“But I like seeing shit blow up!”

Story telling has been around for centuries. Folk tales and Fairy tales were first told by gifted tellers and based on rituals intended to endow with meaning the daily lives of members of the tribe. These stories were told face to face and would be altered in order to meet the needs and beliefs of particular members of the group.

In modern days we no longer role with our tribe, spearing pigs and wearing bones as fashion accessories but our yearning for story still lingers. One thing that has changed for sure is the way in which we are told stories, whether it’s in book form, radio or film each format has both its advantages and disadvantages in how we interpret a story. Studies have shown that both radio and literature work our imaginations harder than that of television and film. This is not to say that film is a bad medium of story telling it’s just there’s a thin line between film simply being candy for the eyes. All stories must in someway touch us deeply, they have to answer to our stresses in life and help us improve as a person. “But I like seeing shit blow up!” You say? Many of us want escapism from film but remember psychoanalysis was created to enable man to accept the problematic nature of life without being defeated by it, or simply giving into escapism. Yes we may go see a film and for the two hours we are there we forget all of our problems but once we leave the safe confines of the cinema we are thrown back into the harsh reality of the real world. So why can’t these films follow us out the door and help us with these stresses we may be facing?

The key to story telling is unlocking the imagination it is this that helps us to deal with the stresses of daily life. When we see a film of courage we leave feeling we can take on the world but it is the story that stays locked away in our subconscious so that later in life when we are feeling low our imagination can conjure up its own story to help us cope with our current situation. I know this is all a little deep and you may have already switched off but at the end of the day as the world becomes more and more globalised we become one big tribe and as I writer I feel it is simply duty to help our fellow tribesman not to simply escape life through whatever story telling medium but use the power of story to help others lead a happier life and become more equipped to cope with the stresses and pressures that life throws our way. Ok, now I have to get back to my dissertation.