Fall Awake
"History is fables agreed upon."
Kenny’s father had a strict bedtime curfew for his two sons. A curfew that he would forgive from time to time in favor of a good movie. One late night, Kenny watched his father cry during a movie. “He didn’t even cry at mother’s funeral,” he thought. “But he cries at movies.”
This is when Kenny realized the power of the cinema. A power that comes easily in the context of a fictional story with made-up people and events, surprise endings, shocking betrayals and twists of fate.
Yet, for Kenny, it was the drama of real-life that ultimately captured his imagination.
Snippets of Kenny’s story appear in a recent issue of American Way Magazine. (Yes, the one you find in the seat pocket in front of you on an American Airlines flight.) In an article titled “An * Runs Through It,” author Kevin Raub inquires “What is America’s best idea ever?”
The answer, of course, is as subjective as the answer to the question, “Who makes the best pizza in America?” For a 12-year-old might say America’s best idea is the iPod. A 32-year-old might say it’s the Internet. Your grandfather might say it was plastic. Marconi might shout from the grave, “It’s the radio.”
As far as Kenny is concerned, America’s best idea is the concept of preserving broad swaths of pristine landscapes, not for kings, nobleman or the rich, but for everyone…all the time. To Kenny, better known as documentary film maker, Ken Burns, The National Park is America’s best idea ever. Ken is famous for making documentary films that have been compared to Mozart symphonies. He’s never rewritten history, rather he puts a new finish on America’s storied past by recounting it in new and compelling ways.
He’s said, “I realized in my early forties that in some ways I had never truly put my mother to rest. I was magically keeping her alive in my imagination.” This tragic mental disposition is most likely what spurred Ken to tell stories in a way that essentially wakes the dead, bringing details back to life that make for rich, evocative stories about subjects we think we know everything about. From baseball to The Civil War, the Ken Burns version of these stories makes us feel like we’re hearing them for the first time.
Stories about people and events are at the core of every good brand story. They are made of history and steeped in truth. Compelling truth peppered with details to which people can relate on a deeper level. It’s how Ken Burns became legendary. And it’s how you can do the same for your brand.
Is your brand story sleeping? If so, what are some ways you can wake it up?
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