How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Pioneer stories

Disciplines > Storytelling > Plots > Classic story types > Pioneer stories

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

In pioneer stories, an individual or group of people go to new and unexplored lands and seek either to explore and understand or to settle and live.

For pioneers, including their settlers, life at the front is often dangerous -- not the least from the indigenous races who naturally object to the intrusion. Pioneers also need to battle against nature and sometimes with one another as each seeks to be the first an exciting discovery and then to own the territory discovered.

Pioneer stories are often about physical territory, but can also be mental, for example stories of pioneers in science and technology.

Example

Star Trek (boldly going where no man has gone before)
The Big Country
Marco Polo

Discussion

The pioneer story gives a sense of excitement about the unknown as the explorers sets foot on new ground. The explorer may well be a heroic character with whom we empathize as they undertake missions about which we can only dream.

The pioneer story can also be an allegory for an inner journey of exploration and courage in facing one's own demons.

One of the most common pioneer movies is the Western. It is not a coincidence that Hollywood movie industry was set up around the time that Western action was recent and local history.

Pioneer stories are popular in organizations where tales of founders, product development teams and marketers tell of determination and innovation in new areas.