Random Saturday: The Power Of Story Challenge

Timing is everything in life. I saw that I have been challenged by @lilyraabe to participate in her #powerofstory challenge just as I was searching for a subject for my Random Saturday post. Problem solved!

#PowerofStory Challenge Rules

• Write a post sharing 3-5 of your all-time favorite stories in any format you would like! Talk about why these stories resonate with you and why they stay with you no matter how you grow or change.
• Answer the following questions: How do stories help to shape our world? What responsibility do “storytellers” or artists have to tell stories that affect the world in positive ways?
• Use the hashtag #powerofstory in your post so I can find it and see what you have to say! Also, would love if you dropped a link here in the comments too!
• Challenge 3-5 other steemians to participate in the #powerofstory challenge.

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Favorite Stories

Sandman by Neil Gaiman

The Hebrew edition, translated by meeeee
I was in my early twenties and fully over those silly books with pictures when I was recommended this new-ish series called Sandman. The story of how the lord of dreams was kidnapped by some humans trying to capture his older sister Death, and what happens after he gets out was powerful, compelling, and undeniably ART. It got me back to comics.

Years later, I was given the opportunity to translate the first volume of the series into Hebrew, which was an incredible experience.

Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar

I was already a fan of Amal's writing, and pals with her online, when I read this story in an ARC of the anthology The Starlit Wood. It hit me like a lightning bolt. At the time, I was writing a commentary of the anthology to one of the co-editors on twitter in DMs, and reading this story, my comment was "Amal's story is EVERYTHING." In anthology of fairytale retellings, Seasons takes two super problematic stories, melds them, and makes them wonderful. It's a story of women helping each other, a story of sisterhood - and maybe more than that - and that's just my jam.

Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Speaking of Amal, it was her glowing love of Hamilton that got me to listen to the then newly released recording of this musical that was getting a ton of buzz. I still haven't watched the play itself (though of course I watched all legally available videos and many gifs), which is why I specify the cast recording as the medium through which I consumed this incredible story.

So many gifs
But the songs tell the entire thing - the musical is sung-through, so apart from a single scene left out of the recording, you get everything but the visuals. It is a testament to the power of music and lyrics to tell a story.

Steven Universe by Rebecca Sugar and many others

I learned a very important lesson from this animated show, which I also found through Amal - and fellow author Bo Bolander -'s enthusiasm. Great stories can come from any source, including an animated kids' show about a boy raised by alien gem beings. This show is a slow burn. You watch it for a while powered mostly by "my friends said this is great." But at some points, the feels start building up and you realize how deeply you CARE.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Yup. I'm picking a wrestling match, and a very recent one at that. This is gonna take some backstory. Johnny and Tommaso were tag team partners, roommates, and best friends. Tommaso was Johnny's Best Man (in real life!). A year before this happened, when Johnny beat Tommaso during a tournament, they sat next to each other in the ring and hugged.

Image credit: wwe
When Tommaso got injured, he attacked Johnny brutally after their title match, and injured him. Most of a year later, when Johnny got over the injury and trauma, he had a title match, an amazing story in its own right. He lost, and as he was leaving the ring to go to the back, he was attacked by a crutch wielding Ciampa. Johnny's next match for the title was "title vs. career." If he wins, he's the champ. If he loses, he's fired. He was going to win, but was attacked again by his former partner and best friend, leading to a loss. After having to "leave," he attacked Ciampa from the audience, and management set up an "unsanctioned match." If Johnny wins, he's back. If he loses, he's gone for good.

Before the match, it was made clear in various ways that a loss would simply mean being called up to the main roster, as this entire feud took place in WWE's developmental brand, NXT. So a loss was a very real possibility.

This was an epic 37 minute match. Near the end, Johnny had the broken crutch and was about to hit Tommaso with it, finally getting his revenge and redemption, when a sitting Tommaso covered up in fear. Johnny couldn't do it. He looked at Tommaso and saw his old best friend. He sat down next to him, like he did two years before. Tommaso attacked. But Johnny may have been willing to forgive, but he wasn't stupid. He knew this was a possibility. He was able to counter the attack, and put Tommaso in a submission hold using Ciampa's own knee brace. Tomasso tapped out. Johnny Gargano, AKA Johnny Wrestling, got his job back.

I picked this one because it is a perfect illustration of how wrestling can be used to tell a great story, a story with real emotional stakes and artistry. Wrestling is rarely this good. It takes two supremely gifted athletes with real history - and real love - to get to this level. But it does happen.

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How do stories help to shape our world?

Stories are how we shape our view of the world. The stories we hear, read, and see. The stories we tell ourselves are how we view our world and ourselves. They're how we make sense of things, and that's been the case for as long as we've been around. Myths of gods and goddesses of thunder and fertility and harvest were a way to make sense of the world, and that role has never been abdicated.

What responsibility do “storytellers” or artists have to tell stories that affect the world in positive ways?

There is a level of responsibility incumbent upon all storytellers to tell stories that are true. That responsibility is even higher when it comes to stories for young people, because while we can change our own stories as we grow, it is harder to shift away from the stories of our childhood and youth. I'm going to be writing a post soon about why representation matters, and I'll get into it much more there.

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Challenge 3-5 other steemians to participate in the #powerofstory challenge.

• @techslut
• @shawnamawna
• @tessaragabrielle
• @soyrosa
• @geekorner
• @spicyshai

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Bonus music:

To accompany this challenge, I have created a playlist of songs from Steven Universe, Hamilton, and the Hamilton Mixtape, put in on shuffle, and got the bot over at the DeskFlip and Chill discord server to play it. Come and have a listen.