Stories we follow
It's true, they say, that everyone loves a good story. So many quotes that can be read in the internet extolling the great value of good stories include:
From a Native American proverb: "Tell me the facts and I'll learn. Tell me the truth and I'll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever."
Rudyard Kipling: "If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten."
Seth Godin: "Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell."
Hopi American Indian proverb: "Those who tell the stories rule the world."
Robert McKee: "Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today."
Ken Kesey: "To hell with facts! We need stories!"
In a recent visit to Tokyo with my wife, our first touristy stop was the famous Hachiko statue at Shibuya station. Outside the train station was a small and simple park with an unassuming bronze statue of an Akita dog named Hachiko.
There were local and foreign tourists from different parts of the world standing in reverent distance from the Hachiko's statue, in unspoken courtesy, waiting for their turn to be photographed beside the famous dog of Japan in the 1930s.
You may have heard of Hachiko's story already. He was that dog at the Shibuya train station who continued to wait for his master to embark from the station even after the latter had died already. He did it for over nine years, appearing at the station, waiting in vain for hours, then going back again the next day at the precise time, up until he died of old age.
That simple yet powerful story about extraordinary loyalty and fidelity is now a famous tourist attraction in Japan.
These thoughts about the power of a good story actually came to mind while I found myself closely following the NBA Finals, and prior to that, the league's Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals.
I played football (soccer) in high school and college, and needless to say I am not a basketball fan. But aside from the curiosity fanned by friends who proudly announced on social media bet proposals of up to six figures, this year's NBA Finals piqued my interest.
Then I realized it is not really about the high level of the game or the immense talents and skills involved. Neither is it about colonial mentality, or the love for anything international. It is about the interesting story underscoring this year's game.
In my book, it's a story about ageing LeBron James, arguably the best player in the league and the world, struggling to lift a team against a younger seemingly irreverent team, the Golden State Warriors, a team that was redesigned to shun traditional basketball and shoot from a distance, often beyond the three-point line.
Of course, I'm with LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers in this Finals. I want the well-earned greatness of LeBron to humble the ever-so confident, mouthguard-chewing Warrior guard Stephen Curry. But whoever wins, this is and will still be a good story.
In our country, there are many good and interesting stories to tell but good storytelling is quite rare, except perhaps from politicians like the one who talked, err, ranted for hours and ended up embarrassing himself and the country before a cheering crowd of Filipinos in South Korea. But it's the kind of story that may soon lose its freshness.
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