire true story. 50% of best picture nominees were in this category. e.g. Theory of Everything, Imitation Game, told as fiction for max entertainment value. A few years ago - New genre reality television. Scripted, but makes it look like real life. Created a mass industry of fake reality. Recently elected a reality tv star as president (US). Looking back at the four-point opposition from pre-framing session >> Man elected from media from entertainment corner of the media. Has credibility because has industry quadrant. Matched the two bottom corners. He isn t just fighting against the education elite (top left), but also managed to put himself in opposition to top right government. Leaders of republican party in government. This situation, and model, gives the media power to dominate the other three quadrants.

2 2 Is this model cyclical? US politics is built on a pendulum shift. Great enslaver business vs gvt. Going back and forth between these two ruling. If in power too long, it overcomes itself. e.g. 1920s business rule, too long great crash. e.g. great gvt check 20 years, restricted business too long - shift. Now 8 yrs Obama, then an extreme shift. Biggest seen in 100 years. All branches of government checks and balances are all gone now. CP Snow art vs science. Can t get to these new stories without merging the two. Anthropology is the most useful form of science we can use in this area forming new models of society through story. That discussion is then at the level of culture. Looking to create a culture with a set of values which are different from what we are operating from right now. All good stories track a process through character and plot. Process of the values of society. Female myth Ecological Myth Fake News Social media is partly the cause. Will Smith -talk show people have devices to record it e.g. black guy being beaten up. Extensive presence of it is in our face more conscious of it. Interconnectivity good and bad. Costly psychologically. News is always negative always about conflict. Live in a world where everything is bad then. Addiction to social media << e.g. restaurant, 70% people on their phones. People addicted to stimulus. TV, phone, computer. Don t have to be bored. Esp for writers >> procrastination.

3 3 Story ideas, and myths to draw from: Pamela Jaye Smith Tribal consciousness >> individual consciousness (stepping away from tribe) >> group consciousness (connected to everybody, but still have individuality) Want to try and inspire people to move from one level of consciousness upwards, through the stories we write. 3 choices from here: Devolution Revolution business vs gvt no progress. Danger is here you become what you were originally resisting. Evolution what we re doing here. Therefore, reverting back to gvt isn t a smart option. Need a third option. Need to move through different types of thinking. Common thinking >> Critical thinking >> Creative thinking Also a GREAT thing to lead people through, character arch. Fake News Always had fake news e.g. propaganda, leaflet drops behind enemy lines. Trojan War Greeks used the Trojan horse (fake news) convinced them to bring horse into city. Trojans fell for it. Spy craft, propaganda, religious teaching, government decrees always had information, misinformation, disinformation Just high on our radars right now because of current events, and new media accessible. Can bring this into story, just using keyword: FAKE. E.g. this feels fake Already in the consciousness. Doesn t have to be heavy handed. Understand the triggers that are built into our existing zeitgeist. Look at hidden identity stories Wag The Dog, All The President s Men << exposing fake news, evil empires Spy and espionage films.

4 4 Topic 2: Conflict, Balance of Power, and the Female Myth, and the "Evil Empire" Syndrome Story Structure: John Truby Model of behaviour prisoner s dilemma. Given same options. If you each stay silent then both get out. If he confesses, and you stay silent, you die, he gets 2 years. And vice versa. If both confess both get 5 years. Dark Knight moral tests increasing scale. Final one two ships: criminals vs ordinary people. We live our lives in separate self-interested options. Path of least cost. See this in daily life. How people do this in a corporation. Individuals are morally good, but within that system, induced to act in a certain way. Ecological Myth a way of combatting the mentality of prisoners dilemma Foundation concept gaining balance 4 levels need to be in balance> individual, family, society and nature 4 stages: wilderness, village, city, oppressive city Powerful tool for story tellers because each one has a hero connected to each stage. Each is a different ecological stage. 20 th century storytelling was always a negative cycle. But in any wilderness, nature is all powerful, and hero is a superhero with godlike abilities. Society is small, nomadic. By the time we get to oppressive city no nature. Hero decreases to anti hero, or a little guy who gets pushed around. Enslaving oppressive society.

