THE ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
PROFESSIONAL & TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
NARRATIVE PARADIGM AND THIS AMERICAN LIFE: THE RELATIONSHIP TO
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS.
By
SCOTT JULIAN
A Paper submitted
in partial fulfillment of the
Bachelor of Science Degree
In Professional and Technical communication
Degree Awarded:
Spring Semester, 2014
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NARRATIVE PARADIGM AND THIS AMERICAN LIFE: THE RELATIONSHIP TO
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS.
Name: Scott Julian
Department: Advertising & Public Relations
Professor: Dr. Keith Jenkins
Degree: Bachelor of Science
Term Degree Awarded: Spring, 2014
This is an analytical study of how storytelling and Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm
fulfills Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The focus revolves around the top ten most
popular This American Life podcasts and how they fulfill the five tiers of Maslow’s
Hierarchy.
Aristotle and Fisher’s theories on human behavior are compared to provide a lens
through which This American Life is broken down with Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm.
By examining how This American Life meets the higher social needs of Maslow’s
Hierarchy we can better understand why storytelling is relevant to our culture.
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NARRATIVE PARADIGM AND THIS AMERICAN LIFE: THE RELATIONSHIP TO
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS.
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Purpose
This paper examines how episodes of This American Life, an NPR (National Public
Radio) show, uses the communications theory, Narrative Paradigm as opposed to the
Rational world Paradigm, categorizing each into Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Research is conducted by listening to the top 10 episodes of This American Life as
listed on iTunes and rating them according to where they fall in Maslow’s Hierarchy:
Physiological, Safety, Love/belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualization. The research
conducted hopes to explain the popularity of this radio show and how its stories
resonate with it’s 2.1 million weekly listeners. (www.thisamericanlife.org/about)
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Introduction
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The second that you start listening to National Public Radio’s This American Life, you
know it’s something different. It’s not a newscast. It’s not a talk show and it doesn’t just
play music for your entertainment. This American Life is an hour-long weekly radio show
consisting of a variety of themes revolving around character-driven stories. That’s
right—60 minutes devoted entirely to storytelling—the thing we humans have been
doing since the ancient times as a form of entertainment, education, and connecting
with one another. The program is usually divided into 3-5 acts that are narrated by both
the subject as well as the reporter; and hosted by Ira Glass.
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So what makes This American Life the leading podcast on iTunes? And what’s so
special about these stories that compels 2.1 million listeners to tune in every week?
The program has been on air for eighteen years and its audience is only getting larger.
To answer these questions we must first consider the medium of radio. Its intimacy
allows listeners to connect to the human voice, which affects us on an emotional level.
The inflections and implications of someone’s vocal tone give a lot of information without
the necessity of sight. “Radio voices engender a response from listeners at both a
sensory level (tone, pitch, rhythm, inflection, expressiveness, timbre” — what Roland
Barthes collectively refers to as the ‘grain’ of the voice (Barthes 1991:273)) and a
substantive level (language, the meaning of words and coded information such as
accent, age, gender). (Cite: Oral History & Radio News).
Oral storytelling, the oldest form of narrative, is still incredibly powerful in today’s digital
age. “Language, an obvious prerequisite for storytelling, is likely to have emerged by at
least 50,000 and possibly 250,000 years ago, depending upon whether one places
one’s trust in archaeological or anatomical evidence…“Although the oldest known
written narrative (The Epic of Gilgamesh) dates back only 5,000 years, the written
literary traditions of many ancient cultures are known to be rooted in longstanding oral
traditions.” (Narrative Theory and Function: Why Evolution Matters by Michelle S.).
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Second we need to look at storytelling. What makes a good story and why do listeners
connect with so many of the characters from This American Life? By exploring Walter
Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm we see that humans are hardwired for narrative. Stories
have the ability to teach us more effectively than facts. “Telling a story is up to 22 times
more memorable than relaying facts and figures alone,” claims Jennifer Aaker, General
Atlantic Professor of Marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business.” (Cite:
(http://leanin.org/education/harnessing-the-power-of-stories/)
Stories help us understand the world around us by showing us how we see our own
lives in a narrative form. This explains our fascination with other narratives. “We dream
in narrative, daydream in narrative, remember, anticipate, hope, despair, believe, doubt,
plan, revise, criticize, construct, gossip, learn, hate, and love by narrative.” (Cite:
Barbara Hardy, English literary critic (Story Craft by Jack Hart pg. 9). The process of
striving for something just out of our reach drives us to persevere and to overcome the
obstacles at hand. And it is through overcoming these challenges that we learn and
grow as a person.
Third, by looking at the humanistic psychology movement (1950-70s), we discover
theories that revolve around the human need for fulfillment and finding meaning. One of
those theories is from psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow came up with “The
Hierarchy of Needs.” This theory, which is often represented in a pyramid form, shows
five levels of human motivation: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and selfactualization. “ Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is represented in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
“Each need in the hierarchy must be fulfilled to a tolerable level before the individual will
attempt to fulfill the next higher need. When a certain need is not satisfied, it becomes
dominant and manifest. Therefore, people are motivated by unsatisfied needs; a
satisfied need is incapable of producing a motive.” (Cite: Ulrich, R.A. A Theoretical
Model of Human Behavior in Organization. Morristown, N.J.: General Learning Press,
1972). The highest need, self-actualization, is sought by people who are making full use
of their talents and capabilities. “Self-actualization represents the need to maximize
one’s potential and to become what one is capable of becoming.” (Hersey, 1996).
