The Ambridge in My Mind’s Eye - Carolyn Cooper

Welcome to the fifth series in the annual podcast programme from Academic Archers, bringing you papers from our 2024 conference.

This episode explores how we imagine Ambridge – or don’t – depending on the way our minds work.

The Ambridge in My Mind’s Eye - Carolyn Cooper

Not all Archers listeners experience the drama in the same way. Around 3% of the population are aphantasic, meaning they lack a visual imagination. For some, images are fleeting or vague; for others, there is only darkness.

This paper describes what it is like to follow life in Ambridge without mental pictures of characters, houses or landscapes. Carolyn explains how she replaces imagery with a running internal commentary and why mismatches between actors and characters do not bother her.

The presentation also invites listeners to reflect on their own imagination, to consider how their inner visual world shapes their enjoyment of The Archers, and to ask: what difference does imagery really make?

About the speaker

• Carolyn Cooper is an Archers fan who brings her personal perspective as an aphantasic to questions of imagination, listening and enjoyment of the programme.

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