Produced by Craig Norris, with co-host Taylor Lidstone.
Broadcast Friday 17 May 2023
Also available on YouTube
Stories can help us make sense of the world around us. What makes certain stories so appealing and effective? In this episode, we (mis)use Christopher Booker's (2004) The Seven Basic Plots to analyse some news articles and show you how to use storytelling to your advantage.
Sources:
Australian Classification Board to offer expanded consumer advice for movie ratings - ABC News
Ford to keep AM radio in cars after pressure from lawmakers | TechCrunch
Adult Swim to Start Another Hour Earlier Because No Child in the World Watches Cable | Cracked.com
Why Garry’s Mod recently decided “nazi glorification” crosses the line | Ars Technica
Transcript
This transcript was generated by Microsoft Word AI and may not be 100% accurate. If you have questions about any of the information found here, please reach out to us at: mediamothership993fm at gmail.com
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For the next hour, we will control all that you hear.
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You are about to experience the knowledge and insights of the media mothership.
Craig Norris
OK, welcome to media mothership broadcasting. Out of Edge radio. Studios in Nipaloona Hobart TAS I'm your host doctor Craig, joined by. Doctor Taylor, is your mic not?
Taylor Lidstone
On don't look.
Craig Norris
At. Alright, let's.
Taylor Lidstone
Go I, I said Doctor Taylor, just as a joke.
Craig Norris
Why? Yeah, you know, at least with Lord Taylor, you've got a vague gesture at at at at some rationale and authenticity of it. How how can you pivot towards? Doctor, have you? Have you just tried? The future. All right, this is a future kind of narrative. Yeah, possibly alternate world.
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah, no. Ultimate World, I will be going for my PhD sometime, yeah.
Craig Norris
You you are capable. Of doing that. Thank you, squeaky. So we explore as we. Do each week how media can shape our understanding of the world around us. We're streaming on edgeradio.org dot AU and on YouTube and Twitch. And if you'd like to reach. Out to us, you can shoot us a message on in studio SMS number. 04 triple. 811707 that number again. Do you remember the?
Taylor Lidstone
Number 0488888888.
Craig Norris
173 and a sixth close so. Close. You're like asking cheque, GPT. It's like you 2 with conviction. 0488811707 or you can message us on the YouTube or Twitch stream today's. Topic last week we looked at the narrative hook concept in the famous. Radio drama. Sorry. Wrong number. And we looked at the idea of the hook. That's the narrative device used to hopefully interest excite the interest from a audience member, a reader or listener. I think it worked. Do you? Well, what? What was the hook in the segment we heard from? Sorry, wrong number the. Hook the hook. What was the thing that hooked you in feeling? You want to listen to more?
Taylor Lidstone
Just the the the fact that. There was something going down and it was going to attack a woman in the house and she was. A woman in a house.
Craig Norris
Yeah. So she had overheard through a cross line, a conversation between 2 villainous types plotting the. Murder of a woman. And she had overheard that by accident as she was trying to dial A number, get to another number. But the operator had accidentally put her in another number. That's 19/4.
Taylor Lidstone
Remember that year?
Craig Norris
Yeah, 1940s. Yeah, offhand 1943. So last year was. Hook this week I want to step it up with. Some further discussion of. Narrative storytelling. They wanna go bit pig. Big picture, OK first. And ask it in terms of a broader question about, you know what? Why storytelling seems to dominate so much of life around us. Obviously, we're surrounded by movies and television. But I think I was interested in. I was putting together notes for today's episode was, you know, why? Why do we in many ways end up narrating our own life or explaining real and non fictional things. As if they were stories, as if they were novels, right. So.
Taylor Lidstone
I don't do that, said Taylor gruffly.
Speaker 2
Like you say. Hi. How's your day?
Craig Norris
Yeah, it was just like Alice in Wonderland and. They go what? You travelled to a portal. Into another land? Yes, exactly. And some likely to be that narrative, but you might say, you know, it was, it was like a movie or a gesture.
Taylor Lidstone
It was like a movie, so today it was exactly like alien.
Craig Norris
Dare I ask more? I mean, I know you've been doing some. Was it internship teaching?
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah, professional placement.
Craig Norris
Was it like alien, like like chest bursting monster?
Taylor Lidstone
It it did feel like it at some time.
Speaker 2
Yeah. Well, there we go, see. So so you can.
Craig Norris
Lend draw upon a story sometimes, like reference a movie or a TV show to try and explain something to someone more quickly than explaining the the ABC to it. You know in fact interestingly. This happens a lot in movies as well, right? If you think about the whole character, motivations of the characters from Stranger Things, the the Netflix series set in the. 80s It all references the fact that they play a lot of dungeons and Dragons, and they're into popular culture like Ghostbusters and Star Wars and ET and and those are also ways they cope and explain the supernatural activities around them. So they use a lot of dungeon and Dragons language. So in a way that fictional story. Is is performing the act of of kind of explaining the word around you through stories.
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah, that's completely true. Like, for instance, when I was driving here, it was very 50 Shades of grey.
Craig Norris
OK, 50 Shades of grey. From what I know is a story about S&M *************. She's great like that.
Taylor Lidstone
That is what it's about, but I. I was talking about the clouds, Craig.
Craig Norris
The clouds. Ohh right, the clouds were. 52 You were see. Again, I think you're missing the point. You're like one of those students. You've probably been teaching over the last three weeks, pushing buttons, so another example could be the matrix for instance, because there's many scenes, there were more fears. That's Fisherman's character is trying to explain to Neo what's going on, and he references. That it's it's. It's like Alice in Wonderland, you know, Wizard of Oz moment as as Neo is becoming aware of the fact that the real world is just a fiction.