It is these people who have reached self-actualization that may help explain why
listeners love This American Life. The show finds characters that have overcome
challenges, who’ve thought differently on life and who have something valuable to teach
others. An example of this is episode #476 “What Doesn’t Kill You,” about how people
cope with near death experiences. In the first act a comedian, Tig Notaro, talks about
being diagnosed with cancer just days before performing onstage. “I really had the fear
that if I walked away from this opportunity to perform that I would never be able to
again.” Notaro explains how she diverged from her original comedy act to talking about
her stage-two cancer diagnosis and multiple other horrible things that had just
happened over the past several months. She talks about her cancer, about her mother’s
tragic death and about her painful breakup. It’s a comedian that is experiencing
something very horrible but is able to cope through comedy by making fun of the
absurdity of her own life. Other episodes include “Act 5,” about inmates who are
performing Shakespeare’s Hamlet and talking about how the prisoners identify with the
main title character. “The main conflict of the play is a guy debating in long, complicated
monologues whether or not he should kill somebody. What is there in that for most of us
to relate to? Unless of course, we happen to be murderers.” (#218 Act V, This American
Life).
In episode #210, “Perfect Evidence,” DNA testing helps prove the innocence of
prisoners. “Plan B #205,” an episode about pre-made plans not coming to fruition, and
life taking people to unexpected places. “81 words #201,” the story of the American
Psychiatric Association deciding in 1973 that homosexuality was no longer a mental
illness. “Starting from Scratch #233,” stories of people starting over; sometimes
because they want to, other times because they have no other choice. But the
character’s own self-actualization is something to be celebrated as well as modeled to
others seeking this ‘highest’ need. This American Life speaks most directly to the middle
class because they’ve fulfilled their basic needs and are searching for the higher needs.
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By exploring these three subjects more thoroughly and analyzing the top ten episodes
of This American Life and comparing it to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, this research
will help explain the popularity of the program and what stories most resonate with
listeners. !
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Research Questions
This examination seeks answers for the following questions: Why is This American Life
so popular? What stories do people identify with most? Can Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs, which examines human motivations, explain the success of the most popular
episodes of This American Life?
Rationale
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What makes This American Life one of the most popular radio shows is undoubtedly
their knowledge of the craft of storytelling. Host Ira Glass, knows that stories are
universal in helping people find answers to questions like, What is the right thing to do in
variable situations? What does it mean to live fully? Stories act as a moral compass,
guiding us through the challenging times of life. Storytelling exists in every culture
around the world. “Every society has its own wealth of narratives in the forms of
mythology, epics, legends, fables, folklore, etc. These stories have found three forms of
expression via. 1) oral narration, 2) literary texts and 3) visual presentation.” (Cite:
Kumar, S., & Poovaiah, R. (2001). Presence of Universal Elements Across Static Visual
Narratives (Syns). Design Principles & Practice: An International Journal, 5(3), 105124.)
A good story means it’s worth telling the world something they want to hear. “Storytelling
has such wide application because, at its root, it serves universal human needs. Story
makes sense out of a confusing universe by showing us how one action leads to
another. It teaches us how to live by discovering how our fellow human beings
overcome the challenges in their lives. And it helps us discover the universals that bind
us to everything around us.” (Cite: Hart, J. (2011). Story Craft. Chicago: The University
of Chicago Press).
But, it isn’t just about what you say; it’s how you say it. The show has the exceptional
ability to produce high quality interviews by choosing music to compliment the mood.
The producers also know when to allow the speaker’s tone to dictate the atmosphere.
Hearing someone express his or her deepest thoughts and feelings is riveting. Based on
his/her vocal inflections, the speaker reveals his/her feelings of guilt, sadness, fear, or
joy. In episode #194, Before and After, New Yorkers talk about their reactions to the
aftermath of the falling of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. One such speaker,
Sarah, shares her experience from a center where families of people who worked at the
World Trade Center were giving their DNA samples to police to identify loved ones. It
was here that she met a man handing out fliers of a missing relative. Sarah asked,
“What are you going to do—what do you do now? And he said, I don’t know. And he
said it like—not just like, I don’t know. But he was like; I don’t know where to go. I just—
he just had no idea where to go or what to do. And he couldn’t go home. It was like, I
think there’s a sense like, as long as there’s daylight, you should be traipsing around the
city, you know, looking for whoever.” To literally hear how this woman describes this
man who’s lost his relative is incredibly powerful. The way she describes the story you
can easily imagine the panic and fear that this man must have been experiencing. To be
desperately trying to find someone but having nowhere to go.
At the end of every story, there is time for reflection to talk about what was learned. This
American Life uses storytelling for radio with the same principles of any narrative: scene
setting, characterization, and plot, which apply to all stories. So combine entertainment,
storytelling, self-actualization, and journalism, and the product is This American Life.
Description of Rhetorical Act
Radio has a way of making stories personal. It’s like someone’s talking to you one-onone or over the phone. Just listening we can get a sense of someone’s age, gender,
and emotion. This American Life uses humor; music and realistic characters that speak
to issues that people care about. The content is mostly non-fiction with a journalistic
approach. Unlike talk news it is informal and conversational in tone. It offers a unique
balance of information and entertainment, which is something that many popular shows
don’t have. Ira Glass comes across as someone who is genuinely curious about people.
