tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143902778606793130.post2612025914499778459..comments2023-05-07T07:43:51.224-04:00Comments on Still and Still Moving: Life Imitates Art?: The Debate FormatsDeborah Leiter Nyabutihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550153856823115989noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143902778606793130.post-56315355678560868032008-09-28T16:56:00.000-04:002008-09-28T16:56:00.000-04:00Rodger: Yes, I agree that that Oprah's book club c...Rodger: Yes, I agree that that Oprah's book club could and should be much better done. One could do a whole series of books dealing with the issue of feeling marginalized in different kinds of societies, for instance: choose Chaim Potok's My Name is Asher Lev or The Chosen, for instance, about this very other society of Hasidic Judaism, which deals with questions of marginalization within a marginalized society in very different contexts than we're using to thinking about. Or choose a recent YA book called Feed, which deals eloquently with questions of connections between technology and literacy.<BR/><BR/>There could be many, many paths to making a powerful statement and helping people to understand different types of cultures and key topics, without sacrificing literary quality at all.Deborah Leiter Nyabutihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15550153856823115989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143902778606793130.post-72313547999265099752008-09-28T15:20:00.000-04:002008-09-28T15:20:00.000-04:00Well, now you're getting to the heart of the debat...Well, now you're getting to the heart of the debate over the Oprah Winfrey book club. With the power she yields, the ability to get millions of people to read a damn book, one would think she would select titles that could galvanize public opinion on social issues. "If He Hollers, Let Him Go" by Chester Himes would be a good selection, for instance, with all this quiet rumbling about race in the current election. But, no, instead she offers up Steinbeck's "East of Eden" and Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic "The Road", novels that are practically devoid of politics or social ideals. Not much sense in getting folks to read if you're handing them comic books.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143902778606793130.post-83407686625228659082008-09-27T16:13:00.000-04:002008-09-27T16:13:00.000-04:00Rodger: Yeah, I agree that it's never just life im...Rodger: Yeah, I agree that it's never just life imitating art or art imitating life; instead it's "art imitating life imitating art." Or, to put it more clearly, authors create art, sometimes with persuasive intent in mind, and at that point if "life imitates it," it's not something shocking so much as an effective rhetorical message.<BR/><BR/>We just seem to wall fictional representations off in their own box in our society, forgetting that they, too, have rhetorical dimensions that have the power to change our minds. We've spent so much time in fighting the book banners that we forget the power of the opinions expressed in literature are real ones that can have measurable impact on public opinion.Deborah Leiter Nyabutihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15550153856823115989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143902778606793130.post-91838709594337585502008-09-27T16:04:00.000-04:002008-09-27T16:04:00.000-04:00Let's not forget that Aaron Sorkin staffed "The We...Let's not forget that Aaron Sorkin staffed "The West Wing" with a lot of writers who were, at some point in their careers, Washington insiders. When they crafted the episode you write of (I must admit to never having watched the show), their knowledge of the process and how it might ideally function was first and foremost in their thoughts. This may not be a case of life imitating but an insider's view of how things should be.<BR/><BR/>Or something like that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143902778606793130.post-64082446273623789552008-09-27T15:58:00.000-04:002008-09-27T15:58:00.000-04:00Jennifer: Thanks. I do use the words "fictional" a...Jennifer: Thanks. I do use the words "fictional" and "real" advisedly, since our "real life" narratives so often form in such similar ways to fictional ones. The question of whether we can always tell the line between what is real and what we've socially constructed is a blurry one, which narrative theorists like Bennett and Edelman convincingly argue.<BR/><BR/>And I think you're right--the status of West Wing as a source of persuasion isn't that different from that of a commercial (or an editorial). I just wonder (with a bit of concern) what would happen if politicians and legislators started arguing about what we put in our fictional representations as much as they argue about what can be put in political commercials.Deborah Leiter Nyabutihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15550153856823115989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143902778606793130.post-83069023930725148122008-09-27T14:12:00.000-04:002008-09-27T14:12:00.000-04:00I thought your analysis was great. If art does hav...I thought your analysis was great. If art does have any influence on the election, does it matter. Is that worse than being influenced by a commercial? Or our neighbors. The West Wing was one of the smartest and well written series ever on television. And they did a good job of being impartial. Vinick came off looking much better than McCain did last night. Whose fault is that? Obama showed, all on his own, that he is the much better candidate for the office of the President of the United States.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com