Taylor Lidstone
Which is of course true. So that's how it's related to.
Craig Norris
This reality. Yeah, well, we're not going to go down that rabbit hole of exploring the truth of the matrix and, you know, conspiracy theory style, showing moments where you've had the black cat glitch in life, but we'll.
Speaker 2
Leave that, we'll set that.
Craig Norris
Aside, OK, how would you respond to? That as a teacher, when you're wanting to. Deflect a tangent. And get back on the main topic. You would just say. It's a good point. Let's set. That aside, for next week.
Taylor Lidstone
No, I'd say that was rubbish. Get out.
Craig Norris
Wow. Yeah. Well, I'm glad we're using pseudonyms like Lord Taylor and Doctor Taylor. OK, great. So, anyway, that was my question. Right. Why is that we use? A lot of or. Isn't it interesting how often we fall back upon fictional storytelling devices to explain real world occurrences?
Taylor Lidstone
Can you like say anything that you like yourself as you have you used?
Craig Norris
Yeah. Yeah, well, you know, I. I often annoy people that. Around by by trying to squeeze the conversation into, but I do it in a kind of funny way, like I'll I'll. I'll be talking to someone and he's explaining it and they'll say, yeah, can you tell me that in terms? Of the heroes. Question. Yeah, you're telling me what happened today, but. It's really boring. Can you please retell that to me? As the heroes quest. You know your Luke Skywalker star.
Speaker 2
So yeah, it's it is. It well look.
Craig Norris
I mean some ways, I think it does work right. So I was looking into this a little bit and there there are moments where you know maybe you want to create some meaning or coherence about something which is going on in life. And you. So we're gonna experiment with. There's two things I wanted to do right now. One is experiment with my abilities to use a new feature. On on any website which is to be able to create a read aloud section. So I'm going to use a read aloud section to play a quote from the psychologist Jeff Julie Beck, addressing this idea of how why we use narrative storytelling devices to explain meaning and coherence.
Taylor Lidstone
What do you mean by read aloud?
Craig Norris
Well, let's find out, OK. Here it's just setting it up.
Speaker 6
As psychologist Julie Beck says, a life story doesn't just say what happened. It says why it was important, what it means for who the person is for who they'll become and for what happens.
Craig Norris
Yeah. So life story, right? So if someone, let's go put your life story, you're going to try and have a beginning, middle end to. That that's true, yeah. So let's have a look now at the other aspect to it. Yeah, which could be to express and communicate. We might just reference a movie or turn it into a story with a beginning, middle end, you know, much like we're. Talking about with. Having a hook to start your story, right? Someone might be switched off like you're at a dinner party and you're wanting to impress people at the dinner party. You don't just want to blurt the middle of an interesting anecdote out, you want. To start with. A hook, you know have. You ever wondered why? I am a hero, right? That wouldn't. So it's more than that.
Speaker 2
Well, you. Yeah, if you ever so you.
Craig Norris
Start with a hook like a question, right? So anyway we.
Speaker 2
Will explain some.
Craig Norris
More depth in in coming episodes I'm thinking because I do think anecdotally, most people would reflect. Maybe they couldn't have a specific example, but they might be able to feel there's. There's something that. Yeah. Yeah. I, I I get it. I get where you're coming from. A little bit. Ah, the old classic always saved by the bell, the bluesy vibe in this case.
Speaker 2
You say that's what I.
Craig Norris
Do want to do is break down a couple of news stories now. OK, cool. And then apply this theory, which we're talking about. So we've talked about how storytimes really important. And the theory I want to talk about is this idea of.
Taylor Lidstone
Are you trying to find something?
Craig Norris
No, I've got it. Don't spoil the suspension of disbelief in this case. Suspension of disbelief that Craig is all knowing, according to this author Christopher Booker, who wrote this book, The Seven Basic Plots. Why we tell stories? He broke down the entirety of storytelling into 7. Genre 7 dominant forms of of telling stories. So what I want to do before we go into these new stories is breakdown. What these seven conventions are, and then discuss each of the new stories in terms of what story they're telling.
Taylor Lidstone
So is this sort of like one of these is going to be the hero's quest? Yeah. So yeah. It's like that's right that yeah.
Craig Norris
Yeah, the archetypes of classic archetypes of telling a story. Yeah, Harris quest. Anyway, let's do the first one and I'll play it using the.
Speaker 5
Computer computer just to.
Craig Norris
You know, get a bit of, you know, richness. In the audio. Sphere that's hitting peoples eardrums. Here we go.
Speaker 6
Overcoming the monster, the protagonist sets out to defeat an antagonistic force, often evil, that threatens the protagonist and or protagonist Homeland.
Craig Norris
OK, so that's the. First one, the first one is overcoming the monster overcoming the.
Taylor Lidstone
Is it coming?
Craig Norris
Monster and you can think of movies like Jaws, right, classic movie there with the monster is the big shark and our heroes, you know Brophy Brody, police officer Brody or Sheriff Brody. Get what? Police qualification you had. Oh, wow. But you get it, right? Yeah. OK. Have you seen Star Wars? I haven't seen it.
Speaker 2
Of course I've seen, OK.
Craig Norris
So the monster in that case in the first movie could be considered. I was going to say that star maybe. Or the empire? How? About the Terminator. Right. The monster in Terminator. Yeah, right. Yep. Arnold Schwarzenegger, T 600 or whatever variation it. Because it's a monster, you know Harry Potter. You're huge Harry Potter fan. What is the overcoming the monster narrative of Harry Potter?
Taylor Lidstone
Overcoming his teen angst and ego.
