What is The Neverending Story?

I had the pleasure of rewatching the movie The Neverending Story recently. I barely remember seeing portions of it as a very young child. Basically the only thing I remembered was the title and that there was a big flying dog-dragon thing. Obviously, with a title like that it begs the question Is it really a never-ending story? The surprising answer is actually yes, in a way it really is a never-ending story.

Before we proceed, let me say that The Neverending Story is a movie worth seeing. (From what I hear the book is quite good too, but I haven’t read it.) What I’m about to explain makes a lot more sense after you have actually become engrossed in the story, and setting and characters. So if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you do so before reading further.

What is The Neverending Story?

Right. With that out of the way, let’s answer the question What is The Neverending Story?

If you’ve seen the movie, you know that the story is about a young boy named Bastian who discovers a mysterious book called “The Neverending Story”. As Bastian reads the book, we follow the story of Atreyu, journeying to save the land of Fantasia from The Nothing. All of this is fairly standard fantasy fare. For example, we’ve seen this same story-in-a-story format in movies like The Princess Bride and The Pagemaster.

But what makes The Neverending Story unique is that as Bastian reads the story, he becomes more and more involved in it. He eventually discovers that he can actually influence the story and in turn the story appears to be influencing him right back.

For example, at one point in the story, Bastian becomes so emotionally invested in Atreyu’s quest that he shouts out Atreyu’s name, and Atreyu hears him. Bastian is amazed and even a little disturbed by this. Later in the story, Atreyu must pass a test. He must look at a mirror that shows him his true self. Atreyu is terrified of what he might see, but Bastian encourages him to look. When Atreyu looks into the mirror, he sees Bastian’s reflection. This is a shocking revelation for both of them.

As Bastian continues to read, Atreyu finally meets the Childlike Empress. The Nothing has overtaken nearly all of Fantasia, and this fantasy world is nearly gone forever. The Childlike Empress explains to Atreyu that the only way to save Fantasia is for a human¹ child to give her a new name. She also explains that there already is a human child who is watching them right now who can give her a new name.

Then we get this dialogue:

Atreyu: If he’s so close why doesn’t he arrive?
The Childlike Empress: He doesn’t realise he’s already part of The Neverending Story.
Atreyu: The Neverending Story what’s that?
The Childlike Empress: Just as he is sharing your adventures others are sharing his. They were with him when he hid from the boys in the bookstore.
Bastian: But that’s impossible!
The Childlike Empress: They were with him when he took the book with the Auryn symbol on the cover in which he’s reading his own story right now.

At this point, The Neverending Story has already firmly broken the story within a story trope. It is not actually a story within a story. It is the same story. Atreyu’s story is Bastian’s story.

But now, the story is taking this even further. In the same way, Bastian is in this story, there are others who are also in Bastian’s story.

Just as he is sharing your adventures others are sharing his.

Who are these others? The movie doesn’t say, but I think it’s pretty clear that these others are us, you and I, the audience. We are also part of The Neverending Story. Just like the Empress said, we were with Bastian when he hid from the boys in the bookstore. We were with him when he ditched class to read the book in the attic. And now we are with Bastian as he is realizing that he is part of The Neverending Story. Bastian is realizing that he must get involved in the story to save Fantasia, but do you realize that you yourself must also get involved in the story?

The True Power of Storytelling

Stories are powerful. They shape our identities, our values and our worldview. Stories can inspire us to greatness, or they can shackle us in despair and hopelessness. Millions of people have been profoundly affected by this story, The Neverending Story. That may or may not be you. But undoubtedly you have been profoundly affected by some story. Stories are not just entertainment. They are a fundamental part of the human experience. We are constantly hearing stories, telling stories, and even living out stories.

Like Bastian, when we realize this, it is an incredibly empowering realization. We gain confidence and courage and self-worth. We realize that we are not just passive observers of our lives, but active participants. We can influence the story of our lives and the world around us. By naming the Childlike Empress, Bastian is proactively changing the world around him. Sure, in a sense, Bastian is not really changing anything. Fantasia is a fictional world. Changing this fictional world doesn’t really change anything in the real world. But it does change Bastian. It changes how he sees himself and the world around him. It gives him hope and purpose. It changes his actions. It gives him a new story to live by and that really does change the real world.

The Danger of Storytelling

Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

• Proverbs 18:21

In the early 20th century, there lived a young man whose nation lost a bitter war. The world blamed his nation for starting the war, and they were treated as pariahs. Millions of people were forced into cruel poverty for simply being born in the “wrong” country. This young man felt led to do something about this. He raised a political movement meant to restore his nation’s pride and power and for this he was thrown into prison. But somehow, this mere prisoner managed to rise to power and become the leader of his nation, and even to propel his nation to become one of the most powerful nations in the world. How did he do this? Through the power of storytelling. While in prison, he wrote an incredibly influential book. Unfortunately, this book was Mein Kampf (My Struggle), an autobiographical manifesto by Adolf Hitler.

