“A storyteller makes up things to help other people; a liar makes up things to help himself.”
– Daniel Wallace
Introduction
This post will be exploring various types of storytelling media and why each of them is unique. To start, let’s specify what qualifies.
By “media” I am referring to a format that exists to allow a story to be told to a large audience. Examples of media include books, songs, or movies. Things that do not count include writing, singing, and acting. They are not media, but rather, the components that make up media – the ingredients, you could say. Writing, singing, and acting do not distribute a story to wide audiences on their own.
Let’s break down the 7 storytelling media of the 21st century and why the qualify:
Theatre
Most media is made up of many elements. Theatre is no exception. Elements for it include acting, writing, music, etc.
Interestingly, theatre is the only medium with no physical barrier between the audience and the story. Because of this, it’s arguably the most intimate storytelling media there is. The audience is part of the story just as much as the cast is. They interact with it in real time, and their audible reaction adds to the atmosphere of the room. Sometimes the dead silence of an audience can have just as much of an effect as clapping and cheering. It’s an incredible experience to be a part of.
Theatre is also the most temporary medium. Each performance is completely unique and cannot be replicated. A stage-play might exist for centuries, but it’s only a component of theatre. A performance could be recorded and live on forever, but then you’re losing the magic of theatre. It’s no longer intimate due to the screen that would exist between the audience and the actors. Part of theatre’s charm is its temporariness.
Songs
The oldest type of storytelling media has to be songs. They have been around since the beginning of human existence.
Songs are unique because they are a medium used in other media. In fact, the majority of other forms media use them, such as video-games, movies, and theatre. This is because songs can aid other media with their storytelling.
Songs are probably the shortest medium too. A single song, in 3 minutes, can tell an entire story and leave the audience pondering life. Not many other forms of media can do this. In addition, songs do not even require lyrics to tell a story and can tell an entire story with a melody alone.
Songs are incredibly subjective. Unlike most other media, which take a bunch of time to explain the details of the story, songs don’t do that. It is driven primarily by melody. Yes, songs can also have lyrics, but even these are fairly open to personal interpretation. The listener can project their own thoughts, experiences, and emotions onto the song freely, making it their own story.
Movies/TV
Movies are a more recent development in storytelling, but an incredibly powerful medium nonetheless. Our current culture is defined by movies. More people are watching them than reading books.
Movies rely incredibly heavily on a vast array of art in order to tell a story – acting, writing, music, visuals, editing, etc… it is one of the most involved forms of storytelling. One could say it is an orchestra of the arts, utilizing them all to its advantage.
Movies are unique in their ability to tell non-linear stories. Other forms of media can do it too, but movies excel with building tension, creating mystery, and pulling off shocking twists because of their ability to reveal (or not reveal) information through editing.
Video Games
Video games are one of the youngest media forms for storytelling. And out of all types of storytelling media, video games are the only one that has its audience control the story for themselves.
The story is literally driven forward by a player. It does not progress unless the player chooses to continue playing. Every feeling felt by the player is because they had a part to play in the story. If the win, that success is their own. If they fail, there’s frustration.
Video games were the first truly interactive format of storytelling. Theatre could be considered interactive, but it does not rely on its audience to move the story forward. The audience doesn’t have control of the story. But video games are dependent on its player.
Due to their young nature, video games are very experimental still. I think we have only scratched the surface for player agency. Some games have already tried allowing certain decisions the players make effect the entire rest of the game and it’s story. Due to the direct consequences the player has on the story, it raises the stakes and provides more thoughtfulness to the game play.
Social Media
Officially the youngest form of storytelling media there is, social media presents new ways to tell a story. It’s interactive, relying on an audience to react or leave comments to provide immediate feedback. It’s short, getting a message or idea across very quickly. And last but not east, it’s also the most accessible, because everyone can use it to tell stories and nearly everyone has social media to enjoy stories.
But the tradeoff is that its probably the least fulfilling story medium there is, due to its fast and quick nature. It tends to be more focused at entertainment than thought provoking content. There’s possible room for growth for social media as storytelling medium. It’s just a matter of whether the market itself sees people wanting to use it to tell good stories.
Books
Ah – good old books. One of the few types of storytelling media that doesn’t require audio or video. They’re quite simple. Just a single object that you can hold in your hand and make your way through as quickly (or slowly) as you want. One magical element about books, is that like a video games, you are somewhat in control of the pace of the story.
Books are also fairly subjective. With no visuals to accompany them, you can create the characters and world in your mind, using only the insights that the author gives you.
Reading a book probably has the most positive effects on an individual compared to other media. There are multiple studies that suggests improved cognition, memory, and stress-reduction from reading books.
Podcasts/Radio/AudioBooks
Podcasts have boomed in popularity in the past few years. And it’s understandable why. They’re easily accessible, on nearly every streaming platform, and you can listen to most of them for free. People are sharing vast amounts of knowledge and stories through this new format. I’ve lumped audiobooks and radio into the same category because they follow a similar format (audio recording). However, radio is somewhat of a dying media, I believe, because it’s having to compete against podcasts.
Podcasts only require someone sitting at a mic and talking. The content podcasts cover range from interviews, knowledge sharing, to pure entertainment. And it doesn’t take much talent or art to start a podcast – literally anyone can start one by just recording themselves talking about a particular topic. Podcasts give us direct access to the speaker’s line of thoughts and ideas, uncontrolled by anyone.
Conclusion
There you have it: The seven type of storytelling media. We’ve come a long way in our ability to use media to tell a impactful story. The tools and technologies we’ve invented only keeps getting better. I am curious to know what sort of other media we will develop for storytelling in the future. (Virtual Reality, perhaps?)
Let me know if I missed a medium or if you have additional thoughts in the comments below.
Leave a Reply