His commentary between acts addresses many of the same questions that are raised in
the show. But if you want to hear what Glass learned you have to wait until the show’s
end. This is when he shares his overall thoughts on everyone’s narratives and what can
be learned. “
Glass explains in a PRI (Public Radio International interview) that stories in
broadcasting must have an anecdote and reflection to be successful. “Really important
when making stories for television or radio is that you understand the building blocks of
the stories…you have two basic building blocks…one is the anecdote. The Power of the
anecdote is so great…No mater how boring the material is, if it is in story form…there is
suspense in it, it feels like something’s going to happen. The reason why is because
literally it’s a sequence of events…you can feel through its form [that it’s] inherently like
being on a train that has a destination…and that you’re going to find something…” (Ira
Glass, On Storytelling, Youtube). It is how This American Life crafts each story in the
show with an anecdote and reflection that frequently makes for informative tale.
An interesting demographics of National Public Radio consist of a highly educated
audience with 69% having graduated college and 32% having completed post-graduate
degrees. The Median income was $86,000 compared to the national average $55,000 in
2008. And 66% are heavy internet users, while only 20% of the general population.
(http://nepr.net/underwrite/audience-demographics/) This can help explain why podcasts
are so popular because you’re likely are NPR listener and became a fan of the show
while you were listening to NPR when the study was conducted. The demographics
attracts a more youthful demographic because of the radio’s informal show.
Said Glass, host and executive producer of “This American Life,” a radio show produced
by WEBEZ 91.5 in Chicago. “We’re out to amuse ourselves.”—Largely, “This American
Life” is plot-driven, Glass said. As an undergraduate semiotics major at Brown
University, he became infatuated with answering “How does the story give us
pleasure?” Anecdotes are used to set up an episode’s story as a whole, connect it to a
universal theme or meaning by means of “alternating ideas and action,” Glass said. —
News broadcasts never opt for an edge that is humorous or entertaining.” “You can’t
have a funny moment in a serious story. I think (that is) really crude, “ Glass said of
coverage by other news outlets. Feelings of “surprise” and “discovery” are “off the table”
with the majority of stories produced. Glass: the staff spends three to six months coming
up with story ideas, getting together around 15 to 25. Out of those ideas, only seven or
eight go into production. It’s also not unusual, then that one out of three stories in
production are killed. Glass said to The Lantern Really interesting to have someone who
is a personality be themselves, as opposed to being the person they portray themselves
as. “That feeling of being candid and real and personal. I think that’s always excellent to
have insight into someone you can only see as a public figure in a personal way.”
Finding the perfect story….really hard process. Most wont work.
(http://thelantern.com/2014/03/ira-glass-american-life-amuse/)
Social Historical Context
The top 10 This American Life episodes first aired between the years 1997 to 2010. The
bulk of shows were played in the mid-2000s. (This is where I will set the scene or put in
place the context of America during the airing of these episodes). —Radio 20,30s,40s,
then TV came out and radio storytelling was put on hold with only music, news, and talk
radio. Then it was reintroduced with This American Life in 1997.
Literature Review
The following is a story from episode #206, Somewhere in the Arabian Sea. This was
first aired on March 31, 2002. It wasn’t long after September 11, and military forces
where fighting in Afghanistan. An analysis of the story using Fisher’s Narrative
Paradigm and Aristotle’s Rational World Paradigm will help explain the two different
communication theories.
Ira Glass
“Our enemies are hiding. Some lived in caves. Some cross borders in disguise. Some
slip from one safe house to the next. Sometimes they must go hungry. They pray.
Meanwhile, on the largest warship ever built, stocked with the most advanced weapons
in the world and a crew of over 5,000, an American sailor was doing her job in the war
against terror.”
Prevon Scott My name is Prevon Scott. I’m just filling up the vending machines.
Alex Blumberg Is that your full-time job?
Prevon Scott Yes.
Alex Blumberg It’s your full-time job?
Prevon Scott Yeah, filling up vending machines all day for 12 hours.
Ira Glass A few weeks ago, This American Life producers Alex Blumberg, Wend Dorr,
and I flew halfway around the world to spend some time on the USS John C. Stennis.
The Stennis is one of two aircraft carriers that are launching jet fighters to support the
ground troops in Afghanistan. Alex is the one who talked to Prevon Scott.
Alex Blumberg What are the big sellers?
Prevon Scott Right now, it’s Snickers and Starburst. Snickers goes real fast.
Alex Blumberg What’s the least favorite candy on board?
Prevon Scott Bonkers, the fruit chews. We got boxes of those, and still have them.
Sometimes if we don’t have anything else, we’ll just put all rows of Bonkers, and they’ll
still stay in here.
Alex Blumberg So people hate Bonkers?
Prevon Scott Yeah.
Alex Blumberg Nobody likes them.
Prevon Scott We’ve still got them. But we’ve been ordering a whole lot of new stuff, so
I’ve been trying to keep a whole variety of things in here, like Crunch ‘n Munch. We just
got the Curnch ‘n Munch, and the Cheez-Its we normally diidn’t have in here.
Alex Blumberg Cheez-Its?
Prevon Scott Yeah, the Cheeze-Its. The different kind of Cheez-Its.
