Political Story-Telling by Bronwen Griffiths
Political Story-Telling by Bronwen Griffiths
Humans are natural story-tellers. Politicians know this too and through the ages have used story-telling to gain and hold on to power. Just as writers have to think carefully about their titles – which title will catch the public’s eye and perhaps result in better sales? – the politician and the newspaper also want to catch our eyes with their headlines and slogans.
This is nothing new but with social media it’s easier for politicians to speak directly to voters.
Pithy phrases such as ‘Make America Great Again’ or ‘Taking Back Control’ and ‘Oven Ready Deal’ (Brexit) pit one community against another. The story is that one side has been betrayed and the politician will be the saviour. It’s the old, old story of vanquishing the monster. For the right-wing the enemy is the ‘metropolitan elite,’ ‘the woolly liberals,’ the ‘woke.’ For the left it’s the rich and powerful. However, as Robert Shrimsley points out in his analysis of Seargeant’s book, The Art of Political Storytelling:
“What has changed is the personal narrative
of the insurgent. While Nixon was a conventional politician, today’s insurgents
amplify their outsider status. The more outlandish their behaviour, the more
convincing their anti-establishment credentials. The outrage at Trump’s various
transgressions simply convinced his voters that he would tear down the
establishment he was offending.”
Playing with people’s emotions is also what we do as writers. In fiction we want the reader to feel the emotions of our characters. However, in fiction, the reader is always aware of the fact that it’s a story, that although it might be based on some reality, it is not ‘real.’
And fiction is complex. A novel isn’t a tweet or a short message. Our characters must have both good and bad in their make-up otherwise they will be mere cut-outs. Politicians and headlines in certain newspapers create one-dimensional characters. The migrant. The terrorist. The snowflake.
In my novel, Here Casts No Shadow the sister and brother who are fighting tyranny commit a heinous act themselves. Their behaviour is the result of a complex interplay of politics, sexual politics and repression. What they do cannot be boiled down to a single reason. The two also pay a high price for what they do.
Recently I wrote a short (unpublished) story based on the ISIS women in the Al Hol camp. In no way do I wish to condone their actions and I believe they must face the consequences of what they have done. However a number of these women were only girls when they travelled to Syria and some may have been groomed by ISIS before they left. I do not pretend that I have the answers to what should happen to these women but newspaper headlines and (some) politicians would have us believe they are all evil and incapable of redemption. Again, the simple message of good versus evil.
‘Swarms’ and ‘hordes’ of migrants coming across the Channel is another story of ‘us’ and ‘them.’ These boats must be stopped. These people should not be coming here. The French should take them. Etcetera. Of course there are no easy solutions but simple headlines and soundbites will never provide that.
It would require another article to discuss conspiracy theories. That’s another story. An extraordinary one and one, that once again, pits the underdog against a mythical monster.
References:
Article in Financial Times by Robert
Shrimsley June 2020
The Art of Political Storytelling,
by Philip Seargeant, Bloomsbury
My novel, Here Casts No Shadow is available from:
https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/historical/here-casts-no-shadow/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Here-Casts-Shadow-Bronwen-Griffiths/dp/1789013380
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