Craig Norris
See, you know, credit there in terms of, you know, abstract conceptualization. Thank you. Gosh Dang it. You really have been surrounded by what is your 8.
Taylor Lidstone
Years, not ends and 10.
Speaker 5
Possibly 9:00 and 10:00.
Taylor Lidstone
My apologies, that's.
Craig Norris
All right, this is.
Taylor Lidstone
This is me now. It's never gonna.
Craig Norris
Like a a therapy we're just workshopping. This overcome the monster? Yes. So that, that's that's the first basic plot type overcoming the monster. Any other films that come to mind in terms of any key pop tunes which feature? Overcoming the monster as their lyric.
Taylor Lidstone
I can't think of anything.
Craig Norris
Right. Well, if you're listening later from 5 to 6, Taylor's got about 45 minutes to come up with some songs matching each.
Speaker 2
One of these so.
Craig Norris
Anyway, continuing now to the next one.
Speaker 6
Rags to riches, the poor protagonist acquires power, wealth and or a mate loses it all and gains it back, growing as a person as a result.
Craig Norris
Yeah, I like how rags to riches can include gaining, acquiring mate. Which sounds very biologically determined, right? So yes, my genes have have have continued. I have become rich in terms of the genetic pool and bequeathing humanity. What are some rags to riches stories that you? I'll give you the first one. Cinderella, obviously, right. So she's literally the the servant to her brutal step sisters. And then she goes to the ball, meets Prince Charming. Yeah, we all know the stories in there. Any other things that come to? Mind, rags to riches.
Taylor Lidstone
What? What about that one? I don't know what it's about, but I was called. But it's about the woman that goes into a store and doesn't get. Pretty warmed. Yeah, pretty warm.
Craig Norris
Yeah, Julia Roberts. Who's the male lead in that one? Richard Gere. Rocky is another one, right? Willy Wonka. No. Yes. Yes. Yeah, yeah, we're not Willy Wonka, the.
Taylor Lidstone
Figure no, but we Wonka and the.
Craig Norris
Chocolate. Yeah. The the story. Yeah. Yeah. Good one. Let's go. So yeah, that that's that's rags to riches. So it's a, it's a. Pretty, I reckon there's a lot of rags to riches in K pop. Yeah, yeah, you know, humble beginnings, in fact, probably if you were to break down interviews that key pop groups give, they would probably refer to one of these in their origin. Stories like, you know, can you tell us a bit about yourself and they'll say, well, I overcame a monster or I'm definitely right to, Richard. And let's go for the next one. So this is number three of the seven.
Speaker 6
The quest, the protagonist and companion set out to acquire an important object or to get to a location. They face temptations and other obstacles along the.
Craig Norris
Way. Yeah. So to get us going, an example of the. Question obviously will of the rings. Right. They setting out to. Dispose of the power. Hmm. Yeah. We said Voz, right? Dorothy travels into. Oz and then needs. To make her way back home. Yeah. Any others come to mind? Meet finding Nemo. Yeah, right. He gets kind. Of pulled away by that current. Yeah. And then has to find his way home. Or Marlin the the father. Yeah. Is really his quest to find him. Yeah. Literally finding Nemo. The name is. Is a quest name title. It could be questing Nemo.
Taylor Lidstone
No different ones. The Hobbit. Yeah. In the same vein, I'm trying to think of one that isn't like specifically. Like either branded as a quest or like we're heroes going out on a quest.
Craig Norris
Yeah, kind of fantasy, yeah.
Taylor Lidstone
It's going to be like, like even ones like.
Craig Norris
Da Vinci Code. Right. It's. It's a kind of investigation, but. He travels around the world.
Taylor Lidstone
Well, obviously he also she's the man.
Craig Norris
Well, I've not seen that one.
Taylor Lidstone
Amanda Bynes dresses up as a as a man in football to be able to play football or something like that. I can't remember. Or to get into a school or something like that, there is a mission at.
Speaker 2
So there's a mission.
Craig Norris
Quest and there's obstacles hindering.
Speaker 5
Yeah, that could work.
Craig Norris
Moving on then to the next category.
Speaker 6
Voyage and return, the protagonist goes to a strange land and after overcoming the threats it poses or learning important lessons unique to that location, returns with experience.
Craig Norris
Very similar to the quest.
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah, but at the same time. It's very just like you could almost put. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit into that one as well. However, at the end The Hobbit goes out and returns like the same.
Craig Norris
And and will the ring starts with a mission intro, right? They have a specific mission to destroy the ring of power, probably similar to Wizard of Oz. Like her mission is to get home. So. It does feel like. Yeah, there's a specific mission, whereas maybe voyage and return involves an element of accident. Here it kind of has to. Go on this like.
Taylor Lidstone
There's a it's more like a personal.
Craig Norris
So Alice in Wonderland, right? She she she trips into this whole. I mean she. She's following the rabbit, but it's not like she has a mission to transport herself to another world. She falls into that space. Right, because the Simba character, like he, he leaves his community and and and so he ventures to a strange land meets the. People singing the song each other kantada. Matata. Yeah. Thank you. Great.
Speaker 5
I knew you'd get it.
Taylor Lidstone
Breakfast. Morning, pumba.
Speaker 2
To meet you.
Speaker 5
OK.
Craig Norris
Like you, you're fluent. You like? Back to the future. Would be another good example of Voyager return. So my name McFly travels back to the future. It's not really a mission. He's not. On a mission. To go back to the future, that nevertheless he goes back and is in a strange land and he has to overcome various threats by Biff and returns home a changed person. Avatar ET the Martian. With the other examples of of voyage and return, you know.