Ira Glass Our enemies, needless to say, are not supplied with Curnch ‘n Munch. Yes,
we’re at war, and yes, that means thousands of Americans are in Kandahar and Kabul
and other very dangerous places, doing very dangerous things. But for every person on
the front lines, there are dozens backing them up with equipment, logistical support, and
Cheez-Its. This aircraft carrier has only 50 to 60 pilots on board who actually drop
bombs, who actually take part in combat. Everyone else is here, over 5,000 people to
get them in the air.
Back home, over the last few months, we’ve heard about the pilots. We’ve heard about
the people doing more heroic work. But everybody else on this ship is also at war, is
also far from home, is also sacrificing something to be here, and we wanted to hear their
stories too. It’s one thing to turn your life upside down to go shoot bullets at bad guys.
It’s another to give up everything to go fill candy machines 12 hours a day.
In the months since the USS Stennis embarked for the Arabian Sea, Prevon has only
gone outside twice. If you picture for a moment what an aircraft carrier looks like, the
deck of the ship, that big, flat deck, is where jets take off and land, so you can’t just walk
around up there. She sees daylight maybe once a day. She’s 20 years old. It’s her first
time away from home.
Prevon Scott You know, the hardest part is just missing home, the home thing. If you
can get over that, then I’ll be all right. When I first got here, I was really bad. I cried
every day, and stuff like that. My parents are really helpful. They email me every day
and stuff.
Ira Glass Today on our program, everyday life aboard a ship at war, what it’s really like.
From WBEX Chicago, it’s This American Life, distributed by Public Radio International.
I’m Ira Glass. Alex and Wend and I went to the Stennis together, and throughout this
hour you’ll hear from all three of us.
Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm
In 1984 Walter R. Fisher proposed a new communications theory called the Narrative
Paradigm that emphasized and explored narrative used rhetorically. The theory acted
as ‘logic’ for assessing stories, for determining whether or not one should adhere to the
stories one is encouraged to endorse or accept.” (Cite: Narrative Paradigm: Barbara
Warnick).
Stories shape our history, our culture and our character. We enjoy narratives of people
overcoming great challenges to achieve greatness. If you can put things into a narrative
it helps others understand the world better, make sense of the world. We make sense of
your daily lives through a narrative. “Our lives are interpreted through a long narrative
consisting of many small narratives, and our decisions are based on good reason
determined by our history, biography, culture, and character.” (Cite: Narrative Paradigm:
Elaboration by Walter Fisher)
In #206, Somewhere in the Arabian Sea, we learn about Prevon Scott’s story of working
as a sailor on the USS Stennis filling up vending machines during the War on Terror.
This story is about a young woman far from home who rarely has the opportunity to go
outside and works 12 hours a day filling up vending machines. The one person
represents one of the thousands of military support personal who help the fighters on
the ground and off to combat terrorism. This is an important story to share because
many people can identify with this person. As a listener you can empathize with this
woman. You know how it feels as a young person, away from home for the first time and
doing a job that you don’t particularly care to do. This story demonstrates that the public
is a lot alike the many of the military personal. We are all doing are best to do our job
and get buy except in the military world you’re doing your job sometimes half-way
around the world.
Rational World Paradigm
“Rational world paradigm uses logic and argumentation for critique whereas the
narrative world paradigm expand that idea to include values and ethics.” (Cite: Crisis
Storytelling: Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm and News Reporting).
If we were took look at Pevon Scott’s story through Aristotle’s Rational World Paradigm
the effect would be very different from Fisher’s. By focusing just on the rationality and
logical part of this story the symbolism completely fades away and we are left with very
little. A female sailor spends 12 hours a day filling vending machines on the USS
Stennis in the Arabian Sea. It’s pretty boring and filled with very little factual statements.
“The Narrative Paradigm is ideal for assessing analogous situations, which instead of
relying on localized discourse, contain multiple complexities such as event, value, and
consequence.” (Cite: The Continued Importance of Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm).
The traditional paradigm of the Rational World according to Aristotle claims that:
1.) People are essentially rational.
2.) We make decisions on a basis of arguments.
3.) The speaking situation determines our arguments.
4.) Rationality is determined by how much we know and how well we argue.
5.) The world is a set of logical arguments we can solve through rational arguments.
Fisher believed that Aristotle’s viewpoint was too limited and suggested a new
paradigm. He built upon the narrative foundation:
1.) People are essentially storytellers.
2.) We make decisions based on good reasoning.
3.) History, biography, culture and character determine good reasons.
4.) Narrative rationality is determined by coherence and fidelity.
5.) The world is a set of stories from which we choose, and thus constantly recreate our
lives.
The Rational Paradigm depends a lot on the more logical thinking part of our mind. The
theory is based upon the assumption that we are all rational beings. Un-rational beings
make un-rational decisions. When trying to explain or justify their behavior, it would
have to do with telling a more credible story than producing evidence or constructing a
logical argument.
Lets look at Aristotle and the time when he lived. Aristotle was born 384 BC in Stagira,
Greece. His father Nicomachus was a court physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia.
Nicomachus died when Aristotle was 10 years old and he was raised by his uncle,
Proxenus. Aristotle was entered into Plato's academy. As soon as he finished his
education there, he became part of the faculty.
Philosophers were constantly confronted about their ideas and theories, not only by the
public but by their peers as well. This sparked constant debating to defend their
arguments. Over the years Aristotle and his ideas grew in popularity, he was no longer
challenged, but accepted and adapted by Medieval scholars. His work became the
official philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church.
So why wouldn't Aristotle believe that arguing was the basis for communication?
