Frames, Stories, Narratives and Seagulls

On deconstructing the subconscious narratives that inform our thoughts and actions

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the interplay between frames, stories and narratives. Three siblings within the broad, far-reaching family of human culture and language, they often work together on a subconscious level to inform our day to day feelings and actions.

Like most siblings, they have moments where they get on splendidly — and at other times, they can instantaneously reinforce negative or unhelpful views that we hold about other people or groups of people.

Frames are the mental structures we form about how we see the world, and are informed by language. They are the cognitive shortcuts we use to provide instant context and information about any given situation.

Stories have a beginning, middle and end, and usually serve to fulfil some predetermined purpose — to inspire, educate, entertain, inform, persuade or manipulate.

Narratives are a system or collection of related stories that are inherently felt or understood to be true by any individual or group. They look to past events, experiences, conversations, stories, and frames to inform the present or the future. For better or worse, they hold a great deal of power over…