As my first blog post explored, we form narratives to help make sense of the complex world around us – to sort information and understand how and why it works the way it does. Our personal narratives are interconnected to larger social and cultural narratives, which reinforce and inform one another and, over time, build our worldview.
To effectively incorporate narrative strategies into the work of social justice, we must first recognize and understand the “big narratives” that shape public perception; these are the stories that most everyone knows. You can usually explain them by uttering just a few words. We live inside these narratives every day, and most of us hardly give them a moment’s thought, even though they have a powerful impact on how we see the world, sometimes unproductively.
Take, for example, the narrative of the “American Dream,” a well-known storyline that can impede policies designed to eliminate social and economic inequities despite its aspirational nature. This narrative suggests that anyone can achieve success and upward mobility through hard work and determination, regardless of background. It is based on individualistic thinking, where success is viewed as the result of the degree of personal effort; it is coupled with the idea that the United States is a meritocracy where anyone can avail themselves of success. In the story of the American Dream, external factors, such as generational experience, community context, and structural racism, are rarely in full view.
The deep-seated notion in the American Dream that working hard leads to success has widely influenced dominant social and cultural attitudes. It is reflected in many of our social and economic policies. This narrative makes it difficult for many people to understand the role and value of social structures and public institutions in helping individuals achieve the American dream, as well as how these same structures have systemically excluded entire groups, particularly communities of color, from accessing that dream.
Spotting when a narrative like the American Dream is at work is crucial in developing narrative change strategies. Only then can you see how a narrative is helping or hurting your cause. Bringing these “big narratives” to the forefront of one’s thinking may take some practice.
Try This Exercise
Pick a day to pay attention to narratives at play around you. Consider the conversations you have — or listen to — over the course of the day – over morning coffee while the news is playing in the background, at the proverbial water cooler with your colleagues, during the first five minutes of your Zoom call as you wait for everyone to join it, listening to the radio on your commute home, at the dinner table with your family. See what narratives you can spot and jot them down: What big stories are underlying what is being said? Did you hear the American Dream narrative in action? What big narratives do you hear about the economy? Poverty? Crime? Government? What common sayings or expressions appeared in conversations? And, what narratives might those expressions signal?
Next, consider how the narratives you identified impacted your thinking. Did they automatically cue images, past experiences, or certain words? Did you lean into conversations or shy away? What did you perceive in the reactions of others around you? This exercise is a way to train yourself to detect narratives and consider what they cue up.
Helpful Resources
I recommend listening to the Shifting the Narratives podcast from the Opportunity Agenda. It traces the origins of narratives in the US about poverty, gun control, and the death penalty, among other topics. It shows how big narratives have shaped public perceptions and how they can evolve.
I also find this perspective helpful: “Narrative change is not about changing people, nor is it about changing which news reports get broadcast. Rather, narrative change is about reworking the stories that come to mind after we hear the news and how we make meaning of [them].” See Changing the Narrative. This is why we need to first be able to spot narratives at work.
Finally, remember that narrative change is a long-term effort. Narratives were not built overnight and do not change overnight. Narrative change requires persistence and repetition.