Debating was his main form of spreading his ideas and hearing others; you could
actually be put to death if your ideas were too far fetched and you didn't have facts to
set a good foundation for your belief. Why wouldn't he believe that our decisions would
be made upon a good argument? That the world was a set of logical arguments born
through solving rational arguments? He was a philosopher that spent many years
teaching others. What kind of teacher would he be if he wasn't completely sold on his
theories?
But to say that Rational World Paradigm is the only and best theory for communication
is outdated.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a motivational theory. It is his look at what actually
motivates people to do the things that they do and behave the way they behave. We all
have certain needs that must be met to ensure basic survival. When those needs aren’t
met they will motivate us to find ways of fulfilling them. Those basic needs connect all
human beings on a survival level. Maslow created a model that contained five basic
levels with an extended version of eight. The first four levels are the deficiency needs,; if
left unfulfilled they would motivate you into action. The remaining four needs are the
higher order needs. Maslow referred to them as the ‘being needs’ because they deal
mostly with self-actualization and being the most that you can be. The first level is our
physiological needs. These are the most basic human needs required to survive. They
include things like food, water, breathing and sleep. We are all universally motivated by
these needs to live.
The second tier is safety needs; this is the need for security, to have shelter and avoid
any physical danger. An example of these might even be as basic as ensuring
that your car gets regularly serviced and checked so you don’t break down on the side
of the road.
The 3rd tier is Love/Belonging. This level is dependent on the image of a person, both to
others and to his/herself. Someone who’s bought an expensive sports car, or maybe a
woman who gets breast implants which affects the external image. If a person lacks
respect for his/herself, they will develop feelings of inferiority.
The set of needs are the higher order or the growth needs. This group starts with the
Knowledge and Understanding needs. This can be satisfying your cognitive needs,
your need to know things. It’s maybe why there’s the History channel or the Discovery
channel to fulfill those cognitive needs. It’s all about satisfying the need to know things
and fulfilling the need to understand. The next level is Aesthetic Need for Beauty, which
is a basic need for beauty, order, and symmetry. As humans we have a desire for
beauty. Outlets for beauty include photograph, observing nature, painting or playing
music. Then comes the Self Actualization needs, which are about being who you are,
being the best person that you can be and living up to your true potential. More
specifically they’re about: creativity, spontaneity, acceptance and fulfilling your personal
potential or being as good as you can be at whatever interests you. The final level of
needs is the Transcendence need. This is about going beyond yourself to help others
reach their potential or to help others in general through compassion, sympathy, and
empathy. You essentially care more about everyone else around you than yourself.
When you satisfy the basic needs it’s all about instant gratification. When you’re hungry
you eat. When you’re desperate for feeling loved you may have a one-night stand. But
this temporary happiness isn’t a long-term solution. It’s when you address the high order
needs that you get the long-term satisfaction. So happiness can be linked to the
higher order of needs; helping others, doing what it is that gives you purpose, learning
and appreciating beauty.
This American Life
These are the top 10 episodes of This American Life as rated on iTunes. Each episode
was carefully listened to and analyzed. The research breaks down the narratives or acts
that make up the 60min show and documents how Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm is used.
The studies document how the show uses entertainment, journalism and music to make
each episode. They are categorized in their relation to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Is
it Maslow’s top needs on the hierarchy scale what listeners care most about?
#406 True Urban Legends
This American Life Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Hierarchy of Needs
This American Life
Prologue Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Total
#406: True Urban Legends
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
Physiological
Breathing
Food
Water
Sex
Sleep
Homeostasis
Excretion
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Most urban legends are share with children. To seem more believable a tale about an
old abandoned house at the corner of the street, that is haunted by an ape-like man
called Sasquatch who lives deep in the woods and steals naught children. Urban
legends mix gossip, folklore, myth and modern day tales all into one. They are
something most of us hear when we are young but quickly dismiss as fiction once we’ve
matured. In episode #406 True Urban Legends the host of This American Life, Ira
Glass, introduces the listener to an urban legend of alligators in the sewers. If you’re a
city dweller you’ve likely heard of this tale before. You probably dismissed this urban
legend as false and wait to hear the results but are surprised to find that it in deed
actually did happen. Glass cites a New York Times article from the 1930s about a group
of teenagers who saw an alligator in the sewer while they were shoveling snow. The
true Urban Ledged hooks your attention. The next urban tale is from a man in Portland,
Oregon who found a rat in his toilet. “No, way?” “A rat in your toilet?” You imagine how
you might react and the fear that you’d likely experience. And so goes the story of the
man who found the rat in his toilet and had to find a way to get rid of it. The story is
narrated by the man who found it by we hear Glass ask him questions and we learn
about the dreaded experience. The metal music that the man had to play loudly to pump
himself up. The gloves that he had to retrieve to ensure he was bitten. We also learn
something educational too. We learn that rats can climb up though pipes, and the only
time that they actually need to hold their breath is when they get into the little reservoir
in the toilet trap. This first act is not only entertaining but informative. If you’re a city
listener you might be a little more cautious next time you lift the toilet seat up just in
case there might be a rat lurking in the dark.
#396 #1 Party School
This American Life Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs This American Life Prologue Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Act 4 Total
#396: #1 Party School
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
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Breathing
Food
Water
Sex
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Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
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What’s great about this episode is aging the topic, partying in college of vast majority of
NPR listeners, 60% are college educated. Considering that this program is aired on
NPR it is likely that many of the listeners are college graduates. So it is likely
that many of the college grads have been to a college party before and can identify with
what it’s like. Life as a college student and the crazy party experience of being at Penn
State. The thing is covered from every angle. The neighbors who live near the college.
