Funlecture #7

Take away thoughts: Shakespeare is dead and Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father.

I kid, I kid! It was rich with meaning, I tell you, rich with meaning.

Here’re the notes:

Fiction is stories about A world. Documentary is stories about THE world. Truth claims in non fiction must be about THE world, although they can still be contestable.

Authors cannot have any control over the interpretation of their work. As soon as pen is put to paper, the true meaning or intention of the text is lost. Authors have to put into the code of the story certain meanings that they have to hope the audience will be able to decode.

We don’t interpret authors, we interpret texts. We cannot assume to tell anything about the author itself through the work. Shakespeare’s dead. We cannot know his political stance through his portrayal of politicians. When you’re reading something, IT has a personality, not its creator.

Plot and story are often confused. Plot is the order in which the story is narrated, story is the order in which the events happen. It’s possible to mess up the story order with the plot – through flashbacks, non-linear retelling etc. By mixing up the narrative, the plot, you let people interact with it. Adrian had a really good example here. If in a linear scene he shoots a guy – Elliot was the unfortunate victim – because he isn’t given enough money, a body is left behind and the audience knows exactly what’s happened. However, in a more disjointed retelling, one might see several shots of the dead body, a gun to a head, a pile of cash and not know the true nature of the scene. The ambiguity adds mystery and interest and makes the audience have to think for themselves what might have happened. It forces the audience to think and ENGAGE in the text.