Storytelling and Fear

Click here to watch "What Fear Can Teach Us."

TedTalk by Karen Thompson Walker

filmed June 2012

The TedTalk, "What Fear Can Teach Us," by author Karen Thompson Walker, is an inspiring and fascinating account of what fears are and what they mean.

In her talk, Walker uses the tale of the Essex shipmen to support her message. Though each part of the story is revealed at various points during her talk, its entirety is as follows. A 19th century sailors' ship was partially destroyed by a sperm whale, and thousands of miles away from home and the nearest land, they had limited supplies. They came up with three options on how to proceed: 

             1. The Marquesas Islands that were about 1200 miles away. However, they heard                                      horrifying rumors that it was full of cannibals; they imagined themselves reaching land                        only to promptly be eaten.

             2. Hawaii. However, they feared that there would be stormy weather there.

             3. Coast of South America. Though this option reaped the best rewards, the journey to get                        there would be perilous. The length would wipe out their food and water                                                supplies.

These sailors were faced with choosing how to proceed based on their fears of each option. Their fears dictated that they could either be eaten by cannibals, be wiped out by storms, or try to reach land while diminishing all of their supplies.

Walker uses this story to show the link between fear and imagination. She talks about juvenile fears being based off of a "vivid imagination" that creates scary scenarios in our minds. 

Thus fears are stories, according to Walker. They are unintentional, yet innate within us and our imaginations. Like stories, fears have characters, plots, imagery, and suspense. The latter rises "What if?" and "What will happen next?" questions. With both storytelling and fear, we want answers to these questions; we want to know what is going to happen to the main character. Walker reveals that these questions are answered in the form of stories rooted in fear. Our fear of the unknown lead us to do "mental time travel" to create tales about what the future may look like.   

Walker continues by arguing that some fears can actually predict our future. But this raises another question: how do we distinguish between fears that do and those that don't?

Well, we can "read" our fears. Fears that are more artistic and vivid typically prove to be over-dramatic and unlikely. Ones that are less violent and developed through a scientific lens are usually more probable, gradual, and dangerous.

Walker's purpose with this talk is to encourage the audience to start "reading" our fears. She encourages us to listen to our more subtle, gradual fears rather than our more horrifying, imaginative ones so that we are swayed less often by the latter ones. 

In order to get this point across, Walker uses repetition, ethos, and pathos. She frequently repeats questions of "what if" and "what would happen" to show the audience that our imaginations can create most terrifying stories/fears based on these questions. In effect, the talk becomes more meaningful to the audience because they can relate to it. The more meaningful and inspiring a presentation is, the more likely its audience is to take what they have learned and implement it into their own lives.

Walker uses ethos to prove her credibility as an author of fiction. She tells the audience of her experience in writing her first novel, The Age of Miracles. During this process, she thought deeply about "what would happen if the rotation of the Earth suddenly began to slow down." She shows her audience that she is experienced in "reading" fears; she is trustworthy because she has implemented this practice in her life and work, and it has been successful.

Walker also incorporates pathos in her presentation by obvious reasons of appealing to each audience member's fears. She recognizes the need for controlling our fears and provides a way to do it. By relating our fears to stories, she diminishes the reality of them, which convinces the audience to "read" their own fears to figure out which ones they should really be worried about.

I chose this TedTalk because I can relate to the fear of the future, and I am definitely guilty of making up scary stories about what it might look like. I often ask myself the questions, "What if?" and "What would happen?" Currently, this revolves around college, as I'm sure it does for many of my peers. What if I don't get into my top choice? What would I do? What if I get in but can't afford it?

Now, after watching the talk, I have a way to better deal with fear of the unknown. I plan to "read" my fears and determine which stories are ridiculous and which are possible.

This presentation connects to what we will be covering in the next unit, as fear is a significant force of human nature. 

Without fear, are we truly human?

Whipped Walter

Walter Neff certainly fits the archetype of the male lead in film noir. He was weak in falling for Phyllis, or "Baby," as he liked to call her. In the frustrated sense, I struggled at first with how he fit into that characteristic. I then found that there is more than one connotation of the word, and Walter was frustrated in that he was "prevented from progressing, succeeding, or being fulfilled" (Google). 

His failure to succeed with his and Phyllis' plan and to progress in his life spurred from his personal characteristics. As I watched the movie, I recorded many adjectives to describe him, including flirtatious, sarcastic, and naive. The latter is the trait that ultimately leads to his downfall.

Walter's naivety was what brought him into Phyllis' trap. He was caught up in being his flirtatious and sensual self that he was easily, unknowingly tempted into a cunning and ambitious plan to kill Mr. Dietrichson. Once he had agreed to that, there was no going back. That initial interaction in the Dietrichson living room set the standard for the rest of the film. Walter was completely taken away with her beauty and helplessness with her "abusive" husband. From that point on, he was going to help her, and he certainly went to great measures to allow her to get her way. 

This situation is evidence for what his relationships were like with women. He was what we would refer to as "whipped" today. He was easily tempted by beautiful women, and this characteristic led him to some crazy actions. When he came across both Phyllis and Lola, he was quickly drawn into their issues and offered his manly assistance. With Phyllis it was the major plot to kill her husband for money, and with Lola it was her problems with Nino. He liked to chase women, complete with their problems and emotions and all, to fulfill his pleasure-seeking senses. Being too caught up in desire led him on a dangerous, doomed pathway.

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Despite his personality traits that ultimately led him to make rash decisions, Walter was also sarcastic and clever. At the end of the movie, he mocks Phyllis by asking her "Why don't you shoot again, Baby," (see in video below) because he knows she won't have the guts to do it from a shorter distance. At this point, we see Walter's naivety turn into a sort of contempt. As a male, he didn't like being manipulated by a woman, and he made sure to express and play that up in the conversation that he had with Phyllis before he shot her.