"I mean by 'narrative' a story. But not any kind of story. I refer to big stories-stories that are sufficiently profound and complex to offer explanations of the origins and future of a people; stories that construct ideals, prescribe rules of conduct, specify sources of authority,and, in doing this, provide a sense of continuity and purpose. Joseph Campbell and Rollo May, among others, called such stories 'myths.' Marx had such stories in mind in referring to 'ideologies.' And Freud called them 'illusions.' No matter. What is important about narratives is that human beings cannot live without them."
- Building a Bridge to the 18th century (p 101) by Neil Postman
The whole chapter (entitled "Narratives") essentially deals with the subject of this blog and the term which I frequently use in writing, "metanarrative." The differentiation between Postman's term and mine is only that my own use is distinguished from approximately five layers of narrative with the metanarrative 'layer' as the top and framed artistic expression as the bottom layer. I'll go into this further in future entries.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
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