Joey Liu, Period 6, 03/12/24

 Joey Liu

Period 6

3/12/24

Research Paper 

Is oral literature still relevant today in the age of electronics and the internet? 

Ever play a game of telephone? A simple verbal message becomes almost cryptic after passing through just a single cycle around the circle. In a world where data and information is stored in a binary system we call the internet, oral literature seems to take on an increasingly obscure role in our society. 

I beg to differ.

Despite obvious setbacks such as a level of subjectivity from the listener’s perspective, oral records have an important role in understanding topics and historical events. It’s “lackadaisical” organization (compared to a written text) actually gives oral communication an edge with the audience. For example, the incorporation of hand gestures and tone changes helps keep the listener engaged, evoking emotions that otherwise would be absent. During the Norse Mythology unit, each group was required to write a story/script based off a minor character in a chapter and then act it out in front of the class. Every short had someone to record the video + script reading. Personally, I enjoyed most of the presentations as one of Netflix’s producers, but the stories that stood out the most were the ones that had tone changes and movements/acting. The emotions I experienced from each telling was far greater comparatively than the readings done at home of, as an example, Stone Blind etc. Tangible outbreaks of laughter from both myself and classmates serve as a clear reminder of the nuances that oral literature covers where written words do not. 

Moreover, oral records serve as a method of firsthand primary sourcing. You get an immersive, full experience by interviewing someone rather than, say, just reading about their work. According to the Smithsonian Institution Archives, it states, “— primary source material—from personal recollections through planned recorded interviews… used to preserve the voices, memories and perspectives of people…a tool we can all use to engage with and learn from family members, friends, and the people we share space with in an interview that captures their unique history and perspective in their own words” (Byrne). This aspect of a direct one way verbal communication is valuable in its own sense. Just imagine that you’re training for an upcoming basketball game. Your coach tells the team that a guest NBA star coached by Michael Jordan will be coming to train with them. Exciting right? Now imagine he instead said that Michael Jordan himself was going to come and give lessons on basketball. Hear the difference? (Not a basketball fan? I bet you still know who Michael Jordan is). 

All in all, humans are human, and the means in which we communicate are multidimensional. It is important that stories continue to be told and retold, fostering the sense of “beneficial subjectivity.” It is important to remember and understand the significance of both oral and written literature in our culture today, thereby ensuring that we gain a more complete understanding of history/cultural heritage and even entertainment. 

Byrne, Hannah. “An Introduction to Oral History.” Smithsonian Institution Archives, 9 June 2020, siarchives.si.edu/blog/introduction-oral-history#:~:text=Oral%20history%20is%20a%20technique,perspectives%20of%20people%20in%20history.