Old Eighties movies are an exercise in magical thinking and main character syndrome – to do better we have to say ‘yes’ to main char

Yes to Main Characters – No to Main Character Syndrome

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2024-09-16 19:00:06

Old Eighties movies are an exercise in magical thinking and main character syndrome – to do better we have to say ‘yes’ to main characters and ‘no’ to main character syndrome. It’s a pitfall we must avoid to practice storytelling stewardship. Storytelling stewardship means acting with intention on what you want readers to take from your stories. Being a steward of storytelling implies you’re following the ‘campground rule‘ when it comes to your readers. They came to you, offered you their minds and their attention. That trust comes with important responsibilities.

I’m not a sociologist, I’m not a psychologist, I’m just a guy who grew up in the United States in the ’80s. Personal work on trauma, and magical thinking made me ask myself: Where does *my* magical thinking come from? I know part of it comes from bad / no parenting – getting attached to the idea that if your life had ‘a great story,’ then everything else would fall into place. If you need more examples, check out the ‘It’s All About Me’ trope on TVTropes. We got hammered with this idea over and over again throug the 80s and 90s – I’m not the only one who fell victim to that flawed logic.

It’s up to me to fix myself and also light the way for others. We must unlearn that type of magical thinking – it’s a maladaptive coping mechanism. How can I – practicing storytelling stewardship – use this knowledge in the stories I tell myself and the stories I tell to others?