Prompt: Reality depends upon who is telling the story
The story of a paralympian
There are many paralympians, currently preparing for the 2016 Rio Paralympics, who have remarkable stories. Daniela di Toro was just 13 years old when, at a swimming carnival, a wall collapsed on a group of students and snapped her back. Owing to her first-hand experience with a disability, she talks about hope and opportunities, about courage and strength. Following her motto, “dare to do greatly”, she applied herself to tennis, winning 20 Grand Slam Titles. Her message to those in a similar situation is to make connections, and follow the footsteps of other “incredible people with disabilities in this country” who are “doing exceptional things”.
Whilst her story is deeply personal and courageous, it is inspiring and heart-felt. Other stories are not so genuine. They may be constructed or manufactured to fit a purpose. This purpose may have a hidden agenda. For example, people in a position of authority and power often seek to control the public debate and influence people’s thoughts and feelings by controlling the air waves, and by manipulating a variety of technological tools to peddle a convenient story.
The story of a disgraced financial adviser
At the time, Mr Davis, a financial adviser and a property developer for Drysden Bank, seemed to have a good story to tell. He advised his clients to invest in his numerous estates. It was a chance to own their home and a chance to get ahead with one foot in the property market. Doe-eyed clients like Rosemary, who has become the face of the “Davis Scandal”, were inspired, and coerced into buying their first home on the evidence of just two pay checks as it turned out. The houses were worth a fraction of the stated price and were riddled with problems. Four years later, Rosemary was just one of many who were evicted, literally sleeping on a mattress on the pavement. She realised the hard way, that people often tell glowing stories that often have little connection to real-life circumstances, to further their own agendas. Angry and betrayed, she later said, “it seemed my only hope at the time, of finally owning my own home and sharing the big Australian Dream.”
The story of a war hero
Interviewed after her husband’s funeral in 2011, Vicki Hopkins, Australia’s youngest war widow, revealed her belief that her husband died making the world a better place. She believed that the “war against terror” in Afghanistan was helping to rid the world of terrorists, and to ultimately erase from the dictionary the word “fear”.
Soon after Sapper Hopkins’ death, the American Lieutenant, Daniel Davis visited Afghanistan in 2011, for 12 months. He covered more than 9,000 miles and talked with troops and commanders in all provinces. He concluded that “what I saw bore no resemblance to rosy official statements by U.S. military leaders about conditions on the ground.” In fact, he knew that if they were to secure a peace deal they would have to negotiate with the Taliban, the group they had sworn to defeat.
So much for erasing the word “fear”.
The story of a president
During US President Franklin Roosevelt’s 12-year reign from 1932-1945, the official narrative and press coverage of the president were so effective that most Americans did not realise that their president was handicapped owing to a bout of polio. His publicist, Stephen Early, played a crucial role in controlling the public image and giving the impression of an authoritative public figure who had the confidence of a nation. There were no pictures depicting the president in a wheelchair. If braces could be seen, the photo was to be “retouched”. The President was often shown standing or sitting, but never “walking”. And in the end President Roosevelt ended up one of the longest-serving and ironically the most popular of American presidents.
The story of a natural disaster
In the wake of the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, there were different stories circulating about this natural disaster. For example, Mr Canizaro’s story was that the disaster represented a “clean sheet to start again”. Exuberantly, he peddled the story of wealth and opportunity. “And with that clean sheet we have some very big opportunities”, he said. Of course Mr Canizaro was not an ordinary victim. He was one of New Orleans’s wealthiest developers. Contrastingly, Mr Jamar Perry’s story was completely different as he summed up the devastation of his circumstances to many of his fellow victims. “What I see is that a lot of people got killed up down. This isn’t an opportunity. It’s a goddamned tragedy. Are they blind?” Of course, the African American victim who had just lost his home and who had nowhere to go, was being forcibly excluded from the story of opportunity.
Link to prompt:
Evidently, much depends upon who is telling the story. Those who have first hand experience will often reveal their own heart-felt experience. Those in a position of power and authority control the story and manipulate the elements to suit their agenda. Those who tell the story often shape, manipulate the sequence of events to further their own agenda. People often peddle a favourable narrative in order to sway public opinion and to cling to power all all costs.
Return to “Hybrid Essay Plan”.