Oh Ira…
I had a lot of hope for this broadcast, because I felt the idea of taking ideas from parents and turning them into more developed stories would be interesting to hear, and because it’s something practically everyone understands – the dreaded “Fable of ‘When I Was Your Age…'” I appreciate all the, um, research, that some of the storytellers put into their story, but I don’t feel a lot of these “stories” were actual stories. They were retellings. Just facts and observations. I liked the concept of it, yes, and I can see how the broadcast could interest a lot of people, but I just felt put off a bit. Then again, I feel like I had a problem with the way they were talking. If you replaced everyone’s voice with Morgan Freeman’s I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more.
They had to tell stories, right? A story has a plot. It has characters. It has plot progression, a climax, and a resolution. Sometimes there’s even a lesson or thought shoved in there. And all of it is sown together nicely so that listeners can appreciate the craft of storytelling. So, I found it odd that Ira’s story only had 1.1% of the listener’s vote. Then I found out why.
I liked that he called his dad and his step-mom to help him tell the story – but as for the actual events they told us, I wasn’t that interested. Well, I was, but I kept getting let down. First, I thought that the story would turn into a hilarious montage of hi-jinx as the three of them chased after the train to retrieve the suit, or some variation on the eventful “lost luggage at the airport” story. No, they just got a cheaper suit. “Oh!” I thought to myself, “They’re going to tell us that after all the ‘scotch tape altering’ they did so they could return the suit the next day, he spills something on it, or the scotch tape accidentally tears part of the suit off!” Again, no. I listened to the ending of his story twice, wondering if I missed some nugget of storytelling in how he unenthusiastically rushed through: “Everything went great. Blah blah. The end.” Yawn.
But then his story redeemed itself, if just a little. That interjection from Ira’s dad about how this was like “another normal visit,” and the resulting conversation which revealed that Ira’s dad thinks that something always goes wrong when his son visits was notable. It made it feel like a real story that a parent would tell. They go on and on about the most boring stuff, but then they derail and somehow reveal something that makes you go “What? You really think that?”
3 responses so far
I had the same reaction listening to these stories! But especially Ira’s which might have been one of the reasons I started falling asleep… I felt like this one especially had no point to it. Every segment is supposed to have an intended effect on people but this one… I just didn’t see why Ira even bothered to turn this into a radio segment. I had to think about it for a while to come up with this idea but maybe he’s trying to communicate to us that a lot of our parents tell us extremely pointless stories that mean nothing to us and something to them? This wasn’t the conclusion I came to as soon as the segment was over and I think that was probably what made it so unappealing. There should be, at least in these kinds of segments, an immediate and easy to access meaning and effect. Because it didn’t possess any of these elements, Ira’s segment failed miserably both in my eyes and those of the judges. His story conveyed to me what NOT to do in my own project. Maybe I’m being a little bit harsh, but I think you see where I’m coming from.
I was interested in Ira’s story, but it wasn’t too exciting and I agree it was just a retelling. I was interested to see what would happen, and I was also waiting for something more troubling to happen, but there was nothing big. The main problem of the suit was introduced early and the problems or worries were solved not long after they were said, which made it less appealing. It didn’t seem to have a particular message, but it was probably satisfying to share a success story and how things can work out in the end. Sometimes I worry over nothing, but it’s always good to be careful.
I agree. Poor Ira. His segment fell totally flat. That’s not the kind of story you tell for people to hear on radio. It’s boring, and only appealing to the Glass family. However, I feel that his inclusion of the story was intentional, because he was trying to make a specific statement about which ideas work for a radio broadcast and which ones don’t.