Whose Story?

Oma's thoughtfully crafted presentation on Monday brought to light the idea of perspective in a story. In Fatou Diome's The Belly of the Atlantic, the islanders assume that going to France will bring about success, based on the accounts they have witnessed (ex. the old man with the TV). However, the association of going to France with gaining wealth does not happen for all. Moussa's story in chapter 6 provides the exact antithesis for the common island belief; instead of riches, he brought back "an image of France never seen on postcards."1 This metaphor stands true – the image that Islanders associated with France presented all the best parts of the country, particularly the wealth. Why would one talk about the negative parts of his or her trip? The Islanders are Francophones and dream the best of France as they look for ways to escape their impoverished lives on the Island and help alleviate the poverty of their families. However, it is important to have more than one perspective or same type of story about a person, place, or thing. As Oma mentioned, we often risk accepting experiences as the whole truth.

Coincidentally, today the popular app Snapchat included Paris in its Stories. Snapchat is an app through which users can send photos and videos to their friends, who also use the app, for up to ten seconds, or they can post the media to their "My Story" for as long as 24 hours. In a recent app update, Snapchat includes collective/community Stories from different events (ex. ND vs. FSU was an event captured on Stories). Through a phone's location services, Snapchat could determine users in Paris and give them the option to contribute their snaps to the Paris Story. Stories last until the duration of the event, and Stories about cities usually last for a day and a half so that people all over the world can view it at a convenient time. Stories offer an entry to view an event that you may not be able to physically attend, or they give the absent public a taste of the event by influencing how they view it, based on what is sent to the Story.

The global audience allows those around the world to view snapshots of Paris throughout the day. Based on the amount of people I know with the app, the fact that it is consistently in the top 10 free apps in the Apple App Store, and based on the range of events featured through Story, Snapchat has an extremely expansive audience. This huge group of viewers means that the Story of Paris is shared with so many all over the world. More than that, the ability of users to define the Story helps us viewers to see the image that is "never shared on postcards." First, that people with the app can send in their own, distinct stories makes for a never-before-seen experience. While there are classic shots of Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and Pei's Louvre Pyramids in the story, each has its own twist and people or animals in them. Beyond interpretations of the images likely to be seen on postcards, the Story includes lesser known experiences. For example, I do not think those on holiday back at the Island would tell the community about the catacombs, but through the Snapchat Story, viewers can see what this is – not just by image, but also by accompanying text.

A (depending on your interests) less touristy (and relevant to Moussa) event featured on the story was a group of boys headed to the Paris Saint-Germain vs. FC Barcelona match. We are shown images of personal and everyday life, such as the skateboarders, or the image on the bottom right of first picture of a bottle of wine with the caption "[French flag emoji] Typical evening in Paris [wine emoji]" and the geofilter "PARIS LIFE"). The text ads sentiment, and the geographically exclusive filters remind us one more time that the story is about Paris, France, lest we think this Story came from Paris, TX or the Paris casino in Vegas. Similarly, the incorporation of video brings in an auditory dimension; nothing can do justice in imitating the sound of the bells at Notre Dame. Video also allows people to talk. One girl gave a message in both English and French (the Story had deleted by the time I tried to go back and check the message to include it). I could also see dogs and how macarons are made!

The Paris Story on Snapchat functioned as a short-lived, virtual postcard that exposed more than the iconic images of Paris by delivering a broader sense of the city to those away from Paris.

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1 Fatou Diome, The Belly of the Atlantic, trans. Lulu Norman and Ros Schwartz, (Paris: Editions Anne Carrière, 2006), 73.