The idea of a story is one of the oldest and most popular means of human communication. Stories have been around since the dawn of human civilization, and probably before major societies, as well. Tales of bravery, intrigue, emotion, tragedy, comedy, and any other common human character trait are what we as people remember and tell to others, either to convey a message, to prove a point, or merely to avoid the great beast of boredom that can come to dominate a momentary slice of life. A good story is universal in that we can all get something from it. It lives with us, and we can put ourselves into it for a short time, and get caught up in it. It leaves an impression with us long after it ends. Great stories both told and written are things that are nearly immortal and live within us and all of the people we come into contact with.
However, what has happened to the concept of a good story? Where have they all gone? The popular mediums of the present have drastically changed. Fluent, developed storylines, well-thought-out dialogues, complex and interesting characters, and a sense of curiosity, intrigue, and closure have apparently become extinct. The popularity of shows such as Fox’s 24, for instance, proves this. The show combines a simplistic (at times idiotic) plotline with overdone action and ridiculous dramatic situations as well as wooden, non-dynamic characters such as the impregnable and superhero-esque Jack Bauer. The same is true of the recent movie 300, which if one saw the previews did not have to actually buy a ticket, since they saw the entire movie. The film was an overdone dose of comic-booky looking cinematography as well as neanderlithic speeches and scripting involving a band of completely unbelievable Spartan warriors who never showed any human emotion other than complete rage or bloodlust.
This type of entertainment provides what I like to refer to as the “videogame syndrome”. So many have turned to videogames and online gaming that the mediums providing entertainment have begun to make the videogame experience part of other forms of entertainment, such as movies, books (the recent success of the HALO book series in the science fiction community), and television. Videogames provide a mental catharsis in which the player zones into a false reality that they are totally in control of and which offers them little or no surprises combined with hardly any mental activity to solve a series of tasks that they are able to set the limits to. It is non-stop action with little or no storyline and hardly any of the details that make other forms of entertainment so rewarding, at times. “Videodrones” simply see something on the screen and react to it. No higher brain functions or emotional investments are involved with game play and the results of the game almost certainly never go any farther than the end of the game.
Why are there not more movies, televisions, and books that challenge us to use the full capacity of our brainpower? Where are the great stories that stick with us for years after we put them down? Perhaps they exist in the mediums that I have mentioned but we are too dull and one-dimensional as people to really take anything from them. Or perhaps they just don’t sell as well as the “quick-fix” forms of mental catharsis that so many millions love to escape into for a brief period of “feel-good” time. At any rate, I certainly hold out hope that out there beyond the popular entertainment of the time there are still the creative impulses of many who wish to tell us a good story.
