Stories and accountability

People remember stories best. This is what I tell my students as they prepare their lab write-ups or presentations. Since I've been working as an instructor, I've been reading a lot of books on how to help them become better storytellers. Some recent articles in the press, however, have made me think about an equally important aspect about storytelling: accountability.

The first one is a recent New Yorker article about the Rutgers webcam spying case, for which Dharun Ravi was recently convicted. I'm not going to focus on bias intimidation, the most serious of the charges. Regardless of the sexual orientation of his roomate, what Ravi did was inconsiderate, stupid, and yes, criminal. What is more interesting about this case, however, is the role played by the social media: there was a digital record of Ravi's thoughts throughout his brief relationship with his roommate. Ravi even tried to edit those records after his roommate committed suicide. Ultimately, the Rutgers case reminds me of the power of words: they can and will be held against you.

The second article is about a public radio program's retraction of its story about Apple's suppliers in China. Ira Glass, the host of the program "This American Life", explained that the retractions were due to the "significant fabrications" of the storyteller, Mike Daisey. Daisey isn't a reporter. He is a performer. So, his embellishments may have been more for entertainment than journalistic integrity. What is unfortunate is that Daisey's story did not meet the journalistic standards of "This American Life," and it is unclear how much Daisey will be held accountable. I wonder, however, which is more powerful in effecting change, artistic or journalistic truth?

The last article deals with the concept of artistic truth and E.L. James's popular erotic novel, Fifty Shades of Grey. For the record, I will probably not read this book because of its combination of sado-masochism and purple prose. I was surprised to learn, however, that this book originated from fan fiction - specifically, Master of the Universe, an X-rated version of Twilight that James contributed to the FanFiction site. Remaking stories is not new. There are even books that can help writers churn out stories, with ready-made plot lines. I'm curious, however, whether the increased contribution of fan fiction to publishing will force us to redefine plagiarism. Where does a story start?

With these thoughts in mind, I go off to write my post-college "story" for the upcoming reunion.