Next in THIS SERIES of quotes is number #13.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story
inside you” (Maya Angelou)
*No* greater agony? Hmmm...
I know from experience that there is a spectrum that runs
from mild frustration to serious vexation in having the nuts and bolts of a
story in my head and, for whatever reason, being unable to tell / write it.
That urge to tell the story is something that crops up a lot
in modern life. Why else do warring couples or battling neighbours go on to
daytime TV to play out the details of their mini human tragedies for the baying
crowd?
Clearly each party is convinced of the rightness of their
cause. And, people being people, the majority (all?) of these cases will not be
cut-and-dried goodie-versus-baddie situations.
However, these are 30 or 60 minute productions that cover
several cases. They need cut-and-dried; and they need goodie-vs-baddie for the
baying medieval crowd they’ve assembled (and for their ratings). So every
complex human tragedy will be cut, edited, shoved, shaped and led by the nose
to fit the blueprint.
Judge, jury and executioner of audience ratings will vilify
one side and venerate the other in the interests of shallow, knock-about
entertainment.
One side will be declared ‘innocent’ from the off, on the
basis of some superficial factor that might be percentage body fat. The appointed
‘goodie’ will preen and gloat, maybe squeeze out a few tears and, urged on by
the rabid presenter and the baying mob, will scream accusations and shout for
blood.
But what about the people who really matter back in post-production-company
real life? Sadly that 15 (more likely 5) minutes of fame is usually it. The 'goodie' returns to a world that at best disregards them and at worst despises them. The nuances
of the story begin to matter as the fallout hits. The ‘How could you...?’ from the
people who are still around long after the production company has moved on – children, family and friends. The hope of being
recognised as ‘someone from the TV’ evaporates sharply when the only
recognition is accompanied by derision. And relationships that might have
settled given time and measured thought are now fractured beyond repair leaving
families split and friends gone.
No greater agony than bearing that untold story inside you? Clearly
that one doesn’t stack up put against the suffering around the world but I’ll
allow Maya Angelou some poetic licence, because there must be something in it
given the lengths that people go to get their stories told.
Here’s the caveat: where you tell that story can be more
important than simply getting it out.