It was inevitable. Once I dragged Ben Trovato—the mysterious King of the Narrative—into public notice, it was only a matter of time before he started his own Twitter feed.
Incidentally, I did a little research and found that there are a couple of different folks out there operating under the name “Ben Trovato”—a humor columnist in South Africa and a sleazy Tumblr devoted to an odd kind of “fashion photography” in which the women never seem to be wearing much in the way of actual clothing. But I’ve done my due diligence and can assure you that this Ben Trovato, @TrovatoBen, is the real, genuine Ben Trovato. I would stake the accumulated credibility of the entire journalism profession on it.
Now that he is up and actively posting on Twitter, we’re starting to learn a lot more about him, such as his favorite vacation destination (Kyrzbekistan, of course) and the latest additions to his résumé (special advisor to the president of the University of Virginia).
He has even posted a Twitter manifesto explaining why he does what he does. It turns out there is a whole philosophy behind it. And it also turns out that Ben Trovato is embracing his new place in the limelight and wants to take credit for the work he has heretofore done behind the scenes. Here is what he had to say, 140 characters at a time.
Questions about whether I am the “real” Ben Trovato show how far people still have to go in understanding the Creed of the Narrative. 1/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
There is now a narrative about me, therefore it is necessary for me to exist. If you understand that, you will understand everything. 2/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
The truth of a narrative is not dependent on the truth of any one particular fact. 3/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
If one particular accusation of rape is invented, does that mean no woman has ever been raped? Certainly not. 4/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
If one specific accusation about a police shooting isn’t supported by evidence, does that mean no one is ever wrongly killed by a cop? 5/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
If one particular story about racism turns out to be embellished, does that mean that no one has ever suffered because of racism? 6/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
Since the validity of a narrative is independent of any one fact, it follows that it is independent of all facts. 7/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
Plato had it right: concrete, perceptual facts are varying, ephemeral, unreliable. 8/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
Facts are reported, debunked, re-reported. They are constantly in a state of controversy and flux. 9/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
Facts live and die, come into being and pass out of being day by day, subject to the vicissitudes of the news cycle. 10/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
Only abstractions and generalities are solid, pure, unchanging, and certain. 11/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
Individual facts may die, but the narrative lives on–pure, perfect, and eternal. 12/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
While the facts trip by haltingly, the narrative flies above them, free and untrammeled. 13/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
How, then, do we decide which narratives are true? By asking whether they feel true. 14/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
If we feel a narrative to be true, that must be because it captures some all-pervasive truth about our lives. 15/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
Even if no one fact about it can be quite nailed down, if we feel strongly enough about a narrative, it must still somehow be true. 16/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
It follows that the narrative validates itself. It is the evidence for its own truth. 17/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
The very eagerness with which we believe a narrative justifies our belief in it. 18/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
The very doggedness with which we defend a narrative justifies our defense of it. 19/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
By the same token, the more we feel we need a narrative, the more likely it is that it reflects the felt reality of our lives. 20/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
The greater the number of people who feel they need a narrative, the more it must reflect the felt reality of many lives. 21/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
This applies with even greater force for a narrative that is central to its believers’ identity and provides their lives with meaning. 22/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
This implies that a narrative that is embraced by many people, one that becomes a social cause, is by that very fact unquestionable. 23/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
So people who complain that we cling to a narrative “just” because it serves our purposes are missing the point. 24/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
A narrative is validated precisely by its usefulness for our purposes, particularly our political purposes. 25/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
It is time for us to stop apologizing for narratives that are based on feelings and needs, rather than on facts. 26/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
This is why I am now proudly taking credit for my work in inspiring and promoting important social and political narratives. 27/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
I am also proudly claiming the work of my many followers, in politics, academia, media, and elsewhere. 28/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
Since I identify as Italian, I refer to a single follower as “il trovatore,” and to my followers collectively as “i trovatori.” 29/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
I ask that if you see my work or the work of my Trovatori, please tweet me the link, so that I may retweet it to my followers. 30/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
I have no agenda of my own. It is the narrative itself that I seek to promote. Or perhaps the narrative of the narrative. 31/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
I live and work so that the narrative may flourish. 32/32
— Ben Trovato (@TrovatoBen) January 13, 2015
Agree or disagree with this manifesto, it is at least useful to have the mentality of modern narrative journalism laid out for us. And it will be instructive to track the pervasive influence of the personal embodiment of the narrative.
Follow @TrovatoBen on Twitter.
