Conclusion: Narrative Templates and Social Negotiations

Abstract

The rationale for this study is that texts it considers and the narrative fables they instantiate have important social effects. By codifying genre conventions and expectations, these texts can influence the creation and reception of further narratives, reproducing certain tropes and norms, while potentially making it more difficult for counter-narratives to be developed or distributed. The narratives these texts repeatedly frame then become an important source of influence on how we understand, respond to, and engage with the industries they represent. Narratives circulating within popular culture actively, if unconsciously, influence our cognitive architecture, determining how we make sense of the agents, institutions, and events shaping our world. The analytic approach used in this monograph could be extended to texts from other countries and other industries.