The noise complaints, the peeing on property and the annoying lifestyle that affects all
the residents near the college. Questions get raised such as should the college ban
drinking at tailgate parties? Impart more restrictions at frat parties? It’s like the reporter
is taking us into this world and interviewing people from every side. The bartender, the
police, the grocery clerks, students, parents, you know it all the people who play a role
and are
affected by the college partying are interviewed. And it’s up to us the listeners to decide
the results for ourselves.
Love/Belonging:
In this episode we “hear from all parties to the affair, the cheated on, as well as the
cheaters, and their different takes on what happened.”
Act 1
Andrew (Cheater, single man with child)
Lal (Wife: cheater)
George (Husband: Cheated-on)
Ruby Wright (Interviewee, daughter of George and Lal)
A single parent named Andrew has just moved to the English countryside. He knows no
one. He meets a lovely couple at the pub. They soon become friends. Over the summer
Andrew becomes a part of the couple’s family, along with their daughter, Ruby. The
woman, Lal, has a father who dies of cancer at the end of summer. Instead of turning to
her husband, who hasn’t any experience with losing a parent she turns to Andrew. He
can identify with her pain. Andrew was at his mother’s bedside when she passed away.
Lal explains her turning to Andrew had an understanding of what it was like. And it was
very hard for me not to fall in love with him.” Ruby asks, “were you surprised at the force
of your own attraction and actions?” Lal, “I am shocked now at how incredibly selfishly I
acted. And how oblivious I was to your pain and George’s (husband) pain and
(Andrew’s) pain. Almost like I deserved this thing, I was on this track and I was heading
off on and nothing was going to deter me. But as to say, almost as if I deserved it.
Almost as if I was owed it.” Nobody can control whom they are attracted too. But there’s
a difference between just looking and taking action. Lal clearly had a sense of belonging
and acceptance with Andrew that she didn’t have with her husband. Her marriage also
lacked intimacy, which her husband, George, blamed himself for George learned of his
wife’s affair but didn’t take action. Andrew got tipped that George knew and felt obliged
to talk with him and apologize. Instead of seeing reprimand for what he’s done George
tells him, “Andrew, I’ve lost my partner. I don’t want to lose my best friend.” He ends up
blaming his wife instead of the man who is sleeping with her. And somehow the two
remain friends. Lal later explains, “In my fantasy world, I would have carried on having a
passionate, physical, sexual relationship with Andrew and a fond relationship with
George.”
#341 “How to Talk to Kids.”
This American Life Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
This American Life
Prologue Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Total
#341: How to Talk to Kids
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
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Breathing
Food
Water
Sex
Sleep
Homeostasis
Excretion
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Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
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3
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This show is completely relevant if you’re a babysitter, teacher, parent
planning to be one. The show starts off with kids explaining the difficulty
with having adults not being able to understand them. “Girl 1, “ I have a
relative that’s my aunt. She doesn’t really know how to talk to kids. She’s
sort of—. Girl 2, “My grandma. She doesn’t’ know what to say to me. She’s
trying to talk to me, but usually she doesn’t know what to say.” Girl 5,
“Sometimes when they speak to children, their voice changes into this kind
of voice where they’re talking to two year olds.”
Then Glass addresses the audience many who are likely parents know
someone who is one. “Fellow adults, if you have ever had the experience of
hanging around with a kid and not knowing what to say, and you told
yourself, well, whatever, they’re just a child. They’re so different from us.
They won’t really notice. Turns out? Wrong.”
Don’t always ask kids about school. About who they have a crush on. This is
a common problem for any parent. How to talk to kids putting them down.
Being able to relate to them. Connecting with them on their level. Most aults
get caught up in their own world and with other audlts. So they imagine
there’s this huge barrier between them and their children. Glass shows that
there’s no barrier. Glass, “Now are you saying that people should talk to you
guys like you’re adults exactly? Or is there a difference? Girl 5, “Not like
adults, but just like, not three year olds. Just ten year olds, which we are.”
Glass again. “That is exactly what is so delicate. You don’t want to talk
down, but you also don’t want to be unclear. You want to relate and be fun,
but you also are the adult and you have to be the voice of responsibility, and
sometimes, actually, discipline. –This is Love/belonging. Trying to connect
with your kids or kids in general is often a challenge for adults. Glass goes
out and interviews both sides to see if he can find an answer to this age old
question.
So the kids already know adult jokes. They ask each other if the comedians
might know Dane Cook. The comics are asked to keep it G rated. Not to do
this, this or that. Then when the present their act it sucks. The kids don’t
think it’s funny. Then there are the hecklers. The kids that were jiving Mike
and Jim. So the comics invite the four hecklers up. And they say, “if you can
can’t make everyone laugh you then have to go sit down and not say
anything. So after some banter back and forth one kid goes, “So two Irish
guys are at a bar.” Everyone starts laughing including the comics. The
hecklers are stopped before they can proceed. It’s camp so everything is
planned. The comics have to continue the show even though it’s clear that
their jokes are landing. i.e. camp is made out of firewood. Didn’t like camp.
