Why People Follow the Narrative


Dglgmut

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I found this video with this man, Dr. Mattias Desmet. He speaks about a social phenomenon the two of them call mass formation, which is when people unite on a massive scale. This is what is happening today, and in the video is a discussion of why/how it happens.

People are most likely lonelier than they have ever been, though it's impossible to measure. This is really the perfect condition for mass formation, and one example of that is the COVID-19/prevention and vaccine narrative that has been embraced by a large segment of the population. People are lonely, and through a common narrative they feel connected. Here's the video:

 

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D,

I haven't see this yet, just looked at it, but I'm going to watch it. This is right up my alley.

I have a theory that story works to unite the different modules of the brain in order for the mind to focus on tracking a few specific things, especially action wedded to desire. Since this frame of mind only allows the "story" modules to filter the information, the mind goes into a "story trance." Psychologists call this "transport."

This is a long subject.

But one characteristic is important for this post. The story trance allows information to pass into the brain by bypassing the critical thinking portion.

That's why propaganda works. Add two very high-valence emotions like fear and hatred to an agenda-driven story (and subsequent story trance), and you have effective propaganda.

That becomes the static frame for the dynamic ebb and flow (with mental markers) of everyday living. That's how the mind works with almost everything.

Like I said, long discussion.

 

A couple of days ago, I remembered James Corbett and went to his site.

Lo and behold, there was this gem waiting for me.

The video only:

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My guest on this episode is James Corbett of www.CorbettReport.com. James has been putting out excellent content in the forms of documentaries, podcasts, writing and more for much longer than most...

 

James's focus these days is how to counteract propaganda, not just how to recognize it. One of his solutions is quite good. Whenever you see the medial in lockstep demonizing someone or something, go look into the demonized target from the angle of those who support it. That will help allow your brain to think critically about it, not just fall off into the core story of the propaganda.

 

Apropos, James has an excellent series on propaganda (ergo, narrative) under the hashtag #PropagandaWatch on his site (see here). I've seen a few of those videos and articles and they are quite good. I keep meaning to go through the whole thing, but there are years of posts and videos there. So I always put off getting started. :)  But I will do it.

 

Back to Mattias Desmet. I recently discovered him and wrote about him at the beginning of last month (see here). I like him.

 

Never forget. Story tellers rule the present through stories. Then they tell stories about what they did. They call that history. And some tell stories about the future. People call those storytellers visionaries. :) 

Michael

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Let's add this to the mix.

Social engineering and the product is you.

I'm not a super fan of Paul Joseph Watson. I like his views, just not his form of presenting them. But once in a while, he knocks it out of the park.

He sure did here.

:)

This part is not called "shaping the narrative." It's called "normalizing" or "maintaining" the narrative.

And the weird thing is that companies are losing money hand-over-fist to do it.

Michael

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The terms narrative and story have always bothered me. Conceptually, they weren't pure enough in my mind to do anything with. However I think I understand how they are being used now... I remember reading something about how humans love to theorize, and I never forgot that because it was plainly true. This is basically what stories, or narratives are. They are theories, or more accurately they are explanations.

 

We have an impulse to explain things, even before we know they are true. Then once we have the explanation, we have the beginning of a structure built on top of a mystery. The more we build, the less likely we become to analyze the foundation.

 

I will watch the videos soon.

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