Taylor Lidstone
But what about with ones like interstellar? Because he returns and he's. The only one that hasn't changed.
Craig Norris
Ohh yeah physically, but mentally I suppose. Yeah. Alright, so let's let's have a look at the the next category. It was a bit of a surprise to me because the rest aren't specific genres, right? It's not like we've. Got horror or something, but this next one.
Speaker 6
Comedy's a lighthearted story that involves misunderstandings, confusion, and mistaken identities, but ends happily with the resolution of the conflicts.
Craig Norris
Yeah. So it's giving comedy an entire story of itself to say, you know, you end up with these stories which are just funny ones, right? Where it's it's, it's humorous. And there's a happy and cheerful ending at the end, right?
Taylor Lidstone
I don't think comedy needs to have a happy ending.
Craig Norris
No, I think there are examples which definitely upset that. I mean, you could say one of the examples actually that GPT generated was Monty Python, the Holy Grail, for instance, right? I wouldn't say that's a happy ending, because the car still get arrested by police for murdering a character. Right. Or murdering, you know, historian. Comes up half. To the film so they don't end up with a happily ever after deliberately very post movement. And again, this is the criticism of this schema, right, the seven forms. I mean it. Works as a. Broad brush stroke when you start drilling down, you can see that they're very reductive and very simplistic. But they're a good start. To start, classify.
Taylor Lidstone
Because the one that immediately came to my mind was Sean.
Craig Norris
It's right. Yeah. And the end of that, it's a bittersweet ending, right where he's best friend's been turned into a zombie, but hasn't been killed and instead is playing video games with him. And then turn the rest of the zombies into kind of like variety show contestants. Yeah, I guess it's a cheerful ending in. The way you laugh at it. Anyway, but yeah, that that, I mean, yeah. So comedy comedy is interesting. It's almost like, you know, he's naming all these categories. But then he had a genre. He had films and he couldn't really place within. Any of these other categories?
Taylor Lidstone
But even with Idiocracy, that still ends on a on a pretty low note, because. The whole quest. Of that is to find a way to get back home. They can never get back home.
Craig Norris
No, no. But again, you know I I can't remember that it doesn't become the president or something. What? What? This is, I can't.
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah, I think he becomes the president, yeah.
Craig Norris
Yeah, because examples I give it here are are some like it hot the classic. Movie Billy Wilder movie Monty Python, the Holy Grail Groundhog.
Taylor Lidstone
Day. Yeah. Yeah, right. Yeah. Mr beans? Holiday. Yeah. He finally gets to Cairns and to the beach.
Craig Norris
Yeah. Mr or Mr. Bean stuff. Yeah. Yeah, they have the the hangover bridesmaid and Borat. Quite the. I mean, the thing about that collection of movies is they're so different, right? Some like it hot. Monty Python Holy Grail, Groundhog Day hangover, bridesmaids and Borat. I mean, there's no kids, movies, comedy. Kids movies for. Instance. Yeah. Like I was thinking the Mr. Bean movies are much, much, much nicer fit.
Taylor Lidstone
Because they do end up getting resolved, closets will well within that.
Craig Norris
Yeah, yeah. And the. The the kind of family movies which I think does fit the comedy angle more strongly because you're unlikely to have a sad, depressing ending. Anyway, let's go for category number six.
Speaker 6
Tragedy a serious story that involves the downfall of the protagonist due to a fatal flaw or external force. The protagonist usually suffers or dies as a result of their actions or choices.
Craig Norris
That's interesting. Yeah, because I think the TV, the radio drama we've been listening to, sorry, wrong number is a tragedy in this setup, right? That she clearly does have some flaws in terms of her dependency on her husband and the fact. She's never that. Bed and her desperation to reach out and contact people is kind of passive. While it's taking some action nevertheless. Yeah, in terms of examples of tragedy, they give examples like Titanic. Who dies at the end? Of Titanic the movie. Well, actually a lot of.
Speaker 2
People was gonna say the. Two years is possibly an easier question.
Craig Norris
Because, yeah, that is tragic, right? Like everyone on the Titanic. Not everyone, but many, many people die, including our wonderful hero Jack. Jack. Yeah, Romeo and Juliet. Is a tragedy. What was Shakespeare and what exactly? Was going to say yeah, gladiator.
Taylor Lidstone
Not saying that.
Craig Norris
Oh wow. Well, I won't spoil it then. The godfather.
Taylor Lidstone
I assume that the main character died. Oh dear.
Craig Norris
Requiem for a dream?
Taylor Lidstone
Ohh, right. Yeah. That yeah, that whole things are tragic tragedy there.
Craig Norris
They didn't die right at the end. Well, I think it's the one about the the memory wipe. Right. When I think of something else.
Taylor Lidstone
You'll think about something else. Reckon for a dream is like they take a lot of narcotic drugs and end up dying.
Craig Norris
Ohhh again right? It conforms to the tragedy nevertheless. Yes, that's alright. Yeah. So it's interesting. Yeah. The tragic story ends with the protagonist. Said the hero. Or the person we can, you know, seeing as the main figure suffering or dying as a result of their actions because of some fatal flaw they have. Rebirth, the final one. So we'll hear. Now the final of the seven storytelling basic storytelling structures.
Speaker 6
Yeah, rebirth the protagonist undergoes a major change in their personality or outlook on life, usually after a period of darkness or imprisonment. They emerge as a better person with a new perspective.
Craig Norris
So if someone asked you how is your ohh.
Speaker 6
Overcoming the monster jaws star. Thank you.
Craig Norris
Sorry. Yeah, no, we've done that. We've done that. It happens every episode. If someone asked you how was. Your day and you said.
Taylor Lidstone
Like a rebirth.
