Storytelling has been around for centuries. People have always desired to communicate and share their stories and experiences with one another.
Ancient civilisations drew their lives on the walls of prehistoric caves. News was spread by storytellers on the steps of Rome. Shakespeare’s plays translated the plights of commoners and royals alike.
In the sixties, stories were told for the sake of selling goods. Corporate messages were refined and we began to understand that one product is different from another simply by the power of the story behind it. How does it make you feel to own this product versus that one?
Social media is the most modern example of how mankind is sharing its stories to as many people as possible. We crave to be heard. We desire to share.
A painting by Monet is priceless. An exact copy is not. Why? Because the Monet has a story, the one told by the man who was moved to create it and the story felt by the person viewing it.
When we hear a story, we feel something. Emotions are what connect us all. A computer is more than capable of doing more than a human can. But can it feel?
Some of the highest paid people in the world are performance storytellers (actors). Some of the most powerful people in the world are storytellers (politicians). Whether these stories are true or not is irrelevant.
Automation is coming; it is already here. So what does that leave us to do? It leaves us with culture. It leaves us with art. It leaves us with the most beautiful things that mankind has ever done. And, they have been left behind and cast aside for far too long.
Before the commoditisation of products, before industrialisation and streamlined processes began… art, song, play were among the most valuable things that anyone could have. Only the wealthiest had time to play; only the most powerful had access to art and song. This is what we are called to do now. This is what we have left to provide to the world.
