How can I tell a story well? How can I tell a good story that others will believe? This is a very worthwhile problem to study and learn. Learning to tell a good story at the right time can often have a multiplier effect. "This Man From Earth" sets a good example for us - how should we tell a good story?
First, we need to establish where we stand in storytelling. "Theology belongs to theology, and the science belongs to science." This sentence is actually not completely unreasonable. From different positions, different people can tell different stories based on the same thing. In court, it is clear that there is only one truth, but the defense lawyers on both sides will still tell different stories because of their different positions. In books, it is clear that there is only one earth, but theology and science can make up different stories about the origin of the earth. And there's a good chance they all believed they were right, whether in court or when writing the book. So only if we establish ourselves according to our needs, we can tell stories according to where we stand. The hero of The Man From Earth is well aware that he is not telling a scientific story, he is telling more of an unreal theological story. Modern science emphasizes falsifiability. "All scientific propositions must be falsifiable, and a theory that cannot be falsifiable cannot be a scientific theory." The periodic table of elements arranged the elements from the beginning to the end, and the elements were not discovered at all at that time. . However, we can gradually verify whether the arrangement method of the periodic table is correct and reasonable according to the following experiments. If it is not correct, it is an error (both local errors and global errors can be said to be errors). And if it is correct, then the theory is naturally scientific. This is falsifiability. But theological stories are not science, because everything is the will of God, and there is no trace, so he does not need to pay attention to falsifiability. But the problem is that he has no way to show God to us, so in order not to be misunderstood by others, telling theological stories must not be falsified, and there should be no traces in the stories. In "This Man From Earth", the male protagonist follows this principle very well. He's been through too long, so you can't ask him to remember everything; the earth has changed too much, you can't ask him to recognize everything; he's just an ordinary person, so he can't be omniscient; he's been through too much time Long, there is no need to leave any souvenirs at all (so it is impossible to investigate from the aspect of antiques); the most important point is that he is not willing to enter the laboratory, and experiment, the most believed method of science, has failed. This is the case with the male protagonist. He has been telling stories from the standpoint of theological stories, and has been telling stories in an unrefined and vague way, perfectly implementing the principle of unfalsifiability. At this time, we can only follow and enter the scope of theology to appreciate this story.
Second, we want to flesh out the story. A good story is not only interesting and reasonable, but also because the story has many fascinating details. The story of "The Man From Earth" is very simple, that is, an ancient caveman lived for 14,000 years. If the story is just told in this way, the story can't have the slightest attraction of course. So the movie gave the male protagonist a knowledgeable professor status. As a knowledgeable professor, the male protagonist has accumulated knowledge in many aspects, which allows him to calmly add details to the story, allowing him to calmly face the doubts and pitfalls of his friends. Learning is an important part of our storytelling. If the godfather wants to preach, he must at least understand the spirit of God; before leading the proletarian revolution, he must at least understand the spirit of Marxism in place; if you want to be a good MLM in the currency circle, at least you have to learn a little about the knowledge of the currency circle. Bar?
Finally, we also need to have certain speaking skills. It's not enough that the story itself is engaging, the skill of speaking largely determines how much we can score the story. In "This Man From Earth", the male protagonist has been using some tricks. When everyone is overly emotional, walk away and let everyone calm down first, and let others help them take the initiative to explain and smooth things out, so as to make it easier for overly emotional people to accept ; Avoid answering the other party's questions directly by asking rhetorical questions; always keep a humble and polite attitude to tell the story, so that people can sit down and listen to the story, and if it is an egomaniac, the chat will be over long ago.. ....
Just like the movie said, there is no need to delve into whether the story is true or false. We can appreciate such a story that has no obvious loopholes and can justify itself. Didn't we also have a pretty good afternoon?
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