Narratives

High varieties of mediums expose narratives everyday to anyone who is willing to listen, the kind of narratives that have shaped me in the past and present and the new ones I listen to everyday can be found in music, movies, some TV shows, and books.

Music is the main focus for my narratives; I feel music is still about telling stories, about describing someone or something in a very rhythmic and passionate manner. Lately I find myself listening to the narratives of artists such as Lupe Fiasco for his take on social boundaries, Common for his descriptive and exotic appeal to romance; even classics such as Queen represent a humorous but energetic approach to their narratives.

I remember the narrative used in a TV show called “The Wonder Year”, the show itself was about a young adolescent boy growing up in the suburbs. It was a simple show but it tackled the interesting issues of growing up. Whenever I heard the word narrative I think of this show because they used a narrative for the show. The main character Kevin Arnold would be saying something but also thinking something at the same time, I remember the show did a good job in displaying both.   

There are really too many references for me to individually recall as contributing to my active/passive senses to talk about.

What I feel all of them have done collectively is made me aware of my surroundings. When I watch a movie that talks about the war on drugs or the injustices people face in third world countries it makes me appreciate what I have here in the states but also motivate to help others. When I listen to a song that talks about the loss of love or gain of friendship it makes me appreciate those I have around me.

I guess what I am trying to say is that a lot of today’s little narratives affect more of my passive sense. My relationships with my family and my close friends are what contribute more to my active sense, because they present themselves first hand. I fully embrace narratives that contribute to the well-being of my character and can help develop a more mature personality, I feel that’s the only way to fight ignorance.

Disempowering narratives can be simply things that you don’t agree with. If you watch any kind of music television, specifically hip-hop music videos, you see the degradation and disempowerment of women and that’s a narrative I don’t listen to because don’t agree with it. I guess disempowering narratives are a lot easier to identify, they can be more straightforward.