In this book, Hitler told a stirring story about how his nation had been betrayed by evil forces, and how it was destined to rise again. He told a story about how his nation was superior to all others, and how it was their right and duty to dominate the world. He told a story about how certain groups of people were subhuman and needed to be exterminated for the good of humanity. This book was incredibly influential, and it helped to fuel the rise of the Nazi party and the outbreak of World War II. Millions of people were killed in this war, and the world was forever changed.

G’mork: Foolish boy. Don’t you know anything about Fantasia? It’s the world of human fantasy. Every part, every creature of it, is a piece of the dreams and hopes of mankind. Therefore, it has no boundaries.
Atreyu: But why is Fantasia dying, then?
G’mork: Because people have begun to lose their hopes and forget their dreams. So the Nothing grows stronger.
Atreyu: What is the Nothing?
G’mork: It’s the emptiness that’s left. It’s like a despair, destroying this world. And I have been trying to help it.
Atreyu: But why?
G’mork: Because people who have no hopes are easy to control; and whoever has the control… has the power!
Atreyu: Who are you, really?
G’mork: I am the servant of the power behind the Nothing. I was sent to kill the only one who could have stopped the Nothing.

In this scene, we learn several crucial details from G’mork, the wolf-like creature who serves the Nothing. First, we learn that Fantasia is the representation of all of human imagination, hopes and dreams. Next, we learn why Fantasia is dying. It is dying because people are losing their hopes and forgetting their dreams. We saw this in post-WWI Germany. People had lost all hope. They were desperate and willing to believe anything. Then we learn what the Nothing really is. It is the emptiness that is left when people lose their hopes and dreams. The Nothing is despair, hopelessness, apathy, and destruction itself. The Nothing is nihilism itself. Finally, we learn G’mork’s motivation. Paradoxically, G’mork is helping the Nothing, even though he is also being destroyed by it. Why? “Because people who have no hopes are easy to control; and whoever has the control… has the power!” This is the same thing that Hitler did. He exploited the hopelessness of millions by telling them a story, and using that story to control them. Like G’mork, Hitler was so consumed by his desire for power that he even followed it to his self-destruction.

The Worst Story

Like Hitler, G’mork was also telling a story. His was the story of The Nothing, the story of nihilism. This is truly the worst story of them all. It is the story that rejects all other stories. In fact, it is the story that says there are no stories, the story that says life has no meaning, no purpose, no value. It is the story that says nothing matters. It is the antithesis of storytelling itself. It is the rejection of truth, the embracing of contradiction, and it is the misery that loves company.

In G’mork and The Nothing, we see the utter darkness of nihilism, but in practice, nihilism is rarely so brazen. Like roaches, nihilism knows that when it is out in the open, it will certainly be stamped out. So nihilism is often much more subtle. It disguises itself by appropriating labels like realism, pragmatism, and relativism. But the threat of nihilism should not be underestimated. It is not a childish fear to be dismissed. Nihilism is a real and present danger, and it is present in every story that rejects truth, hope, meaning and beauty. Few, if any stories, would reject truth at every point, for such a story would be self-defeating. But far too many stories reject truth at crucial points, and this is just enough to inject nihilism.

Yet as dangerous as nihilism is, it is actually quite easy to defeat. All you have to do is tell the better story. A story that embraces truth, hope, meaning and beauty. A story that inspires courage, love and sacrifice. A story that gives life.

The Responsibility of Storytelling

You and I hold incredible power in our stories. We can tell stories that inspire hope and courage, or we can tell stories that spread despair and hopelessness. Our tongues can bring life or death. This is not merely poetic rhetoric. Our stories, ideas, beliefs and even fantasies can have real, actual impact on the world around us. We must be very careful about the stories we tell. Take responsibility for the stories that you tell to yourself and others.

When you are angry at someone, be careful about your words. The next time that someone cuts you off on the road, and you feel the urge to call them a f****** idiot, ask yourself: What story am I telling right now? Will these words bring life or death?

We must also be very careful about the stories that we believe. The next time that someone calls you an awful name, ask yourself: Is that story true? Is that the story that I should believe? Is that the story that I should live by?

Live The Story

Reject nihilism. Reject The Nothing. You must have hope, and for that you must have stories that remind you what is good, true and beautiful. You must have stories that inspire you to be better, to do better, to love better. You must have stories that give you courage to face the challenges of life. You must have stories that remind you of your worth and value, stories that remind you of your purpose and meaning.

And don’t just pick any story. The people of 1930’s Germany picked a pretty terrible story. All throughout history, people have picked stories that are just as bad, if not worse. No, pick a story that is worth being a part of. Pick a story that is worth living for. Pick a story that is worth dying for. Don’t settle for a sub-par mediocre story. Pick a great story. Pick the greatest story ever told.