Craig Norris
Wow, when you say tell me more or would you say I'm a bit busy? Probably say it was a rebirth. OK, so some films which are classified as Rebirth stories, beauty and the Beast.
Taylor Lidstone
OK.
Craig Norris
Yeah. And I guess the rebirth structure there is the Beast character finding love and being rebirthed back to the. I think he was a Prince.
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah, I think.
Craig Norris
Royal guy and and and have haven't been changed. Yeah, so happy ending at Christmas Carol.
Taylor Lidstone
Ohh, of course. Yeah, of course.
Craig Norris
Where do you think the rebirth works? With the Christmas card. Obviously. But where? Scrooge. Scrooge. Yeah. His character starts off as a miserly old crotchety guy. And then at the end, through the tragic, I guess, encounters the ghosts of.
Speaker
Well, who is?
Craig Norris
Is it the ghost of Christmas past, present and future? Yes. Showed him he he is rebirthed into a happy ending. Oh, please.
Taylor Lidstone
This is a tangent, right? But which is the best Christmas?
Speaker 2
Carol. Ohh. Muppet movie.
Craig Norris
Christmas. Hell yeah. There's Michael Caines in that one. Right. I think it's been a while since I've seen it, but. What about you press Christmas Carol?
Taylor Lidstone
I can't remember which one it is. It's the black and white one from like 1926. Yeah, always watch it every single Christmas. So good.
Craig Norris
Well, very similar to A Christmas Carol in a way because it's black and white is it's a wonderful life. The Jimmy Stewart movie, yeah. Similarly, yeah, he's visited by a ghost that shows what would happen if a protagonist had not been born and the world is the worst. Place for it. So he is kind of rebirth in terms of his. His pessimistic outlook, yeah, the matrix.
Speaker
We both narrated there.
Taylor Lidstone
Ohh yeah, of course. Yeah, yeah, I.
Craig Norris
Mean. Yeah, Neo, I guess the character of Neo is is one of a a rebirth, a character that is able to break out of the shackles of the world he thought existed and rebirthed into a the real world. Shrek, Shrek. Where's the rebirth narrative in Shrek?
Speaker 5
Do you think rebirth?
Craig Norris
Story of reinvention and renewal is is Shrek reinvented and renewed through the stories well his.
Taylor Lidstone
What's? What's it called? His. Outlook, I guess on life is.
Craig Norris
A little bit like Scrooge at. The start, right, he's, he's mean.
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah, but it's it's it's mainly Princess Fiona.
Craig Norris
It's interesting, isn't it? Yeah, cause I think a lot of people discount the significance of her character and actually the strength of her character. Why would you say Princess Fiona has a more interesting rebirth narrative when she? She's waiting for the Prince. Yeah, yeah.
Taylor Lidstone
Sounds comfortable when she becomes comfortable being her ogre self.
Craig Norris
That's right. Yeah. And that's such a more power. I think that's a very powerful story in terms of, yeah, because she's waiting for Prince Charming. And the idea is that she's completely hated that side of herself. We can issue. Well, she literally says, I think. And yeah, through it, she kind of flips that beauty and the beast narrative. Then instead of the. The beast being the body to disown, disclaim and leave. It's actually making peace with that and and becoming whole. Frozen. Frozen. Yeah, rebirth there. I guess it's the character.
Speaker 2
The the older.
Craig Norris
Sister character right history, Beth.
Speaker 2
Are you good?
Craig Norris
How the answers character rebirthed?
Taylor Lidstone
It's is it Elsa or?
Craig Norris
Is it Anna? Anna is the one. I guess that starts the movie by performing the classic Disney female tropes of falling in love for the first person she needs and.
Taylor Lidstone
Quick, but then she realises that protecting her sister is an. Act of true love, yeah. So that's her rebirth. I.
Craig Norris
Yeah, kind of. And I and you know, way that sisterly love, like I guess for Elsa it was. The fact that. She had hurt her sister. Early in life. And then never been able to show emotions.
Taylor Lidstone
I suppose that's also.
Craig Norris
Yeah, that. But I I think, yeah, I think else is a more complicated story in terms of the rebirth she has, it does blossom into a happy ending.
Taylor Lidstone
What about encanto?
Craig Norris
I haven't seen that one.
Taylor Lidstone
Mate, you're missing out. It's a.
Speaker 2
Lot of rebirth.
Taylor Lidstone
Going down. Yeah. Yeah. It's about family. Generational trauma. Is this the Mexican one? Yeah, it's it's.
Craig Norris
What's the setting of it like the? The setting the.
Taylor Lidstone
It's South America, but I can't remember very good.
Craig Norris
The some the the dead one, the festival of the.
Taylor Lidstone
No, that's different. OK, that's.
Craig Norris
Coco. OK, which is the South American one?
Speaker 2
Both of them. OK, what was the title?
Craig Norris
In Kent, in Kent. Alright, I'm just. With my keyboard.
Taylor Lidstone
Not familiar? Madrigal.
Craig Norris
Really. Do you speak? Non English encounter, right? So it came out in 2021. It's animated comedy.
Taylor Lidstone
Feel it's fantastic. I don't know how you haven't seen.
Craig Norris
This man we just went through. A list of films.
Speaker 2
You haven't seen.
Craig Norris
7.2 and 10.
Taylor Lidstone
But have you heard of? We don't talk about Bruno.
Craig Norris
No, it's that a references should be making one.
Speaker 2
Oh, my word.
Craig Norris
What is it they should be saying we don't. Talk about Bruno.
Taylor Lidstone
Don't talk about Bruno. This is a travesty.
