My comment copied from TheProf's blog:
Responding to:
http://ifbrevityiswitthenwhydoikeep.blogspot.com/2009/04/james-joyces-dead-part-1-from-memory.html
"....and we get to see where our own foibles might dovetail with Gabriel's."
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. That's me (and I know you)...and the best stories are those that invite us to identify with aspects of certain protagonists.
In any case, Joyce is WAY WAY WAY over my head. Despite that, I can utterly appreciate any work that demands so much attention, delicate thoughtfulness, and participation from the audience. Jasper Johns and Miles Davis comes to mind in art and music respectively.
To often in today's world do we see folks interpret experiences based on first impression. Personally, and cynically, I believe this simply has to do with there being alot of stupid people in this world (just see what movies and music sells best and it becomes pretty apparent). Example: the Rorschach inkblot. This test does, to a certain degree, correlate strongly with intelligence.
Let me explain: you show them an inkblot that looks like a bat. You ask them, "What do you see?". They respond, "Looks like a bat". Then you ask them again, "Besides a bat, what else do you see?". This invites the person to enlist they're imagination and more importantly, their unconscious mind in the service of interpreting a rather amorphous looking blob.
Guarded folks are quick to respond with bat-like responses: bird, butterfly, moth, etc. One particular thing to note here is the time element. Guarded folks are also generally quick to respond with surface impressions. Inviting them to "think" utilizes faculties that stupid and unimaginative people just don't have. Mind you, the test is much more complex than I've described but with regard to this "staying on the surface", it does in a way speak both to an unwillingness to tap deeper into one's psyche and inability, for reasons associated with intelligence. Furthermore, too much in the other direction speaks to a psychotic process but I won't go into that.
Now back to the story. Joyce like Jasper Johns and Miles Davis and Stanley Kubrik, all of them asks the audience "What do you see?". Stupid people within the first 9 seconds will say "A bat" and nothing more. They don't see transcendent potential, or symbolic themes, or an invitation to delve deeper into one's imagination and unconscious. All they see and will EVER see is a frickin BAT.
I can't talk to these people. They're just dumb. I know I'm being too harsh because perhaps it might have to do with Maslow's principles and that perhaps they do have the competence but are currently dealing with more important and pressing matters like food and shelter and issues related to their health. Issues related to self-actualization and introspective enlightenment can't be addressed when you are emotionally or physically overwhelmed with other more important life issues. Which is why most folks look to movies as "escape" and want nothing more than to spend 90 minutes in a dark theater laughing about something that means nothing about nothing.
Reading Joyce smacks of that level of meditative thoughtfulness. I'd imagine most folks could sprint through "The Dead" in an hour and see nothing but a boring story. These are the same folks that listen to Davis and say, "This isn't music, where are the lyrics?". The same people that will watch "Apocalypse Now" and say "I got bored. For a war movie, there wasn't enough action in it. MORE EXPLOSIONS, MORE EXPLOSIONS!" I feel sorry for folks like that.
But I (like you) enjoy being challenged, which doesn't mean I can't be quite a Philistine at times!...hehehe
http://ifbrevityiswitthenwhydoikeep.blogspot.com/2009/04/james-joyces-dead-part-1-from-memory.html
"....and we get to see where our own foibles might dovetail with Gabriel's."
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. That's me (and I know you)...and the best stories are those that invite us to identify with aspects of certain protagonists.
In any case, Joyce is WAY WAY WAY over my head. Despite that, I can utterly appreciate any work that demands so much attention, delicate thoughtfulness, and participation from the audience. Jasper Johns and Miles Davis comes to mind in art and music respectively.
To often in today's world do we see folks interpret experiences based on first impression. Personally, and cynically, I believe this simply has to do with there being alot of stupid people in this world (just see what movies and music sells best and it becomes pretty apparent). Example: the Rorschach inkblot. This test does, to a certain degree, correlate strongly with intelligence.
Let me explain: you show them an inkblot that looks like a bat. You ask them, "What do you see?". They respond, "Looks like a bat". Then you ask them again, "Besides a bat, what else do you see?". This invites the person to enlist they're imagination and more importantly, their unconscious mind in the service of interpreting a rather amorphous looking blob.
Guarded folks are quick to respond with bat-like responses: bird, butterfly, moth, etc. One particular thing to note here is the time element. Guarded folks are also generally quick to respond with surface impressions. Inviting them to "think" utilizes faculties that stupid and unimaginative people just don't have. Mind you, the test is much more complex than I've described but with regard to this "staying on the surface", it does in a way speak both to an unwillingness to tap deeper into one's psyche and inability, for reasons associated with intelligence. Furthermore, too much in the other direction speaks to a psychotic process but I won't go into that.
Now back to the story. Joyce like Jasper Johns and Miles Davis and Stanley Kubrik, all of them asks the audience "What do you see?". Stupid people within the first 9 seconds will say "A bat" and nothing more. They don't see transcendent potential, or symbolic themes, or an invitation to delve deeper into one's imagination and unconscious. All they see and will EVER see is a frickin BAT.
I can't talk to these people. They're just dumb. I know I'm being too harsh because perhaps it might have to do with Maslow's principles and that perhaps they do have the competence but are currently dealing with more important and pressing matters like food and shelter and issues related to their health. Issues related to self-actualization and introspective enlightenment can't be addressed when you are emotionally or physically overwhelmed with other more important life issues. Which is why most folks look to movies as "escape" and want nothing more than to spend 90 minutes in a dark theater laughing about something that means nothing about nothing.
Reading Joyce smacks of that level of meditative thoughtfulness. I'd imagine most folks could sprint through "The Dead" in an hour and see nothing but a boring story. These are the same folks that listen to Davis and say, "This isn't music, where are the lyrics?". The same people that will watch "Apocalypse Now" and say "I got bored. For a war movie, there wasn't enough action in it. MORE EXPLOSIONS, MORE EXPLOSIONS!" I feel sorry for folks like that.
But I (like you) enjoy being challenged, which doesn't mean I can't be quite a Philistine at times!...hehehe
posted by supergoober at
3:01 PM
5 Comments:
I loved Apocalypse Now for it's darkness and not being a typical Vietnam Movie.....I didn't enjoy Joyce's the Dead...My Wife did as she is of Irish descent and is very in to Irish Literature. I think the reason I didn't enjoy it was because I had to read it for a College Class....probably the knee jerk reaction to assigned reading.
This post looks .. . .like. . . a tall building at night, with the lights on on various floors and large chunks of the building missing as if multiple explosions had blown out several floors. . . ..eh. .eh. .. yesss.
Online Pharmacy for Cialis, Levitra, Tamiflu, Viagra. Get Cheap Drugs online. Buy Pills Central.
[url=http://buypillscentral.com/about_en-us.htm]Discount Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, Tamiflu Drugstore Online[/url]. Indian generic pills. Top quality medications pharmacy
On the side of many years Buy Cialis Detract from Apothecary has been recognizable surrounded by paramount online pharmaceutics suppliers and customers all over cheap Viagra now the world.
Hello
lexapro cost
Escitalopram starting dosage is usually 10 mg once a day and can be taken in the morning or in the evening.
[url=http://www.topcobilliards.com/]lexapro medication[/url]
You need to have regular check-ups with your physician for the first 12 weeks of Lexapro treatment.
http://www.topcobilliards.com/ - discount lexapro
Escitalopram starting dosage is usually 10 mg once a day and can be taken in the morning or in the evening.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home