Yes, they are stories to me. But there’s nothing ‘just’ about stories. I believe stories have the biggest impact on society.
While the language might have been updated, things have stopped being as relatable as they once were. For a small example, people keep renting their clothes.
Now even if you know it means “ripping to shreds” instead of “loaning against money”, it still doesn’t quite convey the level of grief it was supposed to in a society where there’s WallMart and H&M in even smallish towns and most of us have closets with items we’ve not worn in years.