Narratives: Being “Forced” to the Dis-appeal.

Narratives have been told throughout the existence of humans, and have always been both appealing and dis-appealing. For example, Thomas Paine’s narration, Common Sense, sparked revolution and social change over 200 years ago. Although this was only spread through newspapers, the American audience clearly found this narration extremely appealing, and will never be forgotten in American history. However, if you take, lets say, the diary of a simple farmer from the same time period, not many people, except possibly some agriculturists or historians, would find that appealing.

With the way we instantly communicate today, narratives have changed dramatically. They are more appealing, as well as dis-appealing, than ever before. In the digital age, narratives are able to be told, whether they are tellable or not, to an infinite number of people.

Appeals of narratives today, according to Luc Herman & Bart Vervaeck, must be tellable. Tellability, as they describe is “a quality that makes stories inherently worth telling, independently of their textualisation” [1]. Clearly, if the Common Sense were written today, it would be perhaps one of the most appealing pieces of narrative. Instead of reaching Americans, it would reach global audiences in only a matter of a few days. In modern tellable narratives, like the Rebbeca Black song, Friday, for instance must be unique. These appealing narratives must be “truly dangerous and unusual. . . . Evaluative devices say to us: this was terrifying, dangerous, weird, wild, crazy; or amusing, hilarious, wonderful; more generally, that it was strange, uncommon, or unusual” [2]. The song, which sparked global attention in less than a week, can appear to have all of these elements that Herman and Vervaeck have just described. Most people find this song to be very un-appealing since they believe she has no talent whatsoever. According to Lyndsey Parker, a music blogger for Yahoo, describes how Friday became so popular despite its narrative dis-appeal: “The virality of "Friday," a wannabe weekend-party anthem for the new generation, had nothing to do with the song being any good, Rebecca being particularly attractive or gifted, or even with the fact that it was, well, the weekend. It's simply because it was so unbelievably BAD” [3]. Because of Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook, Rebecca Black, just an ordinary teenager, was able to spread her narrative to millions of people, whether they found it appealing or not. This narrative is a perfect example of how people today are “forced” to be exposed to the dis-appeals of narratives.

With the way in which the global world works today, narratives will continue to be appealing and dis-appealing to all audiences.



1] Herman, Luc/Vervaeck, Bart: "Narrative Interest as Cultrual Negotiation", Vol. 17, No. 1 (2009), p. 13

2] Herman, Luc/Vervaeck, Bart: "Narrative Interest as Cultrual Negotiation", Vol. 17, No. 1 (2009), p. 13

3] Parker, Lyndsey: Is YouTube Sensation Rebecca Black's "Friday" The Worst Song Ever?, Yahoo Music Blogs, March 14, 2010, http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/videogaga/71429/is-youtube-sensation-rebecca-blacks-friday-the-worst-song-ever, April 2010.