#10 - ‚Gone Cuckoo‘ and Malcolm Green
Another storytelling program that deals with a modern challenge.
To be honest until that evening I never really cared or thought much about cuckoos. Of course, I would search my pockets for money every time heard them. But apart from that?
After one and a half hours in the yurt on ‘The Land’ I know more about cuckoos
... than probably a bunch of biology lessons would have told me. And not only that: I now feel compassion and admiration for these birds – I now really care about them. That’s what storytelling can do!
There once was a research project.
They were looking for ways to communicate their findings to the public. That’s where Malcolm Green got in: “Why don’t you try storytelling for a change?” And he was in. They fitted a radio tag on a cuckoo and monitored his flight. But Malcolm did not stick to the computer screen. He also flew to Africa hoping to find his little friend there.
In this program Malcolm takes us on the journey of this little hero
... sprinkled now and then with myths and fairytales of the cuckoo.
I don’t need to write anything here about this program being entertaining and interesting. That goes without saying.
Really remarkable is the knowledge and even above that the sensitisation
... for the needs of these creatures and the fragility of their habitats that this one evening created.
Like ‘Nexus’ – but still in a very different way – this storytelling program conveys to its audience a sense of what we are losing and of the urgency and importance to save it.
And it does that on levels our intellect can’t reach.
And probably nothing else but storytelling can. Storytelling doesn't just pass on information. It makes you experience it. How precious for the change we need!