Cross cultural storytelling is a big task.
One of the most powerful things about storytelling is its inherent ability to build bridges of empathy between people who may have had totally different life experiences from one another. When that power can be harnessed to correct an injustice that has gone on for far too long… well, that’s pretty much what being a Creative Changemaker comes down to in my opinion.
But cross cultural storytelling is something that intimidates a lot of people. When the people in a story live such different lives than the story’s audience… it can feel like having to make a big stretch in order to make it work effectively. On top of that, there are plenty of legitimate and valid concerns around the ethics of cross cultural storytelling. Most people want to do things right but quickly discover all kinds of ethical quandaries.
Those of us who help process the lived experiences of others to an audience with the potential to help are in a critical role. It makes total sense to be a bit nervous about wanting to do things right! And to do them well! While there is an endless array of topics to address within the realm of cross cultural storytelling, especially surrounding its ethics, my latest Creative Changemaker video focuses on three areas of focus in particular. These are three areas that, when you properly pay attention to them, you greatly increase the opportunity for your audience to empathize and relate to a story that takes place beyond their immediate horizon.
I’m pretty fresh from a recent storytelling trip that took me to India and Ethiopia- two extremely different contexts- and while we were on the ground filming, I frequently had to ask the question: can our audience relate to this?
Then on the flight back, I watched an Indian movie. Chello Show was a Gurajati film. It’s set in a small village. A boy goes with his family to see his first movie and absolutely falls in love with the world of film. His dad isn’t too thrilled as he thinks the film industry as a whole is pretty shady. The only reason the family went to the cinema in the first place was to see a religious movie about the goddess Kali.
The film was in a language I rarely hear, in a remote setting. But by the end, it felt more familiar than unfamiliar.
It felt like being a kid with dreams and ambitions that are bigger than your immediate environment can contain. It felt like having parents who get in your way and friends who get your back. It felt like young mischief, wonder, all these things.
How do you accomplish this sort of cross-cultural storytelling magic? Here’s what I’ve learned.
Pick an epiphany
Pick some connectors
Find your shorthand
Pick an epiphany – This means, what is the takeaway you want your audience to have. It can be a bit of awareness or a strong emotion. I remember watching some documentaries about child soldiers as a student and coming to the realization that I wanted to do everything in my power to shift the world away from things like that happening.
That is a strong epiphany. I wonder if Chello Show’s creators were thinking, I want to remind people of the magic and wonder of cinema!
When you’re more focused on the epiphany… the challenge of cultural translation suddenly takes a backseat role and feels much more manageable.
Connectors – These are things that will help meet your audience where they are and lead them towards that epiphany.
Imagine rich, universal experiences or ideas that transcend culture. They can be the bridge that helps take your audience from their world into the epiphany you want them to have.
In an earlier episode I talked about how the ways you can make any sort of character relatable are through an emotional experience, a difficult decision, or a familiar relationship. These things all serve as great connectors.
Shorthand– These are bursts of things that are familiar in order to help facilitate the journey across terrain that’s less familiar.
If that still sounds complicated, think about the impact music has when you’re watching a foreign film. Even though your brain might feel like it’s playing catch-up with the subtitles, the music can help signal to you a little bit ahead of time how you’re supposed to feel. What outcome you’re rooting for.
For example, at one point during this most recent trip, we thought a theme that stood out from people’s stories they shared with us was the support they found from their community. How they felt acceptance and that everyone had their back.
When thinking of our audience, we wanted them to remember times that they had this feeling of acceptance, belonging, or support.
So maybe people have felt that at a book club. Or on a sports team. Or in a choir. Can I shorthand that? What if I edit the video a little bit like a sports movie? What if I look for ways to include sounds of people singing together in one voice? Can I frame everybody in a way so it looks like they’re gathered in a circle? Like in a book club? This is one of my favorite parts of the process.
And if you want a sense of what it’s like when you finally get to put all these things together… check out the podcast Song Exploder. It’s always amazing when I hear musicians talk about how they went with a certain instrument or sound to conjure up a specific image or a historical reference.
Cross-cultural storytelling is not always the easiest thing to do. Thankfully there are ways to approach it that’ll make things a lot less difficult.