So, I’ll probably touch on this next Tuesday as well, but I want to reiterate that one of the things I’d like us to be doing with the literature we read for this class is to read with an eye for what makes each piece contemporary. I’ve been thinking of this as a kind of fluid and reciprocal relationship between literature and culture. I want us to locate the contemporary in the fiction – to figure out which pieces of the story are particular to our time and place – and also to locate the fiction in the (contemporary) culture – put each piece in context and ask what outside of itself, it may be working in response to. To look for clues to meaning within the text, but also outside of it, if that makes sense.
Maybe one way to think about this is to conceive of each text as a two-way mirror: it both reflects and constructs reality. What we see there tells us something about the world, but also something about ourselves: what does it say about me that I immediately find Callie in Saunders’ “Puppy” a tragically sympathetic character and Marie the one who I am impatient with? And then what does it mean that as I think more about each of them, I am more sympathetic to Marie, who, after all, is only trying to do what she thinks is best for her children and really, is smothering them in love the worst thing? And that upon rereading I find myself increasingly frustrated with Callie, who seems to know that – especially as it relates to her own well-being and her relationship with Jimmy – she should be doing more and yet she can’t/won’t? We are all, myself included, products of our time in one way or another, and analyzing my/our responses can help us build this collective understanding of what contemporary fiction is and does.
By way of an example, consider how prominently the relationships between parents and children are featuring in Saunders’ stories so far. From a broad, sociological perspective, it’s not hard to see why. As a society we think a lot more about children and how to raise them “right” than we used to and we also have a tendency to seek causes in our past to explain or excuse current behavior – “Oh, that’s because when I was a kid I was never allowed to have chocolate” or “I bet she was an only child” or “Dad’s always loved my brother more than me” or whatever. Little things, big things, you name it – finding an explanation makes us feel safe and comfortable. We like when things are explicable.
Which I think is one of the reasons why Saunders’ stories are so unsettling. They take these things that we’re comfortable living with, so comfortable that most of the time they’re invisible, we don’t think about them. The stories, each in their own way, take the familiar, comfortable aspects of our everyday lives on which we rely and twist them just enough to make us squirm. But looking closely at the causes of this discomfort is exactly what will lead us toward productive areas of discussion about the elements – good, bad, and indifferent – that shape our current culture and ourselves.
Think about this as you read “The Semplica Girl Diaries” for Tuesday. It’s tricky, I know, to negotiate the space between reading and understanding the story, analyzing the details for complexity and nuance, and also zooming out to consider how the story fits into our world Right Now, but I have faith in each and every one of you, and, as always, I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say about it.
p.s. Here is the episode of Black Mirror that reminded me a little of “Escape from Spiderhead”. The description doesn’t do it justice, but the story revolves around the illusion of choice.
p.p.s. If you’re feeling a little lost in terms of grappling with some of these abstract ideas, this TedEd video might be helpful. Also, just keep asking questions. Pretend you’re a toddler: every time you react to the text in some way, ask yourself “why?” then keep going. ask why again and again. Trust your gut reaction, interrogate it, and always return to the text for evidence to back up your ideas. It’s different than reading for pleasure; it’s work, but that’s why we’re here.
February 4, 2016 at 8:18 pm
“Puppy” was a much more in your face kind of tale than “Exhortation” was. The two obvious opposites (though not far removed) characters of Marie and Callie set up the central conflict, Now, who you identify depends on your personal outlook. As Saunder paints the pictures of both women, drawn from what is going on in their heads, your sympathy could– and should waver. No one is perfect, even though that is what both women are striving for.
I see parallels in these stories as to what various characters feel themselves to be, as opposed to what their actions reveal about who they really are. All of the major actors, from Allison, Jeff, Kyle, the rapist, the experimenters have all rationalized what they do, however horrific or cowardly, in order to get through the life they have found themselves in. Even Todd, the writer of the memo in “Exhortation”(!) is rationalizing. First: His ham-handed attempts to “rally the troops” into team-work in order to meet the Company’s expectations. Second: As his confidence wanes his memo’s tone changes to back-handedly threatening them. It doesn’t matter that we really don’t know what is going on in this place of work. It’s Todd’s efforts in trying to get the workers under him to do something unpleasant, and how he makes his veiled threats palpable to himself, yet make his meaning clear, is the thrust of this yarn. Todd’s head, is, metaphorically, as much on the chopping block as the workers under him.
Kyle feels like he’s under the boot. The Rapist feels as if he is under the boot, as does everyone in “Spiderhead”. Rationalizing their actions gets them through their day…
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February 4, 2016 at 8:50 pm
I ❤ Jeff Goldblum. And it's been WAY too long since I saw that movie.
Excellent points about rationalization, yours and Michael Gold's.
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February 7, 2016 at 5:28 pm
I watched the episode of Black Mirror you mentioned. I also watched the one before it. I did not see a connection between the two. Is it just stand alone episodes or do they all connect at some point? I am thinking of wathing more but not sure yet.
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February 7, 2016 at 6:28 pm
Nvm my last post I see now it is stand alone episodes.
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February 7, 2016 at 7:25 pm
Yeah. After the first one I wanted it to keep going. I’m not in love with the show in general, for reasons I’d be happy to pontificate upon, but I thought the second episode had some commonalities with “Escape From Spiderhead” potentially worth looking at.
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February 8, 2016 at 6:24 pm
I really enjoyed the second episode. I thought it was as my wife likes to say a mind fuck.
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