Narrative Research

Cinereach believes that sustainability is one of the most paramount issues where narrative change requires a shift. Storytelling about the climate crisis is increasing across film and other media, but we want to learn more about how those stories can reach a wider audience, and how they can be told as effectively and equitably as possible. By talking with people who understand the climate crisis on a deep and often personal level, we hoped to gain greater insight into how to develop, produce, and distribute climate stories that people will love, and have the power to change the world.

We synthesized the information gathered from those conversations and created narrative resources to aid creatives in producing engaging and effective storytelling. Among those insights were 5 key points to highlight in stories about the climate crisis:

1. Adaptation: Showing audiences how people, systems, and communities adapt to changing environments helps counteract a sense of hopelessness and powerlessness.
2. Time: Effective climate stories balance the issue’s complex temporal dimensions, simultaneously illustrating the urgency while contextualizing historical impacts—bolstered by environmental history and indigenous knowledge—and long-term consequences. 
3. The role of institutions: Storytelling can improve the understanding of the multifaceted role of institutions—including governments, corporations, scientific entities, and social organizations—and how they influence policy decisions, resource allocation, and public perceptions.
4. Shifting values: By depicting shifting values in storytelling we can provide more honest, authentic, and culturally rooted portrayals in how individuals connect to the vastness of life on Earth and what belief systems motivate them in their actions.
5. Individualism v. Collectivism: Finding a balance between individualism and collectivism in a story recognizes the significance of personal actions alongside the necessity for collective efforts at community, national, and global levels.

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The Narratives of Leadership Project is an extension of an earlier collaboration with Partnership for Public Service, The Civic Leadership Stories Project, where we developed a platform for filmmakers seeking to tell compelling narratives about political leaders. In order to develop our own projects with authentic, multi-dimensional characters and narratives, we spoke with a wide variety of civic leaders to identify key themes, messaging strategies, and storytelling techniques that can inspire and mobilize audiences. We were especially interested in how to reach audiences under 30, to help instill a sense of civic responsibility and activism that can shape the world for years to come. Too often, leaders are depicted as corrupt or incompetent, but there are rich stories to tell about leaders who:

ARE GENUINE: Authenticity creates trust. Showing a leader’s challenges, failures, and their full lives outside of politics reminds audiences that we’re all just people.

GO ON A JOURNEY: Following a leader as they develop new beliefs from new information, societal norms, personal experiences, or political dynamics fosters more empathy for the complexities of decision-making.

CELEBRATE SMALL VICTORIES: Demand for instant gratification poses significant challenges for leaders when meaningful change often happens from incremental shifts over a long period of time.

BREAK THE MOLD: Featuring young leadership brings unique ideas, diverse perspectives, and optimistic energy to the table. Their stories empower other young people to recognize their own agency and potential to affect change.

Thanks to these insights, Cinereach is developing a web series that highlights undersung civic leaders in a way that’s insightful, funny, and even gamified to introduce younger audiences to new ways ordinary people can make extraordinary change.

We have a crisis of civic leadership at a time when it is most urgently needed. Good leaders seem hard to find on screen and off. But so many unexpected, inspiring, and entertaining stories are waiting to be told! The Civic Leadership Stories Project supports scriptwriters, showrunners, producers, talent, and other creatives telling storylines about characters who are shaking up how things are done in places of power. These storylines can inspire audiences to get involved with voting, advocacy, and public service. Visit the https://www.civicleadershipstories.com official site to learn more and download free toolkits.

The preteen years (ages 10-12) is a formative period where young people start to grapple with complex ideas of identity, fairness, and community. Media for this audience has the potential to shape how those beliefs develop, but there is currently a gap in the market for content specifically designed to reflect the needs and interests of their age group. We set out to learn how to effectively and responsibly reach this audience, focusing on the inclusion of diverse identities and experiences. We spoke to caregivers, creators, educators, researchers, and young people themselves and found:

Thematic Opportunities: Young people enjoy content full of adventure, humor, and relatable but extraordinary experiences. They want what they watch to mirror their lives, and explore family, social dynamics, and cultural identity. They want a balance of escapism and reality that helps calm them down rather than add to their stress.

New Media Landscape: There’s a preference for unscripted, user-curated episodic content that can be consumed nonlinearly. Young people are drawn to interactiveness, customization, and communal experiences. They value and are heavily influenced by their parasocial relationships with social media stars over traditional media stars.

Unexplored Topics: There is a lack of content about middle school life that can help them navigate this complex time. Media is often aspirational and doesn’t reflect financial hardships or different class experiences. There’s a desire to combat the superficiality and consumerism that dominates social media.

Representation and Authenticity: There are still deep wells of stories from diverse cultural experiences to draw from that are underrepresented in today’s media. Young people want to see themselves reflected in what they consume in authentic depictions of their lives, whether it’s fictional or gaining behind-the-scenes access to others’ experiences.

Desire for Community: People want to engage with media that fosters conversations, allows them to connect with their peers, and cross generational divides. Integrate positive messaging, educational opportunities, and shareable moments into the narrative.