La crisis de la narración

1. The Crisis of Narration: We Live in a Post-Narrative Time

Despite the present hype around narratives, we live in a post-narrative time.

Narrative's Decline. The current obsession with "narratives" ironically signals a deep crisis in our ability to truly narrate. We talk about stories constantly, but the genuine power of narration, which once anchored us in meaning and community, has diminished. This isn't just about a lack of good stories; it's a fundamental shift in how we experience and make sense of the world. The very fact that we're so focused on "narratives" as a topic of study suggests a profound alienation from the actual practice of narration.

Meaning and Orientation. In the past, narratives provided a sense of belonging, purpose, and direction. They transformed the world into a home, imbuing life with meaning. Religious narratives, for example, structured time itself, with each day and holiday holding significance. Now, we live in a time of de-narrativized schedules, where holidays are commercialized events, and rituals are stripped of their narrative context. This loss of narrative structure leaves us adrift, lacking a sense of place and purpose.

Post-Narrative Consciousness. The idea of a "narrative consciousness" is a product of this post-narrative era. It's only when we're outside the spell of genuine narration that we can even conceive of it as a separate entity. The inflation of narrative concepts is a symptom of their dysfunctionality, a sign that we've lost the ability to live within a meaningful story. We are now observers of narratives, not participants in them.

2. Information Overload Erodes the Power of Story

Every morning brings us news from across the globe, yet we are poor in noteworthy stories.

Information vs. Narration. Information is immediate, fleeting, and focused on the present moment. It dissects time into a sequence of disconnected events. Narration, on the other hand, creates a temporal continuum, connecting past, present, and future. It transforms the accidental into necessity, providing meaning and orientation. Information is additive and cumulative, while narration is integrative and meaningful.

The Loss of Distance. Information is characterized by gaplessness, making everything immediately available. Narration, however, thrives on distance, on the unavailable and the mysterious. News that arrives "from afar" carries a historical weight and resists immediate explanation. The modern obsession with information has demolished this distance, de-auratizing the world and making it available for consumption. This gaplessness destroys the interplay between nearness and distance that creates the aura.

Storytelling vs. Reporting. The storyteller withholds information, creating narrative tension, while the reporter seeks to explain and inform. The art of storytelling lies in its ability to leave things unexplained, allowing the listener to engage with the mystery and wonder of the narrative. The deluge of information has pushed aside events that cannot be explained, but only narrated, suffocating the spirit of storytelling. We are now bombarded with explanations, leaving little room for the power of narrative.

3. Experience is Lost in the Modern Age

Experience has fallen in value.

The Decline of Communicable Experience. Experience, once passed down through generations via storytelling, is becoming increasingly rare. We no longer hear words from the dying that last, nor do we possess the wisdom of proverbs. The storyteller, who once offered counsel and guidance, is disappearing. Modernity has eroded the tradition and continuity that are essential for the transmission of experience.

Poverty of Experience. Modernity is characterized by a "poverty of experience," a loss of the ability to connect with the past and learn from it. This poverty is not just a lack of new experiences, but a longing to be free from the weight of the past. The new barbarians, as Benjamin calls them, embrace this poverty, starting from scratch and rejecting the traditions of the past. They are constructors, not storytellers.

Modernity's Ambivalence. Benjamin's view of modernity is ambivalent. He sees both the loss of experience and the potential for a new beginning. He admires the lightness and transparency of the modern world, but also recognizes the dangers of its destructive forces. The modern artist, inspired by the poverty of experience, seeks to create something new, but this newness often comes at the cost of tradition and continuity. The modern world is a world of constant change, where nothing remains stable or binding.

4. The Narrated Life vs. Bare Existence

Our life, it can be said, is a muscle strong enough to contract the whole of historical time.

Life as a Temporal Continuum. A meaningful life is one that integrates the past, present, and future into a coherent whole. It's a life that stretches between birth and death, a temporal continuum that is held together by the power of narrative. Happiness is not a fleeting moment, but a reverberation of the past, a salvation of all that has been. Without narrative, life becomes fragmented, a series of disconnected moments.

The Atrophy of Time. Modernity is characterized by a temporal atrophy, a fragmentation of time that threatens the continuity of life. The constant rush of information and the compulsion to be "up-to-date" destabilize our existence. The past loses its influence, and the future is reduced to a stream of updates. We exist without a history, without a narrative anchor.

Digital Temporality. Digital platforms like Snapchat embody this fragmented temporality, where only the moment counts. "Stories" on social media are not genuine narratives, but sequences of momentary impressions that quickly disappear. Selfies, as momentary photographs, are not about remembrance, but about communication. They announce the end of the human being as someone with a fate and a history. We are reduced to "Phono sapiens," beings who exist only in the present moment.

5. Disenchantment of the World: From Magic to Facts

The world that can be explained cannot be narrated.

The Loss of Magic. The disenchantment of the world is the reduction of our relationship with it to causality. The world loses its magic, its ability to speak to us and to engage our imagination. Things become mute facts, stripped of their aura and their ability to evoke wonder. The magical world, where things are interconnected and meaningful, gives way to a world of isolated facts.

