Marshall Ganz, in "Why Stories Matter," and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in her TED Talk "The Danger of a Single Story," both discuss why storytelling is important to them. less? Why?

1) Ganz doesn't do much detailed storytelling. Did this make you like his writing any

2) What are some of the reasons Ganz mentions for the importance of storytelling?

3) Adichie tells a lot of brief stories. What do they all seem to have in common? What do you think her overall point is?

4) In your opinion, what do Ganz and Adichie have in common? Where do they differ?

5) Why do you think storytelling is important?

Ruben Martinez writes about the ways in which he was influenced by popular culture, both positive and negative Tell me in some ways in which popular culture (movies, books, TV, social media, fashion....) has shaped your identity. What was it? What happened? How did it happen? What was the effect?

 

Answer:

In his article Why Stories Matter, Marshall Ganz illustrates the power of narrative and story and tries to establish why storytelling is a significant aspect of the society. Ganz lays focus on both public and private narratives and establishes storytelling as the key towards enacting social change (Dichter, 2016). Ganz also draws upon the diversity of emotions that normally come along with storytelling. Some of these emotions include hope, fear, self-doubt, courage and anxiety.

In her TED talk titled "The Danger of a Single Story," Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie sheds light concerning the element of storytelling based on her real life experiences. Adichie gives a summation of different stories from her childhood all the way to her college days in America (Adichie, 2009). She specifically explores upon the danger of single story telling whereby people's identities have been shaped by others solely due to the exposition of one-side of their story (Adichie, 2009). She offers insights into how people can get rid of the single story analogy so as to develop an actual and real identity in different people.

Explanation

1.     The fact that Ganz does not do much detailed storytelling does not make his writing any less likable. His writing is quite intriguing to any devout literature reader as it focuses on the emotional appeal of storytelling (Dichter, 2016). Instead of narrating actual stories, Ganz discusses how storytelling impacts on people's lives for instancing shaping people's identities which makes his writing quite mind catching.

2.     Some of the reasons Ganz mentions for the importance of storytelling include;

                       I.            Storytelling is a platform that allows for the communication of values such as fear, hope and anxiety (Dichter, 2016). This is due to the fact that a story enables a reader to relate with the events taking place in the narration and be able to project their opinion concerning the choices that the protagonists in the story should make (Dichter, 2016).

                     II.           Storytelling also enables one to interpret their calling as well as the calling of others. This is due to the fact that people are able to talk more about themselves and others based on how they react to a story (Dichter, 2016).

                  III.           Storytelling is also a platform that enables people to narrate and change the world around them. By being able to decipher moral lessons from a story, people are able to grasp solutions to social constraints that are happening in the real world (Dichter, 2016).

3.     All of Adichie's stories revolve around the common argument that is, "the stereotyping consequence of having only one side of a story" (Adichie, 2009). In all her brief stories, Adichie explains the world ends up making incomplete conclusions regarding people based on hearing only one side of people's stories rather than all aspects taking place in their lives (Adichie, 2009).

For instance, she discusses how her American roommate in college sympathized and pitied her for being black only because she had been exposed to western literature which depicts black people as being savages, poor and in constant war (Adichie, 2009). Her American roommate however lacks deep exposure to Nigerian tradition because if she had, she would know that most African people are quite happy and satisfied with life.

Another example is her brief story on Mexicans. Mexicans have for a long time been portrayed as immigrants illegally seeking to enter the United States as a result of the one sided story given by the American media (Adichie, 2009). However, there are several Mexicans who are quite independent and hardworking and are living the American dream.

Adichie's overall point is that having all sides to a story would help in establishing the true identity concerning people and hence avoid the constant stereotyping that comes along with one-sidedness of a story (Adichie, 2009).

4.     A common argument in both Ganz and Adichie is that storytelling possesses the power of interpretation of other people's dignity. According to Ganz, hearing leadership stories enables people to define the dignity of their leaders and hence establish their significance in their lives (Dichter, 2016). According to Adichie, the one sided stories that are portrayed by Western literature has led to White people interpreting the level of civilization and dignity among the blacks (Adichie, 2009).

Ganz and Adichie differ in the argument on the nature of different types of stories when it comes to value communication. According to Ganz, all stories, whether public or private, are of neutral effect when it comes to impacting how people communicate and understand values (Dichter, 2016). Adichie on the other hand argues that different stories create different impacts when it comes to the communication of values. Single sided stories will have the impact of stereotyping other's people cultures and values while all-sided stories shape the true identity of people (Adichie, 2009).

Ganz brings out the idea that all stories are resourceful while Adichie argues that a story will only be resourceful based on how it is told.

5.     Storytelling is important as it is a platform where people get to interact and exchange ideas through the exposure to different cultures. Through the exposure to different stories from authors of different backgrounds, people are able extract and share ideas from a variety of cultures which expounds upon the diversity of knowledge.

One of the most popular cultures that has shaped my identity is movies, especially from the American movie industry. The American movie industry has been quite key in exploiting and labeling different cultures especially when it comes to the blacks. In most movies, black people are portrayed as being related to crime and gang related violence such as drug and weapon possession as well as robbery with violence. This general black stereotyping has had the effect of creating a dark attitude towards the black people even when it is clear that some are quite innocent and good people. This dark attitude especially comes to play when travelling in black dominated states such as Texas and Georgia. One ends up being extra cautious while in this regions even when a cause for alarm is not necessary.

References

Adichie, C. (2009). The Danger of a single story. Ted Talks , 3(1), 1-5.

Dichter, S. (2016). Ganz- Why Stories Matter. Sasha Dichter's blog, 4(3), 1-4.