Craig Norris
Ah, well, you know, it's. On my list, that's a storytelling device I think. Say it's on my list.
Taylor Lidstone
Have you have you seen my?
Craig Norris
World. You're saying this is like a tragedy, right? Yes, I have seen Moana. I've seen.
Taylor Lidstone
The one? Yes. Did you like the music in?
Craig Norris
I don't remember the example.
Taylor Lidstone
OK.
Craig Norris
I remember the Mercato Takato song from Lost King. Yeah, my narrative telling story to myself anyway. So yeah, they're the seven key narrative tropes and storytelling. And now. Now we're going to apply these to news stories. The first news story I want to investigate doesn't seem to be telling a story which will fit nicely with this format. It's the Australian Classification Board will be expanding the consumer advice information for movie ratings.
Speaker 5
OK.
Craig Norris
OK. Yeah. So at the moment, of course, you know when we wanna buy a DVD or Blu ray or any, this is specifically about movies at the moment. It'll come with that G classification or PG or MA.
Taylor Lidstone
Also want to add a new one.
Craig Norris
Yeah. So they're what they've been doing is they've been conducting a survey and this is part of a ongoing classification. Rebirth that they're doing right? So they're renewing and in ways reinventing aspects of the current classification scheme they've surveyed 2000 Australians over the last year asking them what more details they would like and how they can better modernise. Right. So that now has been completed and an article ABC News has posted how they're going to be now addressing and integrating these new changes in classification, some of them. So they've been, they've added these new categories of. New category, we still have the PG, MA but new descriptions that will appear next to violence. Yeah, so now we've got animated violence.
Taylor Lidstone
Ohh right. So like horror themes. Violence, yeah. I only thought I thought that was already one.
Craig Norris
Family violence is being added. Blood and Gore is being added. Mental health themes is being added, and category or the the concept the term bullying is being added. Alright, to the list. And these changes are at the moment. Are you going to apply to movies, not TV shows? Games and that part of the government's intention to reform. If we talk about a story to rebirth, the National Classification scheme in in in two stages. So the second stage, they're going to be moving on to is going to cover computer games and publications. So this scheme is is regulated. Yeah, it's going to regulate. Yeah. What, what material we can engage with what material might become banned. Or permissible in public exhibition. So I did ask ChatGPT how this could be reframed as one of the key stories. But before I do that, let me just play. Yeah. So the MA 15 Plus movie classification is going to include new categories such as strong animal cruelty, strong injury detail and strong comedic violence, strong comedic violence. I guess there's it's interesting cause in a way it's reflecting. Maybe some changes in film genres, right? We've had a lot of strong comedic violent films.
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah, I don't know. Hangover. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And. And even, like, as, as we said before, Shaun of the dead. Yeah. Because that is comedic violence, which is quite a confronting as well.
Craig Norris
For the R18 plus classification, they're adding new terms such as high impact bullying, high impact, drug reference, high impact sexual themes. High impact. How was your day today? Uh. High impact. I don't want to hear what the. Themes were please we're having. Dinner that might be the. Anyway, so let's see. So then I asked HPT how we could reapply that rather dry news story into one of the seven. Storytelling conventions, right? So this is what it's come up with.
Speaker 6
In this case, the protagonist could be the Australian government or the classification Board, who are trying to update the movie ratings.
Speaker 5
There we go.
Craig Norris
Hey. Yeah. So it's been boring. Let's start.
Taylor Lidstone
Off as this was.
Craig Norris
A baby who are good guys and bad guys. Are OK, so continue.
Speaker 6
System to meet the expectations and needs of the consumers. Their goal is to provide more information and transparency about the content of movies.
Craig Norris
Oh, hold on. Right. Sorry I didn't. Play the bit that was. Important they see. It as as a quest plot. And a rebirth plot which I picked up on. As well so. I definitely saw it as a rebirth plot. I guess the quest plot, yeah, they're seeing is that yeah. If the protagonist is the Australian government and the Classification board, great characters. Yeah, they're on a quest. Conducting surveys. Yeah, right. So the quest narrative involves setting out a mission. So the mission is, yeah, update the classification scheme for movies, the obstacles and temptations they've faced.
Speaker
I'd love to.
Craig Norris
Know what the temptations that faced the Australian Government Classification Board? I don't know, man. Tyre 18 Plus classification try to sell them some bride. I don't know I.
Speaker
As a story.
Speaker 2
Sell them some brine.
Speaker
So you're bride.
Craig Norris
Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, that. Yeah. So I I like the rebirth. Approach. Yeah. Yeah, to that. In fact, some of these terms I think should end up as hashtags for. News stories to make it more easily for me to engage. With like hashtag. Rebirth. Like if they had the title of this strain classification Board to offer expanded consumer advice for movie ratings #rebirth. I totally get. It yeah, immediately.
Taylor Lidstone
#Strategy tragedy.
Craig Norris
Do you have your playboard? You're mixed. I do. It's.
Taylor Lidstone
Not plugged in. Is it alright? Well I.
Craig Norris
I've I've anyway.
Taylor Lidstone
Ohh did you? Ohh sorry I.
Craig Norris
Didn't say next article or headline forward to keep AM radio in cars after pressure from lawmakers. This article is interesting to me because it's showing how old media.
Taylor Lidstone
Kind of people would.
Craig Norris
Leave old media so the. Whole AM radio I listen to. Them all the time.
Speaker 2
She listened to.
Taylor Lidstone
AM radio. Yeah, because that's what ABC hobarts on. Yeah.
