The telling of stories is as old as humankind. It is how we transcend our short existence and pass on to the next generation the things we have learned. It is history curated with an eye towards that which should contain the things key to the evolution of the human soul.
It is not about entertainment but of course remembering a story is easiest when told by an engaging story teller. In fact there ample examples of good story tellers who use their skill to spread evil, contempt, anxiety, etc; not to teach for noble purposes.
Again, it is the noble storyteller who has a lesson to teach that benefits future generations.
But what if nobody is listening? What if everyone is just talking? What if the stories they tell are worthless garbage and not noble? I think it pushes us back to the days of pre-cave paintings.
Today we largely ignore history. We dont listen to the noble storyteller. Its actually hard to find a noble storyteller because so few understand the importance…. there is no “market”
We are in fact increasingly doomed to repeat the errors of the past because so many insist on rewriting history (more on that later), doing everything from scratch, and moving forward based solely on contemporary thinking. This stifles the advancement of humankind, in fact the argument can be made it erodes our future entirely.