Fire. Haha. Not funny. Then the reporter asks the kids their thoughts…and
they say things like” make the jokes a little more mature.” Then the reporter
turns to the adult counselors. “I thought it was a little inappropriate etc.”
This is the exact opposite of what the kids wanted. There’s this huge
dichotomy. Kids are being exposed to adult things way before they’re adults
yet adults are treating kids like they’re much younger than they are or
immature.
#393: Infidelity
This American Life Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs This American Life Prologue Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Act 4 Total
#393: Infidelity
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
Physiological
Breathing
Food
Water
Sex
Sleep
Homeostasis
Excretion
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Once again, a widely experienced thing that so many people unfortunately go through.
Anyone who’s ever been in a relationship has probably had to worry about this at some
point. Either through jealousy or actual complication. The episode tries to answer the
“why.” Why would someone cheat? How does this affect the original relationship? What
if it hadn’t happened, would both parties still be happy? Multiple questions are raised
and addressed from multiple different perspectives. It’s up to the listener to decide what
they might do. But by opening your mind to what you might to a topic that you might
have already pre-judged expands your thinking. It scratches those critical thinking things
that Maslow put down.
This is the kind of thing that makes This American Life the leading podcast time and
time again on iTunes. It’s these universal themes: love, fear, strength, loss etc that tie all
of us together. It’s exploring what it is that makes us human. How do other people
experience the world? What are their thoughts? How did they handle that? Could I
empathize with them? And as with any good story there is a conflict/problem that is
addressed in every act. Beginning of the problem and then addressed through the acts
we tackle the problem from every angle in the quest to find the answer/the resolution.
It’s magic. It’s gold. It’s satisfaction. To listen to someone thinking similar thoughts as
you. To hear the tonal inflictions in someone’s voice explaining a difficult thing. To laugh
and the joy of having gone through a difficult time or just at the absurdity of the whole
thing. The greatest mystery in our lives is ourselves. And the more we know about
others the more we know about us.
Maslow:
10) #61
“What could be more American than the person who sees something they’ve
never done before, dreams they could do it, goes after that dream?” In
episode #61, Fiasco! Ira Glass explores a topic that many of us can all
identify with. When people aim for greatness but fail miserably. It’s human
nature to fail. This is how we grow, how we learn, and how we understand
the world around us. Act one, “opening night,” explores the play Peter Pan.
Author Jack Hitt is interviewed by host Ira Glass and shares the story of the
production, Peter Pan, in his local theatre in small town in the Appalachian
Mountains. He explains
“This is a story about a fiasco and about what makes a fiasco. And one
ingredient of many fiascos is that great, massive, heart-wrenching chaos
and failure are more likely to occur when a great ambition has come into
play, when plans are big, expectations great, hopes at their highest.” We’ve
all tried something big and completely failed. This could be college, being in
a job that we’re not qualified to handle or even a relationship that was
doomed from the start. Fiasos happen to us all at some point. Host, Ira
Glass explores what makes a fiasco in #61. In the first act he interviews
author Jack Hitt who witness his childhood town make a complete fiasco out
of the play Peter Pan. A new director had come in and wanted to make the
play using flying apparatuses to send cast members flying. This was 1973 so
this was something that was rarely seen outside of New York. And the small
Appalachian town started hearing rumors about this play. They were eager
to see it for themselves. It was the talk of the town as Mr. Hitt describes.
Everyone knows someone whose play a part in the play. The show starts and
everyone watches as Peter Pan begins his speech. “Anybody can fly. Why,
with ajust a little magic dust, one can fly.” Hitt goes on to explain, “the kids
suddenly just lurch into the air. And it become clear right away tha the
people that they’ve hired to run these flying apparatuses really aren’t quite
clear on how they actually work.” The story goes on explaining how the
audience watch in shock, but as the crazy, dangling actors wiz through the
air and aren’t gracefully maneuvering the stage they slowly loose it. And
they start laughing uncontrollably.
People are motivated by their dreams. And often when you pursue them you
jeopardize your safety needs. Risk of failure is always possible. A new
director has big dreams to use a new tool to make the play spectacular.
She’s given the chance to make it. Anticipation builds as many of the town’s
people know someone in the play. But at it’s opening it faults. It goes from
something with indefinite potential to becoming an unintentional comedian
act. That’s is why as Hit explains, “why I’ve remembered it for all these
years.” The story can resonate with many people. We’ve all been in
situations when expectations are high and instead of achieving greatness we
fail miserable. But that’s part of being human. This is how we grow and learn
as human beings. What the director did was to pursue self-actualization with
this play. She took the intentional risk of using a new technology that could
either be a huge success or a complete disaster. She strived for something
beyond her grasp and instead of success she and her play were an
embarrassment. But by taking that risk albeit one that didn’t turn out in the
end she was taking a chance of achieving something personal and possibly
spectacular for this small Appalachian town. And the story is particularly
pertinent because it speaks to the American dream. Of those who seek it
and who strive for it. We often hear when people succeed but rarely do we
see the failures. But it’s these risks that are involved that we must way the
rewards. The story is especially successful because of the relatedness of the
topic, fiasco but also because it’s combines entertainment with a life lesson.
That dreams are gambles and no matter how good your intentions maybe
they sometimes end in defeat. “This is why I have remembered this play for
25 years.”
(The following explores the top 10 podcasts. Each are summarized but
particular focus is presented in the first act which often set the mood/tone of
the rest of the show.).