Craig Norris
Yeah, a lot of news. So it turns out that in the state in the US, Ford and many other companies in their new cars, because they're electric cars have have removed AM systems from them. But then there's no AM system in those cars. Uh, so the American government placed pressure on them and has created a bill called the AM Radio for every Vehicle Act. Which has argued that AM radio is essential for emergency alert systems and public safety, right, especially in rural areas similar in Australia, right? That AM that AM system is vital when there's certainly Australia, Bush, fire, it's often the source people go to to get updates. Listen, so in the states, they've mandated this requirement. I don't know what Australia is. I mean, we barely have. A electric, I mean, you have no electric car manufacturing here to my knowledge, no. Anyway, so this is. Not going on a couple of.
Taylor Lidstone
Teslas around? Whoa, let's talk.
Craig Norris
Is that a? Comedy story or a rags to riches. Narrative could be there. Tragedy, personal tragedy that you do not have one.
Taylor Lidstone
Unfortunately, not just rags to rags. Because I don't have enough money to afford a Tesla.
Craig Norris
In terms of what store what, what are, what are the seven stories this might fit in with? Interestingly, chat tributes said it could be in overcoming the monster story, which I I hate. I mean, I'm not going to read. I'm not going to get it to read it because basically all of the narratives that spat out for this story made for word the. Heroic protagonist. Ohh dear. Right, even though clearly they're not in this story. Yeah, they're the belligerent. Well, sorry. Some people could read this story and say forward have kind of dropped the ball by not including AM systems as an important kind of as the bill has. Needed required emergency system anyway. So instead they've said that Ford's protagonist, you know who's had to overcome pressure from lawmakers, the villainous monsters, war makers and public opinion, or what monsters they are and has had to overcome those monsters and and figure out a way to put the AM system in their car. Right, which I. Think just you know is completely tone deaf. You know, maybe, I guess, yeah. The other story they have is that it's a quest story. Again, forward is a heroic protagonist that needed to embark on a quest to create new vehicles that had. AM systems in them. Or it's a comedy, which possibly is the only one that makes any sense to me, is that you know, it's about a misunderstanding of confusion between Ford and its stakeholders. You know, Ford assumed customers didn't listen to AM systems, but the lawmakers have argued that it's vital for public communication safety. Forward, however misunderstood this and has removed am from all. Of its systems. And now has to go back on that and redeliver it. So I don't see where any comedy is yet, but it does say it. Ends with a happy ending.
Taylor Lidstone
To be fair. I I the I don't know what it is, but like the receiver in my car doesn't really work. So I have to play my radio through the Internet just to get local radio.
Craig Norris
Ohh wow. In your car. Yeah. So you're not even using the car AMFM system.
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah. I can't even listen to edge radio it just a little. Wow.
Craig Norris
Yeah, sorry, I. Guess you gotta replace that system.
Taylor Lidstone
Or just keep doing what I'm doing because it's.
Craig Norris
Really good it it into your.
Taylor Lidstone
There's there's an app and it's called something like radio World. And you can. There's like a globe and you can spin it and it's got every radio station in every country in every world. Yeah. Useful.
Craig Norris
Through my data on my phone. So OK AIM systems are going back into electric cars in America. The next one that's showing us how. The media landscape is changing. Is the story on crack.com talking about how adults swim is going to start an hour late earlier because no child in the world watches cable, right? So this is how Adult Swim had a time slot. Specifically there at 6:00 PM. Ohh sorry at 8:00 PM.
Taylor Lidstone
So kids wouldn't want you.
Craig Norris
Yeah, just be a PM, yeah. Because the idea was. That kids could watch it. But now survey data that. And this is in America, but Warner Brothers. Have done survey data to show that kids just aren't watching cable ohh anymore. Yeah, so that 8:00 PM start time no longer is needed because the statistics show that there's no chance of kids watching earlier. So now they've pushed it to 7:00 PM on May 1st.
Taylor Lidstone
Yeah. Yeah, cause they're just watching on demand.
Craig Norris
So yeah, an hour earlier.
Taylor Lidstone
Do you watch Adult Swim?
Craig Norris
No, I've seen some of.
Taylor Lidstone
The shows there, but what?
Speaker 2
Equating hunger force Space Ghost Coast to coast.
Taylor Lidstone
Have you seen Andre share?
Craig Norris
That is fantastic. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I often. Will my son will often send me clips during the day I I love the movie that he did the bad trip movie.
Taylor Lidstone
I just noted a movie. Ohh.
Craig Norris
Right, you've got to watch it. There's a great gorilla scene in the zoo. I won't say anymore, OK?
Speaker 5
OK.
Craig Norris
Right. Well, we'll tend to be ours, so. I want to. I want to get through two more stories. This one is great because this one is titled sonification makes astronomy more inclusive and help scientists fine tune celestial observations. So this is a story about how it's from ABC's talking about how. They've been able to create sound from from. You know the the telescopes that they've used to see the far distances of space, they have been able to convert that into a soundscape, right, and sort of goes into, you know, quite a bit of depth in terms of how this can assist us approaching understanding the cosmos from a different sensory data set. But whatever that this includes, it's included examples of the sound. So let's listen now to the data scientification of the black hole at the centre of the Perseus Galaxy cluster.
Speaker 5
It's great. This is the black hole at the centre for Perseus Galaxy. What would you train?
Speaker 2
I feel like we could just leave this.
Speaker 5
Plane in the background, yeah.
Craig Norris
It's kind of like. I've got another audio sample here of the sun sonification, so this is sunrise.
Speaker 2
You getting something?
