Frank Spotnitz

Storytelling is all around us – in the movies we watch, TV series we stream, books and articles we read, songs and podcasts we listen to. But we are not just taking in stories from others – we are constantly telling ourselves stories. About who we are, what we’ve done, what we’re going to do.

The human mind functions on narrative, and all of us are constantly writing and rewriting the story of our own lives. The closer that story conforms to a reality that others would recognize, the sturdier that story becomes.

In this inspiring lecture, Frank Spotnitz talks about the importance of storytelling in his own life, and how movies, television and literature not only informed his groundbreaking work on “The X-Files,” “The Man in the High Castle” and many other series, but how it continues to influence all of us in ways we seldom appreciate.

In deeply personal terms, Spotnitz talks about how we inherit myths from our family, friends and community. These are foundational “stories” of who we are and where we come from, and the more we’re aware of them, the more clearly we’re able to see ourselves.

Spotnitz goes on to talk about the stories we take from the culture we live in, both the stories that religion teaches and the stories we take from culture and politics, helping to explain the polarizing divide in our world right now.

He talks about how the most successful politicians are able to craft narratives that influence and persuade others, helping to inspire or divide.

Finally, Spotnitz talks about the stories we tell ourselves, and how we are constantly rewriting these stories. Even bedrock memories that we look upon as objective truths are “rewritten” and clarified each time we revisit them, resulting in a story that is not literally true, but has an emotional truth to it that transcends reality.

Spotnitz believes a better world begins with each and every one of us, and that the first step on that journey is in better understanding the stories we tell ourselves.