Cosplay
How would your favorite fictional character take on your problem?
This is Andrew Benedict-Nelson, social change strategist and innovation educator. Each week, I share a question that you and your organization can use to find a new perspective on the toughest problems you face. Reply to the e-mail or comment on the site and we can talk about them together!
NOW FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTION
Imagine telling the story of your problem using the people, places, events, and ideas from your favorite fictional universe. It can be a classic like Jane Eyre or something off-the-wall like a comic strip or meme. If everyone viewed your problem this way, how would it change? In particular, what characters do you personally connect with and how does that change your role in the problem?
Most people love this exercise, but every once in a while someone thinks it’s frivolous, so I’ll address that charge up front.
All of our efforts to solve big problems are embedded in societal narratives — usually ones we did not choose. This exercise disrupts those narratives by asking you to import a different one.
To some extent, it doesn’t matter which fictional universe you choose. Even if you hate My Little Pony, you are going to think differently about your problem if you have to reimagine it in a world where friendship is magic.
However, I usually recommend people do this exercise using stories they are passionate about. The first reason is because it will make you inherently creative and optimistic. The other reason is that the more you know about your fictional universe, the more options you have for reframing the story of the problem. So if you are using Spider-Man but have trouble deciding whether your organization is Peter Parker or Miles Morales, you’re already bringing a new level of critical thinking to the problem.
Here are some steps to make it happen.
HOW TO DO IT
Begin by choosing your fictional universe. Like I said, the best choice is one you feel passionately about and that you know really well. However, if you happen to love a whole bunch of different stories, another way to choose is by picking a fictional universe that feels really different from the world of your problem. So if everyone in the world of your problem is ridiculously polite and afraid of offending each other, go with Game of Thrones. If no one can have a conversation without offending each other, try Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.
Reimagine your problem as a story in this fictional world. The most straightforward approach to doing this is by picking people or organizations and assigning them the parts of different characters. You will almost immediately begin to deviate from the plot of your source material by saying things like, “In this version of the story, Voldemort was elected Prime Minister.” That’s okay — that’s your imagination filling in the gaps between the source material and the real world.
But don’t just think about characters! Fictional universes are often rich with symbolic places, events, objects, and other concepts. Sometimes one of these will jump out at you for a reason you don't fully understand. Be adventurous in grabbing one element of the story and running with it. If the Borg from Star Trek explain an aspect of your problem, don’t worry about whether that story fits with their every exchange with Captain Janeway.
Compare and contrast. If you are doing this exercise as a part of a group, you’ll have a lot of fun seeing what other people came up with. Even if you all picked the same fictional universe, you’ll find that you probably interpreted it differently or had unresolved questions you can work out together. Even if you are doing this alone at your desk, try sharing your story with someone you trust to see how they react. This will help you sort out your intuitive feelings about the story and how it connects to your problem.
Come back to the real world. Your brief foray into the fictional universe may feel like a joke or a dream, but there is almost certainly some value in it. Ask yourself what you could see when you were inside the new story that wasn’t clear in the old one. If that is not immediately clear, then try writing a list of similarities and differences between how your problem is described in the real world and how you imagined it in the fictional universe. This will help you identify aspects of the story of your problem you want to change.
One last note — remember that this exercise isn't about rebranding or putting a positive spin on things. If you pick Star Wars as your universe because Star Wars is popular and you want your organization to be popular, this won't work. Commit fully to the idea that you could tell the problem of your story in a new way by grabbing elements of a story you love, but then be prepared to set the exercise aside and only hold on to your most vital insights.
CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE?
Not only do I have a ton, but I have a ton using Harry Potter, since that's a fictional universe so many people are familiar with. My favorite was a group of health care CEOs who decided to imagine new technologies using magical objects and spells from the world of Hogwarts. In the end, the idea that broke through was the “portkey,” an enchanted object that helps people travel from one place to another. They used the idea of this magical object to disrupt the idea that the world of people with serious illnesses is totally inaccessible to the world of healthy people.
What I remember most about this group was how a special feeling formed around the word “portkey” before they had settled on a specific idea. You may encounter the same feeling whether the word is TARDIS or Balrog or Pinafore. Trust your instincts and use what you know about the story to find new ideas.
COOL, SO WHAT MAKES THIS WORK?
This question is an example of how to jump-start creative thinking about your problem using the history dynamic. It’s one of six innovation dynamics I help people master to improve their critical thinking and build strategies for social change. Reply to this e-mail with your answer to the question and I’ll let you know what I think! Or learn more by visiting http://www.teachingsocialchange.com.
Illustration: Baltimore Comic-Con attendees dressed up as characters from G.I. Joe. Creative Commons license via Ryan Quick. Knowing is half the battle…