Craig Norris
Yeah, yeah. Ohh, we're off. We're. So in terms of how we can make sense of that article? It breaks it down in terms of saying it could. Be a quest. Story or a voyage and return story where you've got astronomers that are using this data sonification thing to explore and understand the universe. So it's a kind of quest for knowledge and discovery. Story which is very. Much how the article reads as well. The article also mentions how some astronomers use sonification for outreach and public engagement activities, which can be seen as a. Voyage and return. So in this sense, you know, the astronomers are going on a voyage to a school class and sharing that knowledge with the school students to inspire. And returning home. Yeah. So you avoid in return and. If someone asked you how your day was and you said it was. A voyage and return narrative. I think that would be quite interesting. You're not hacking your. Phones again. What? No, my phones just messing up. Yeah.
Taylor Lidstone
Turn going to the shops, yes.
Craig Norris
Yeah, last story I wanted to. Yeah, last story I could we wanna do is titled why the Garry Mod, why Garry's Mod recently decided Nazi glorification crystal. Lane, in a societal talking about.
Taylor Lidstone
Strange because I used to play Garry's Mod a lot, and that used to crop up a lot by people.
Craig Norris
Isn't that interesting? Yeah. Yeah. Well, I loved about this article was talking about how the developer, Facepunch Studios, has recently added a new rule prohibiting the display swastikas, the Nazi salute, or any other glorification of Nazism. Servers, even for all planning purposes and it talks.
Taylor Lidstone
About role playing as a Nazi? Fantastic.
Craig Norris
It talks a bit about how this issue has become more and more worse, but how you know when Garry's Mod was first set up, it had a kind of Wild West vibe. Anything works, but now, as the guys grown up. He's begin to recognise how. He he doesn't really want this space to be. The Nazi space? Yeah, and. Again, what's interesting about the article that's from its Ars Technica is that it references this urban dictionary phrase called the Nazi bar problem. Have you ever come across this to the Nazi bar? Problem is when you own a space that if so, a forum or something or a website. So if you set up a space that lets any groups of people in, such as in this example, Nazis. You're literally drive everyone else away from your space so that what started off as a normal ordinary space will become essentially a Nazi bar. So it's not only Nazis, it can be fascists, white supremacist methods. Sorry it goes on for currency fanboys. Some group will be so odious to others that they will drive everyone else out of your space. So the only solution that you can enact is to ensure that they don't come to your place in the first time. Even if they're nice and polite and follow the rules, because while they might, their friends won't, those friends have a history of driving other people away from your space. So yeah, the idea here of the Nazi bar problem is so, for instance, in Garry's Mod, he said it's inclusive. It's open to anyone come along and play. So they started doing World War 2. Kind of reenactments and then suddenly do a little Nazi showing up and people didn't really. Want to go to? Garry's Mod if it was going to be full. Nazis and they.
Taylor Lidstone
As as someone. Who used to play Garry's model a lot? Yeah, it wasn't people doing, like, historical reenactments.
Speaker 2
What were they doing?
Taylor Lidstone
They were basically fascists. Yes, they were. They were. Yeah. They're kids, kids just messing around but being incredibly inappropriate.
Craig Norris
And then, yeah, so the idea that, yeah, that would drive everyone else away. Yeah, the normal kids, normal players just get driven away from this toxic space. Once you've allowed, yeah, Nazis. Well, that's, that's that's this show. For, yeah, and in terms of what genre that fits in terms of how it could be classified, it was classified here as comedy.
Taylor Lidstone
I don't think so. I think smell like rebirth.
Craig Norris
Well, actually, yeah, there were three. Let me Scroll down a bit. There were three categories. It was overcoming the monster or.
Taylor Lidstone
Maybe overcoming the monster?
Craig Norris
Yeah. Yeah, they had to overcome. The Monster of Of of. Dealing with Nazi glorifiers and taking action, it was rebirth. So turning Garry's Mod from being a space that have been corrupted by hate and violence. Into a space that could inspire kids. And comedy because, yeah, the article had a number of funny phrases. Yeah, there is. We'll get around to maybe next week. Or maybe I'll. I'll bump into the K pop show. Coming up next. There was an interesting ABC News about Australians that are part of the K pop industry and in terms of what narrative the article was setting up, it was very much. Rags to riches story, right kid from Brisbane makes it big in K pop world. Jake SIM.
Taylor Lidstone
Jake SIM. Is he a relation of John SIM?
Craig Norris
If N nhim and Hive and hive sound like a German phrase anyway, sorry gosh, that's been media mothership. Thanks very much for listening.
Taylor Lidstone
IN-IN hyphen?
Craig Norris
Everyone. It's been Craig. Doctor Craig joined by.
Taylor Lidstone
Doctor Taylor. Ohh man. I thought you would.
Speaker 2
You you haven't even rebirthed as a doctor.
Taylor Lidstone
I will be. I'm gonna get my PhD.
Craig Norris
Yeah, I I think you're gonna overcome the monster that to happen, show notes will be. Available on this. Episode at www.mediamembership.au. And next week, we're going to further explore how narratives can be used to make sense of the world around us. You can list the previous episodes on YouTube, Twitch, and edgeradio.org Dot AU. Reach out and get in touch with us via Facebook or. Discord and if you.
Taylor Lidstone
Want to buy me a Tesla? Please just do that.
Craig Norris
That sounds like a comedy, or maybe rags to riches story, rags to riches, right riches. Well, yeah, keep listening to each radio coming up next is K Pop unlimited any thing to say about keeping?
Taylor Lidstone
It's gonna be a remix show. Everything is gonna be a remix.
Speaker 2
Any Sai? No Sai.
Craig Norris
And he? Alright. Well, I'll. I'll wait and listen. He's great. So keep listening. We'll have some hitchhiker from keeper.
Taylor Lidstone
Listen back to all your favourite programmes on edgeradio.org dot AU
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