Telling a Better Story: An interview with Dr. John Bucher, Part II of II

Dr. John Bucher is the Executive Director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation, as well as a celebrated author and an alumni of the Mythology & Depth Psychology program at Pacifica. He will be teaching in the “Joseph Campbell: Myth & Storytelling as a Gateway to Psyche and Soul” certificate program, offered by Pacifica Extension in partnership with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, August 22, 2024 – November 7, 2024. For more information and to register, visit us here. Dr. Bucher will also be a keynote speaker at Pacifica’s Journey Week. I’m delighted to speak with John about his upcoming certificate and work.  This is Part II of II.

Angela: In your own career, storytelling is key. You are the author of many books, one of which is Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by BookAuthority as one of the best storytelling books of all time. That’s a big title to live up to! What does storytelling mean to you?  

John: Storytelling is the way that human beings make sense of the world around them. We’ve used it as our chief mechanism for moving through the world for thousands of years. So when you think about it, stories really are how we psychologically make meaning of the world around us. The problems we face in the world are by in large storytelling problems. I live in LA and am often cut off in traffic, and my mind immediately forms a story about the person who cut me off, that they’re rude, only care about themselves, etc. My mind creates a story around that person. Sometimes I’ll be walking through my house and I’ll stub my toe and say, “The universe is out to get me today.” I create a story about something as simple as a bruised toe. I tell myself stories about the people I meet, the country I live in, the universe and even what it means to be conscious. Everything is, in a sense, a story we’re telling ourselves. Storytelling is the water that surrounds us. Fish aren’t aware they’re in water. And we’re surrounded by story in the same way that fish are water, but it happens on a subconscious level many times for us. When we begin to make that conscious, we begin to experience a transformation within ourselves. There’s a key and profound connection between storytelling and transformation. I believe we have to understand storytelling if we’re going understand how transformation is experienced in our lives, because transformation is about a change in our story. 

Angela: Obviously this is subjective and dependent on what sources of news you read/watch, but as a generalization, the last five years of headlines have seemed more dire, with greater stakes and potential disasters on the horizon. Where does this trend come from and how can we counteract it in our own lives?  

John: Great question. I think one thing we know from psychology is that change is associated with fear. And as human beings experience change, it often heightens their sense of fear. We’ve lived through such massive changes the last few decades that it is to be expected that our levels of fear would rise to the same levels that change has occurred. When change happens so quickly it causes massive spikes in our collective fear, and that fear has to have an outlet. We used to share our fears with our family and friends. There weren’t a lot of outlets beyond in-person social connections. As we’ve progressed technologically, we have more ways to express fear than ever before, from traditional media to social media.  

But I think we have to recognize that we do have a great amount of agency in the choices we make and what we consume. And many of us fall victim to going to sources that are so driven by how much engagement they can produce that they’re going to give us a very quick version of a story that lacks the depth and nuance that might give us hope or peace around that issue. Headlines are not the full story. We’re reading a synopsis of a story and it’s the view of one person. There’s a need for media literary and engagement around conversations with each other without going to the lowest common denominator of emotion. If we can begin to have conversations with each other we’ll begin to see that the issues interweaved within most stories are not binary, not simply good or bad. The truth is, we don’t’ often know what a good or bad story is. A lot of my work falls under the banner called Telling a Better Story. My hope with that work is that we can all begin with the idea that we can tell a better story than the one that’s being told now. We live in a culture that is thirsty for a better story.  

Angela: Your website is the first one I’ve seen among Pacifica interviewees with a “Merch” page! The words on the t-shirt are “Telling a better story.” What is the origin of the phrase and how does it represent your work? 

John: I’ve had that name for my company for a number of years now and it came to me when I was sitting at an airport considering what my work was about. Bringing about transformation in the lives of people and in the journeys of organizations and governments, and telling a better story seemed to encapsulate that.  

I am very fortunate to get to work with a number of high-profile individuals in Hollywood. I keep their names private, but there are ones you would recognize. And in my work with them, we work on their own personal story and how they might tell a better story in the life they lead and work they do. That has been a real gift to me. I’ve also been working with a few folks overseas who are YouTube influencers who are interested in how to tell a better story in their lives. I have one client who is a YouTube influencer in the world of gaming addiction. He works with people struggling specifically with video game addiction. I have another client who works with people struggling with alcohol addiction in Ireland. I have a client who is an influencer in the world of women’s fashion, and she wants to tell a better story for women, and that is meaningful to me as well. I’ve worked with people in many different spheres of influence. I’ve had the opportunity to work with individuals, for-profits, non-profits and even government organizations in this country and around the world.  I have a few projects right now, working with international organizations, that are about looking at specific cultural problems in the world today and how we might tell a better story around those issues.  

I also continue to do my work with studios, writers, and directors here in Hollywood. I’ve recently been working with Nickelodeon on a couple of different projects and with several authors, who are in the midst of writing books. I bring a mythological, as well as a depth psychological lens, to all of that work. 

Angela: That you so much for speaking with me, and I look forward to hearing more about your work.  

To learn more or register for the “Joseph Campbell: Myth & Storytelling as a Gateway to Psyche and Soul” certificate program, offered by Pacifica Extension in partnership with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, August 22, 2024 – November 7, 2024, visit us here. To learn more about Pacifica’s Journey Week, visit us here.