Founded in 1984 in Atlanta, Georgia, George King & Associates is an ad hoc group of filmmakers producing non-fiction films, television, and radio programs for public broadcasting, cable networks, and screenings at community venues. The goal of our work is simply to create media that challenges audiences to participate in the creation of a better world for all people. We acknowledge that this goal is anything but simple...
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From the Archives: WORD OF MOUTH, 3 x 30 min (1987) "Talking out loud involves communication - the very nature of community is strengthened by it; silence is like a closed door. I think when stories are not told, something happens to us. Stories, they're like bread and wine, they're essential to us." -- STUDS TERKEL, writer, Chicago, Ill.
Thanks to Spencer Herzog at Creative Sound Concepts, we have recently digitally re-mastered this award-winning, 3-part radio series about storytelling.
1. Why Do People Tell Stories?
From science and philosophy to the foundation of the major religions, from entertainment to personal revelations; the first program examines the need for narrative, the roles stories play in our lives.
"Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories…Listening children know stories are there. When their elders sit and begin, children are just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole." -- EUDORA WELTY, author, Mississippi
2. Where Do Stories Come From?
The second part of the series assesses the origins, history and migrations of stories, and asks why narrative has always played such a prominent role in the southern states.
"When you're talking about an oral tradition, you're talking about something that goes back and forth--you're dealing with continual adaption and interpretation. Two people activating something to make it into what they need it to be for their lives at that moment." -- BARBARA MYERHOFF, anthropologist, Los Angeles, California
3. Who Is telling Stories Today?
From radio talk shows to TV preachers, psychiatrists to stand-up comedians; the final program looks at the impact of change and technology and the implications of a disappearing narrative tradition. These programs feature an engaging blend of anecdote and analysis, woven together in the seamless style of illustration and exchange that imitates conversation.
"If you can tell stories about Lake Wobegon to people fro II I Lake Wobegon and have them believe them even though you made them up, that's success, that's a home run for a storyteller! I've had members of my immediate family call me after I've told a story that was a tissue of lies from beginning to end and ask me if that really didn't happen. It's not a talent to admire-or to recommend to children." -- GARRISON KEILLOR, broadcaster, Minnesota
MURMUR TRACK
This project is an audio track designed as ambient sound for a traveling Habitat for Humanity exhibit on Poverty Housing. The concept is that two overlapping tracks play on different speaker systems as you walk around this photo and graphic exhibit. They are intended to mix with existing ambience and subtly reinforce the message. It is called a ‘murmur’ track because it is intended to run at an almost imperceptible level, like a whisper. This mix runs about 20 minutes.
