Narrative Criticism by Sonja Foss does a great job of methodically providing the procedure, structure, and purpose behind what a narrative criticism is. When applied to the accompanying Narrative Analysis Guideline, it allows the reader to follow the principals and effectively analyze stories. I learned about the two event characteristic (either active or stative) for making a narrative and how important having a timeline for the events can be. When hearing terms like “narrative” and “artifact” they seem very normal to me, as I know what the term means and have familiarity with the concept. I interact with narratives and artifacts on a daily basis as I read the news, engage with social media, and watch shows on TV but I have never viewed them as such.
Examples of meaningful artifacts I have come across and could write about are:
- NYT Article How climate migration will reshape America (Link)
- Recent stories about forced sterilization and hysterectomies while in detainment (Link)
- Social Media Memes depicting current event issues
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Artifact: #2 photo of See-saw between US/Mexico border
How does the seesaw between the US and Mexico remind us that at the end of the day, we’re all human?
Q: What problem is the narrative identifying? Who does the problem relate to?
A: The narrative identifies the issue with humans associating others by their appearance, skin color, or nationality. The problem relates to all as we identify each other as American, European, Mexican, etc.
Q: What assumptions does the narrative make?
A: The narrative shows a light-hearted side of the story and throws out the old assumptions that align with an “us vs them” mentality. The image shows children on either end of the border playing on the seesaw with each other. This allows those who engage with the narrative to feel a sense of togetherness and humanity. Mexican children and American children are simply just – children. Children know no boundaries, arbitrary or physical.
Q: What are the strength and weaknesses of the narrative?
A: The strengths of the narrative are the heartwarming image that is portrayed. In an otherwise barren field, with an intimidating wall there is a splash of color and happiness as the children play together. It does a great job of bridging the gap between children (and humanity) on either side of the border. The weakness shown on this singular artifact comes not from the photo but the caption, as it says “the installation… lasted half an hour”. This makes it seem as though it was not done from a place of goodness but only to garner social outrage and make for a good story to push an agenda. (I do not necessarily agree with this but recognize it as a weakness talking point).
Thoughtful questions:
- I wonder how many narratives I’ve mentally “subscribed” to without realizing I was part of a narrative.
- Should we be more thoughtful when posting stories, images, and blogs? We could influence a story, or share a story that might not tell the whole truth.
4/5
John – this is really good work. I’m bumping your grade to a 5.