5 5 Eco myth tried to keep all these four major elements in balance. Few examples, because fairly new. Avatar good example. Cameron did it by putting oppressive city vs a wilderness world, and one wins over the other. Other ways of doing it. Thematically this is the most powerful story to tell: gives us the scope that allows an audience to see that it s a societal problem, but characters to give it the emotional connection. Scope and complexity combined with the deeply emotionally involved with characters. The most ambitious storytelling there is. Write the most ambitious story you can write. Female Myth Original female myth goddess that gives birth to the world. Male warrior hero is not the way forward. The monomyth always going to be singular e.g ability to fight, or give birth. One dimensional. Do have journey, emphasis on rebirth. (Avatar 3 or 4 rebirths). Circular story. Resurrection << female myth Male myth divide and conquer Female myth combine and grow Prisoner s dilemma classically male myth divide and conquer Inside Out, Gravity, Frozen, Avatar Other Story Forms for Social Change Social Fantasy from character up to society level. Place two or more societies in contrast. Which means putting two or more different sets of values in contrast. e.g. Gulliver s Travels 4 different structures of society in that story.

6 6 Its A Wonderful Life two leaders, under two different sets of values. Also shows how it affects the behaviours of the minor characters. Become the best or worst that they can be. Pleasantville well set up. Bladerunner scifi built on the detective form. Crime, Detective, Thriller tighter story structure, plus better desire lines. Zootopia female bunny who wants to be a cop. She persists detective journey and go through the subworlds of Zootpia. Sets in opposition the predators and the prey. Allows you to tell big picture of the society. Sci fi of the mind Westworld, and Inception Creation Myth marriage of science and myth, science and art Scientific creation myth 2001 Space Odyssey evolution of the universe. Doesn t get any bigger. Could be fruitful to write in. Story ideas, and myths to draw from: Pamela Jaye Smith Group think fall into easily. 3 films getting out of it: Spartacus (Life of Bryan!) Dangerous Beauty heroine accused of witchcraft by inquisition. In and Out I m gay, moving out of oppression. Tribal mentality >> group mentality. Look at women s movement, Black Lives Matter movement. Dead Poet Society JT - The person who gets the disadvantage is the person who goes first. Therefore important to set up the domino effect to make this work, else that first person is taken advantage of in the short term at least. But corporate system is built to maximise short term gain. Need to get enough people thinking this way.

7 7 Evil Empires A tendency of humanity. Concentration of power over others this is where it happens. Also concentration of wealth, divergence of pay. Factors include laziness, power structure saying if you work hard you can have it too, greed of the oppressed is part of it. Give us reference to its origin as to how did we get here. Ecological Myth Getting elements of nature to be alive. Interesting concept in mineral, vegetable and human. Next kingdom >> that of soul. Story idea - What happens to the rest of the humans who don t evolve? Ref: Nietzsche Ubermensch Creation of new consciousness. Some humans/ cultures have a good relationship with nature. Natural elements seen as alive. Awareness of physical things that are alive. E.g. rocks. Permeation of existence with life. Read David Bryn Earth. Also have people who are non-believers who question things. Creates conflict. Re - Common thinking, critical thinking and creative thinking. Motto of University of Austin, TX. Education is the safe guard of democracy. From Camelot the musical: King Arthur this is the time of King Arthur. When violence is not strength and compassion is not weakness. Re difficult to put forward a utopia even if you give us a glimpse or a feeling of how it s going to be. Don t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, that for one brief moment, that once there was a Camelot

8 8 >> inspires us to go do it again. Doesn t have to be a happy ending, but you ve shown us what it could be like. Difference between myth, fantasy and sci fi PJS: Myth is the wood. Fantasy and sci fi, are chairs. Fantasy vs sci fi difference it the science. JT: Structural speculative fiction horror, fantasy and scifi Horror devolution reduces characters to animal or a machine Fantasy opening up possibilities in our world and seeing the magic with in us. Scifi societal and social evolution. Emphasis on the technology and the relationship to humans. Fantasy vs myth Fundamental difference comes down to structure. Myth built on long journey. Fantasy works on 3 parts. Jump to fantasy world and return to mundane world at end.