Narrative, story, bs and heads up one's a****
So we were in a restaurant in Conway , North Wales last year when this women pipes up, complaining: “I object to the narrative coming out of the kitchen.” Honestly.
And then I read in PR Week (13 January 2012) that the British electorate is so furious about the damage bankers have done to the economy that, “this may provide a difficult narrative to control.”
So, what’s going on? Why call a ‘story a ‘narrative’? Is there a difference, or does ‘narrative’ just make the user sound more intellectual? Are writers, speakers becoming even more up their own ar**s? Or, more worryingly, is it a symptom of the way PR and spin is seeping into journalism?
I think it’s all these things.
Here’s one fact, significantly from theUS : ‘the narrative’ was officially judged the ‘No. 1 political buzzword’ of 2010 (things take a while to cross the Atlantic ). This from the Global Language Monitor (GLM), in Austin , Texas
Of course there is a difference and an appropriate time to speak of narrative. And that’s when you really mean ‘narrative’, which as Dictionary.com helpfully reminds us, is when you are referring to:
A story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious.
Using the term invites readers to believe that the author is very clever and understands semiotics and literary theory, where a ‘narrative’ is a story or part of a story. It might be spoken, written or imagined. In stories told orally, the narrator whom the audience can see and/or hear might add meaning to the text through his performance.
He/she also has the opportunity to monitor the audience's response and modify his/her story-telling to clarify content or enhance interest.
This is distinct from the written word where the author must try and predict the readers' likely reactions and use that to make a final choice of words. More griff here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative#Literary_theory
My eldest son, 1st class English literature fromOxford
Here’s some inappropriate use of the term, from theUS
I fear it is really about PR and spin seeping into journalism. The armies of spin doctors in the public and private sectors are constructing ‘narratives’ that are really just like the old familiar spin, public image, propaganda and party line. The term is in all forms of communication and it would be a very determined person that was able to filter it all out.
Narrative is, then, PR, spin and bs rolled into a meaningless ball where, as Humpty Dumpty said words “means just what I choose (them) to mean － neither more nor less."
Paul JJ Payack (what a name!), President and Chief Word Analyst (what a job!) of GLM puts it well here.
“The rise of the ‘The Narrative’ actually renders actual positions on the issues almost meaningless, since the positions now matter less than what they seem to mean. The goal of political campaigns now is to spin a storyline that most ‘resonates’ with the electorate, or segments thereof”.
‘The Narrative’ now seems to refer to the main stream of public opinion in the media that needs managed by PR people. And we are all diminished by this …
And then I read in PR Week (13 January 2012) that the British electorate is so furious about the damage bankers have done to the economy that, “this may provide a difficult narrative to control.”
So, what’s going on? Why call a ‘story a ‘narrative’? Is there a difference, or does ‘narrative’ just make the user sound more intellectual? Are writers, speakers becoming even more up their own ar**s? Or, more worryingly, is it a symptom of the way PR and spin is seeping into journalism?
I think it’s all these things.
Here’s one fact, significantly from the
Of course there is a difference and an appropriate time to speak of narrative. And that’s when you really mean ‘narrative’, which as Dictionary.com helpfully reminds us, is when you are referring to:
A story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious.
A book, literary work, etc., containing such a story.
or
The art, technique, or process of narrating: Somerset Maugham was a master of narrative. Using the term invites readers to believe that the author is very clever and understands semiotics and literary theory, where a ‘narrative’ is a story or part of a story. It might be spoken, written or imagined. In stories told orally, the narrator whom the audience can see and/or hear might add meaning to the text through his performance.
He/she also has the opportunity to monitor the audience's response and modify his/her story-telling to clarify content or enhance interest.
This is distinct from the written word where the author must try and predict the readers' likely reactions and use that to make a final choice of words. More griff here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative#Literary_theory
My eldest son, 1st class English literature from
Here’s some inappropriate use of the term, from the
· “For a growing number of Americans, President Obama's narrative no longer defines who he is."
· Obama has lost “control of his own narrative.”
· Obama to “confront a deeply embedded media narrative that sees a Republican triumph as all but inevitable.”
·“Barack Obama, US
· “The Obama White House has lost the narrative in the way that the Obama campaign never did” (New York Times, March 6)
· “The only thing that changes is the narrative.” (CNN, March 23)
Narrative is, then, PR, spin and bs rolled into a meaningless ball where, as Humpty Dumpty said words “means just what I choose (them) to mean － neither more nor less."
Paul JJ Payack (what a name!), President and Chief Word Analyst (what a job!) of GLM puts it well here.
“The rise of the ‘The Narrative’ actually renders actual positions on the issues almost meaningless, since the positions now matter less than what they seem to mean. The goal of political campaigns now is to spin a storyline that most ‘resonates’ with the electorate, or segments thereof”.
‘The Narrative’ now seems to refer to the main stream of public opinion in the media that needs managed by PR people. And we are all diminished by this …
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