Narrative Inwardness. Narrating requires inwardness, the ability to internalize events and weave them into a story. Without this inwardness, we are left with a world of external events, a series of facts that lack narrative tension. The modern world, with its focus on objectivity and explanation, has eroded this inwardness, making genuine narration impossible. We are now information hunters, not storytellers.

Aura and Distance. The aura is the radiance that surrounds things, the mysterious veil that raises them above mere facticity. It is the distance that awakens the gaze in what is looked at. Information, by contrast, removes this distance, de-auratizing the world and making it available for consumption. The loss of aura is the loss of magic, the loss of the ability to connect with the world in a meaningful way. We no longer exchange gazes with the world.

6. From Shock to Likes: The Attenuation of Experience

Film is the art form corresponding to the increased threat to life that faces people today.

The Shock Experience. In modernity, reality impacts us through shocks, overwhelming our senses and forcing our consciousness to act as a shield. The modern city dweller, bombarded with stimuli, unlearns contemplative lingering. The artist, like Baudelaire, becomes a "traumatophile," someone who seeks to parry these shocks through their art. The shock experience is central to the modern experience.

The Digital Screen. The digital screen, which has replaced the movie screen, is a protective barrier that screens us off from reality. Reality becomes an image, attenuated and controlled. The smartphone, in particular, removes reality's gaze, making the other consumable. The digital screen is flat, lacking the depth and mystery of the real world.

From Shocks to Likes. The shock experience has given way to the like, a form of passive affirmation that requires no engagement or contemplation. The modern artist, like Jeff Koons, seeks to be liked, not to challenge or provoke. The world of shocks has been replaced by a smooth, consumer-friendly world where everything is designed to be pleasing and disarming. We are now consumers of experience, not participants in it.

7. Theory as Narrative: The Loss of Meaning

With enough data, the numbers speak for themselves.

Theory as Order. Theory, like narrative, designs an order of things, setting them in relation to each other. It explains why things behave the way they do, providing conceptual contexts that make the world intelligible. Unlike big data, which merely discloses correlations, theory offers us the highest form of knowledge: comprehension. Theory is a form of closure that takes hold of things and makes them graspable.

The End of Theory. The current obsession with big data has led to a belief that theories are superfluous. Data-driven approaches claim to be able to predict and control human behavior without the need for conceptual frameworks. This is a dangerous illusion, as big data cannot explain anything. It merely discloses correlations, leaving us without understanding. The end of theory is the end of meaning.

Philosophy as Narrative. Philosophy, at its core, is also a narrative. Plato's dialogues, Freud's psychoanalysis, and Nietzsche's revaluation of all values are all narratives that offer new ways of seeing the world. Philosophy, when it claims to be a science, denies its original narrative character and loses its language. We lack the courage for philosophy, the courage for theory, the courage to create a narrative. Thinking itself is a form of narration.

8. Narration as Healing: The Power of Story and Touch

The story a sick man tells the doctor at the start of his treatment can become the first stage in the healing process.

The Healing Power of Story. Storytelling is healing because it creates deep relaxation and primordial trust. The loving voice of the mother soothes the child, releasing inner blockages and restoring balance. Illness is a sign of a blocked story, and healing consists in the liberation of the patient from this narrative block. Narratives provide consolation, hope, and a sense of meaning in times of crisis.

Listening as Healing. Momo, the character from Michael Ende's novel, heals people simply by listening to them. Her attentive silence invokes ideas in others that would otherwise never have occurred to them. Listening is an active doing, a way of creating a resonating space in which the narrator feels addressed and heard. It is a form of love.

The Healing Power of Touch. Touch, like storytelling, creates closeness and primordial trust. It releases tensions and blockages that lead to pain and illness. The hand that touches has the same healing powers as the voice that narrates. It pulls us out of our ego and connects us to the world. The retreat of touch is making us ill, leaving us lonely, fearful, and depressed.

9. The Erosion of Narrative Community

The village is a narrative community.

The Narrative Community. A narrative community is a group of people who are united by shared stories, values, and norms. These stories provide a sense of belonging, purpose, and direction. The village, with its ancient wild pear tree, is a symbol of this kind of community. In the past, people gathered to tell each other stories, creating a sense of shared identity and history.

The Loss of Community. Modernity has eroded the narrative community, replacing it with a fleeting, commodified form of community based on consumption. Consumers are lonely, separated from each other by digital screens. The "stories" shared on social media do not create genuine community, but rather forms of self-presentation and self-promotion. We are now isolated individuals, adrift in a sea of information.

The Digital Panopticon. The smartphone, which seems to be a playground, is actually a digital panopticon, a tool for surveillance and control. We are constantly being monitored and exploited, reduced to data sets that can be manipulated. The illusion of freedom and communication masks a deeper reality of domination. We are puppets, our strings pulled by unknown forces.

Last updated: January 27, 2025