Introduction

We open by exploring the metacrisis and its cultural roots. You will delve into the transformative power of narratives and their role in shaping systems and actions in the world. We share the Culture Hack Labs approach to Narrative-Led Systems Change: Justice plus Onto-Shift, which emphasizes that demands for justice must be paired with a deeper shift in ontologies—the fundamental ways we perceive, relate to, and engage with the world.

Step 3: Understand

First you will analyse the Attention, Network and Power, as well as the Language of your Narrative Communities. You will then Map the Communities using Justice-Ontology axes to reveal key patterns and positions - building on the “Justice plus onto-shift” approach introduced in the Introduction. Finally, you will identify where the Window of Discourse sits and where we want to shift it. This is the foundation for your narrative intervention strategy.

Mapping Narrative Communities

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Using your completed Narrative Community Table, we can map the narrative communities in a way that is useful for our Point of View.

This mapping represents the narrative space at the time of research, using axes to reveal key patterns and community positions.

Building on “Justice plus onto-shift” from the Introduction, we combine Justice-Ontology axes to visualize how communities evolve along these spectrums.

This approach helps us design effective narrative interventions—not just by pushing for justice but by fostering a deeper ontological shift. By transforming both the structures of power (justice) and the ways we perceive and relate to the world (ontologies), we create lasting, systemic change.

Justice Spectrum:

From injustice (denial of the metacrisis, reinforcing the status quo) to justice (exposing and addressing systemic harms). The most evolved stage moves beyond critique to actively transforming the system.

Ontology spectrum:

From separation (monocultures of knowing/being) towards relationality (a realization that current ontologies are not sufficient to address the current metacrisis). The most evolved stage embraces a plurality of ontologies based on radical relationality (producing polycultures of knowing/being).

Here is the mapping of communities in the TOT example:

The size of the narrative community corresponds to their power in the narrative space. The Greenwashing communities are situated in the bottom left quadrant and are most powerful (dominant or hegemonic discourse). The more activist communities are more evolved along both the justice and ontology axis.

NEXT STEP: Identifying the Window of Discourse

The Culture Hack Method

The Culture Hack Method

Introduction

Step 1: Ask

Step 2: Listen

Step 3: Understand

Mapping Narrative Communities