Die Krise der Narration

Narratives highlight the binding, connecting, and obligatory aspects of storytelling. In doing so, they create community and eliminate contingency. Yet, precisely where everything has become so arbitrary and random today, in the midst of the storm of contingency in the information society, storytelling loudly asserts itself and makes circulating narratives appear contingent as well.

Storytelling spreads amidst a great disorientation and meaninglessness that characterize our information society. While it caters to a deeply felt need for narrative, ultimately it only produces stories in a consumable form. Narrative and advertising merge into one. Capitalism appropriates narrative: stories sell. Storytelling is story-selling. As a result, narratives lose their original power.

The ubiquitous storytelling cannot transform the information society back into a narrative community. Narrative and information are opposing forces. The inflationary use of narratives paradoxically points to a crisis of narration. However, this narrative crisis has a long history. Byung-Chul Han's new essay traces its origins. In doing so, Han consistently continues his reflections on our information society.