Here’s a silly little Tumblr post that I encounter occasionally. Every time it crosses my feed, I get a little chuckle. But here are some serious ideas it brings to mind for me: The “Specialest Little Boy” trope is a narrative/metaphorical pattern that persists, perpetuated by stories that usually still follow the well-worn steps of the monomyth (Hero’s Journey), but rooted in
As you note, people come down somewhere on that psychology-sociology spectrum, whether they are more individually or collectivist oriented, favor more competition or more cooperation. And we know we need both of each of those to flourish in a healthy system.
There are Epics like "War and Peace", or "The Good War" by Studs Terkel (And "World War Z" by Max Brooks for that matter), that try to create a pastiche of a bunch of smaller perspectives to shed light on the collective story.
The thing I see with narrative is that it is designed to entertain/inform/transform the end user, which is a individual human. Those humans can then use the wisdom gained to contribute to the collective, but we still take in stories as individuals.
As you note, people come down somewhere on that psychology-sociology spectrum, whether they are more individually or collectivist oriented, favor more competition or more cooperation. And we know we need both of each of those to flourish in a healthy system.
There are Epics like "War and Peace", or "The Good War" by Studs Terkel (And "World War Z" by Max Brooks for that matter), that try to create a pastiche of a bunch of smaller perspectives to shed light on the collective story.
The thing I see with narrative is that it is designed to entertain/inform/transform the end user, which is a individual human. Those humans can then use the wisdom gained to contribute to the collective, but we still take in stories as individuals.