Another point of view
Who gets to tell the story and which stories do we get to tell?
‘The single story creates stereotype and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue but that they are incomplete, they make one story become the only story.’ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said this in her TED talk in 2009 on the danger of a single story where she also made the point that if we hear one story people or countries or subjects we risk misunderstanding them.
Stories are powerful so who gets to tell the story is important. Both behind and in front of the camera
Whose point of view is the story coming from is a question we should always ask when we watch a story.
What do I mean by point of view? I mean the lens, the focus, the context that the story is coming from and who gets to own it.
Point of view can also relate to whether you have a narrator who is telling someone else’s story or whether people are telling their own
An outsider coming into a community will tell a story very differently from someone within that community telling their own story. We need both.
A narrator or outside view can step back from a subject or give more detail whereas someone in a situation may provide a more personal account.
So questions to ask: whose story is this? Whose point of view are we seeing through? Who will tell it best and why? Why have you decided on this particular pov?
Another reason to explore POV is to ask, am I just doing it the way it’s always done? How would it look from a different perspective? This is a great way to find new ideas and new ways in to old stories.
From whose perspective am I telling this history? Looking at this art? Considering this scientific theory? Are there voices who aren’t being heard or whose stories have been buried?
Who gets to tell the stories? Who gets to decide which stories are told?
Stories are powerful. The stories we put out into the world have influence and shape the world around us. The stories we tell or choose to watch highlight where we are putting our attention. Make sure they’re not all coming from one point of view.