21 Comments
User's avatar
TDFAM w/ Mak & H Bombz's avatar

Another fun one would be The Matrix and Plato's allegory of the cave.

Expand full comment
Stuffysays's avatar

I love these articles! They are always interesting and get me thinking. Thank you.

Expand full comment
Mothergrime's avatar

I simply cannot believe I never made the connection in ‘She’s the Man’. lol great article!

Expand full comment
Meaghan Wilson Anastasios's avatar

And behind it all is Kurt Vonnegut’s theory that all narratives fall into one of just six trajectories and since tested and supported: rags to riches; tragedy (riches to rags); man in a hole (fall-rise); Icarus (rise-fall); Cinderella (rise-fall-rise); Oedipus (fall-rise-fall).

Expand full comment
The Human Playbook's avatar

I enjoyed reading this but still wondering why? Why do we keep telling the same stories ?

Expand full comment
Apocalisse's avatar

Lost in a cycle, the words repeat, Stories echo in a hollow beat. Familiar tales on endless spin, A loop that traps the soul within.

Yet within the sameness, seeds may grow, New shades emerge in the shadowed glow, For even in cycles, change can gleam— A whispered hope within a dream.

Expand full comment
Eleanor Rubenstein's avatar

Like a good song a good story should be able to be retold again and again through different lenses and perspectives yet still be good every time. Thank you for this article.

Expand full comment
Elijah H-R's avatar

Hamlet itself shares much with the ancient Egyptian myth of Osiris!

Expand full comment
TheVoiceWithin Media's avatar

Thinking is not unlimited. So, most likely, all ideas in movies can be found in some kind of book. That’s why movies from the 2020s keep repeating the same stories—because all the plots have already been written and shown before.

Expand full comment
Will Granger's avatar

Harry Potter is really just a simple good vs. evil tale. Similar to Star Wars? Are they based on some older literature?

Expand full comment
Will Granger's avatar

I used to explain to my students that this similarity or copying of themes shows that people haven't changed over time. We have many of the same feelings and motivations as the people in Ancient Greece and Elizabethan England.

On the other hand, it would be refreshing to see some original concepts. What are some of the newest ideas for stories that have come out in recent years?

Expand full comment
Lenore Wilkison's avatar

Now that I've read this article, entitled "Why Do We Keep Telling the Same Stories?" That question is never addressed in the article.

In the many years I taught middle- and high-school, I asked many classes to figure out how many different stories there were in world fictional literature. They (we) were able to list a few, such as "the hero's journey," religious pilgrimages, action-adventure, love stories, philosophy, and a variety of mixtures of the above. Sometimes these are scientific, sometimes tragic, sometimes comic, etc., but we couldn't come up with any that did not fit into these characteristics.

From this rather limited list, we divined that those are the only things important to mankind.

I would love to read the opinions of others!

And, I would love it if "The Culturist" could help us chase down the answer!

Expand full comment
Lenore Wilkison's avatar

And, if The Culturist was ready to take the deep dive into this, I would definitely upgrade my subscription!

Expand full comment
Stuart Thorpe's avatar

As an author myself, your observations on this topic are very useful. Thank you.

Expand full comment
Steven J Harris's avatar

Thank you so much for the your posts here, particularly this one. Your words are concise, invigorating, and encourage us all onwards to explore deeper pathways.

Expand full comment
Gibbons Burke's avatar

“The Northman” film is an amazing retelling of Hamlet, set in a well-researched Viking context, but ironically goes back to the story of Amleth on which the Shakespeare play was based.

Expand full comment
Ms. Billie M. Spaight's avatar

Yentl also has a kind-of trans appeal.

Expand full comment