IABD 2000, Las Vegas

by Robert F. Dennehy

Pace University

Abstract

THE CELTIC STORYTELLER VISITS LAS VEGAS

If a Celtic storyteller from Ancient Ireland were to step into Las Vegas today, what would he see? In this paper the storyteller will reflect on his natural world; Las Vegas would be seen as virtual reality or even hyper-reality. Here is a sampling of the storyteller's tour.

The storyteller is struck by the enormous 27-story atrium of the Luxor atrium. He hears visitors remark that it is more real than Egypt B and safer and cleaner, too. They seem to prefer it to the real thing in Egypt.

The Celtic storyteller is drawn back to the 5000 year old passage tomb at New Grange where ritual and settlement centered. The entire burial chamber is covered by mound of 200,000 tons of stone and earth. This awe-inspiring spectacle is one of the most sacred sites in Ireland.

The storyteller revels in this natural phenomenon of New Grange. He

recalls the phrase from Blake: "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is B infinite. He contrasts the preference for the empty calories of the virtual reality of Luxor to the rich banquet of the natural world. The storyteller is chagrined by the disconnection from nature and the packaging of reality at the Luxor.

The next stop in this abbreviated tour of Las Vegas is Digital Storytelling at Coca-Cola. He observes the attempt to re-live all those key events in your life that revolve around Coke. The Celtic storyteller muses that the traditional storyteller demonstrates his vision in his telling, and vision cannot be so dogmatic and didactic that individuals in the audience feel they have no reflective powers or interpretative opportunities. Part of what an audience might give the receptive storyteller is a new and refreshing take on the people or events in the story. Wise storytellers also listen.

The Coca-Cola version of storytelling is a commercial venture. The audience identify celebrities from the story line, they type their own Coke-stories into the computer terminals, Coca-Cola tracks the increase in coke consumption among the audience members!

The Celtic storyteller is shocked and confused by the lack of communion in Las Vegas. Maybe the problem starts with the name Las Vegas B meadow. But there is no water and the green is in paper form.