Creative Discourse

Creative Discourse

Share this post

Creative Discourse
Creative Discourse
Do you feel emotionally manipulated yet?
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Do you feel emotionally manipulated yet?

Storytelling is, inherently, manipulative. But not all manipulation is inherently exploitative.

Michael Schaus's avatar
Michael Schaus
Mar 29, 2025
∙ Paid

Share this post

Creative Discourse
Creative Discourse
Do you feel emotionally manipulated yet?
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

Are storytellers nothing more than highly effective emotional manipulators?

That thought occurred to me the other night while I was watching one of my favorite Coen brothers’ films: Fargo. (Miller’s Crossing and No Country for Old Men round out my top three.)

The Coen brothers tend to write scripts that are, somehow, emotionally powerful while still manag…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Creative Discourse to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Michael Schaus
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More