#355: The Giant Pool of Money
This American Life Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
This American Life
Prologue
Act 1 Act 2 Total
#355: Giant Pool of Money
10
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
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Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
3
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Physiological
Breathing
Food
Water
Sex
Sleep
Homeostasis
Excretion
Less than six months after the start of the Global Recession in December
2007, episode #355: The Giant Pool of Money is aired. It’s mission: to
answer one major question, how did we end up in this crisis? It was a
difficult time in America. The housing bubble had recently popped, the
economy was in major decline, and thousands of people were losing their
jobs. So Glass decides to team up with NPR’s business and economics
correspondent, Adam Davidson to make sense of this whole thing. We start
at an awards banquet at the Ritz Carlton in Lower Manhattan where Jim
Finkel, was up for CDO of the year. The financial instrument that was central
to the global credit crisis that the country was in. Then we go to the exact
opposite of the spectrum. Davidson finds people on the opposide side of the
mortgage crisis, people facing foreclosure, trying to figure out how to keep
their homes. A man named Richard, a marine who after coming back from
Iraq bout “one of these fancy new mortgages with an adjustable rate. And
recently his rate reset. It has gone up by more than $2,000 a month. And he
has fallen behind on his payments. The story explains how his life sucks etc.
Then we move on to explain the huge amount of global capital that was
available at the time…70 billion. And how guys on Wall Street were “don’t
want to lose any of that money, and, even more so they want to make it
grow bigger. But to make it grow, they have to find something to invest in.
The global pool of money…”this number doubled since 2000. In 2000 this
was about $36 trillion. So it took several hundred years for the world to get
to #36 trillion. And then it took six years to get another $36 trillion. So
everybody invested in these sub-prime mortgages.
Maslow part: Self-actualization because it’s dealing with the pursuit of
knowledge and problem solving. People want to find the answer to what
caused the global recession and they want to know the whole story. Not just
from the bankers perspective or the home owner but the middle man, the
“all along that chain there were bankers, and brokers, and investors, and
homeowners. And everybody along the chain kind of deluded themselves,
thinking they could throw out rules of banking. —The housing market had
been rising and rising. People started to say, “Lots of people in the mortgage
industry had this faith that housing prices in the US simply never go down.”
And the fed interest rate is at a very low level of 1%. So “here are these
homeowners paying 5%, 9% to borrow money from some bank. So what if
the global pool could get in on that action.” —What’s great is how well the
program breaks down something so complicated so that various
demographics can all understand what took place here.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs This American Life Prologue Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Act 4 Total
#391: More is Less
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
Physiological
Breathing
Food
Water
Sex
Sleep
Homeostasis
Excretion
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Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
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This American Life Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs This American Life Prologue Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Act 4 Total
#389: Frenemies
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
Physiological
Breathing
Food
Water
Sex
Sleep
Homeostasis
Excretion
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This American Life Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
This American Life
Act 1
Act 2 Total
#388: Rest Stop
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
6
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Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
Physiological
Breathing
Food
Water
Sex
Sleep
Homeostasis
Excretion
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This American Life Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
This American Life
Prologue Act 1 Act 2 Total
#360: Switched At Birth
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
!
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
!
Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
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Food
Water
Sex
Sleep
Homeostasis
Excretion
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This American Life Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs This American Life Prologue Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Act 4
Total
#061: Fiasco!
Self Actualization
Morality
Creativity
Spontaneity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
Estem
Self-Esteem
Confidence
Achievement
Respect of Others
Respect by Others
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Love/Belonging
Friendship
Family
Sexual Intimacy
Safety
Security of Body
Of Employment
Of Resources
Of Morality
Of the Family
Of Health
Of Property
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Food
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Homeostasis
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!"#$"%&'()*+,
About Us. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved May 22, 2014, from http://www.thisamericanlife.org/about
Barthes, R. (2006). Myth today. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader,3, 293-302.
Sugiyama, M. S. (2001). Narrative theory and function: Why evolution matters.Philosophy and
Literature, 25(2), 233-250.
Harnessing the Power of Stories - Lean In. (n.d.). RSS 20. Retrieved May 22, 2014, from
http://leanin.org/education/harnessing-the-power-of-stories
Hart, J. (2012). Storycraft: The complete guide to writing narrative nonfiction. University of Chicago Press.
Ullrich, R. A. (1972). A theoretical model of human behavior in organizations: An eclectic approach.
General Learning Press.
Tietjen, M. A., & Myers, R. M. (1998). Motivation and job satisfaction.Management decision, 36(4), 226231.
Kumar, S. P. K., & Poovaiah, R. (2011). Presence of Universal Elements Across Static Visual Narratives
(Svns). Design Principles & Practice: An International Journal, 5(3).
Ira Glass on Storytelling, part 1 of 4. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved May 22, 2014, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loxJ3FtCJJA
New England Public Radio. (2008, January 1). New England Public Radio. Retrieved May 22, 2014, from
http://nepr.net/underwrite/audience-demographics/
Ira Glass of 'This American Life': 'We're out to amuse ourselves' - The Lantern. (n.d.). The Lantern.
Retrieved May 22, 2014, from http://thelantern.com/2014/03/ira-glass-american-life-amuse/
Fisher, W. R. (1984). Narration as a human communication paradigm: The case of public moral
argument. Communications Monographs, 51(1), 1-22.
Simons, J. A., Irwin, D. B., & Drinnien, B. A. (1987). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Retrieved October, 9,
2009.