Context

June 6, 2012

“When you lose the context, you lose the effectiveness of the story,” states Carlos Peinado. What a true statement.

While the Digital Journalism and Storytelling class discussed context in terms of visuals, it reminded me of just how important “context” really is and how today’s lesson can be applied across disciplines.

Not one textbook during my high school or college years included Native Americans. Without the inclusion of Native Americans in U.S. history, for example, you lose context and the truth of what the country was really like. By omission, Native Americans didn’t get to appreciate what our ancestors contributed to the formation of the nation’s governance system, to commerce, architecture, art, music, agriculture, science and yes even survival, courage and love to name just a few.

Without context, it is difficult to appreciate any story on any platform.

Good storytelling in any language or form includes context. Context provides the framework to help us draw attention to the subject. But it does something more. It provides a framework for accuracy, honesty and critical inclusion. Perhaps much more.