Hello everyone. I would just like to point out something that I noticed in chapter three of AOTD. In that chapter Postman tells about Charles Dickens' visit to America. The way that Americans treated the author is how young teenage girls react to their favorite boy bands. Dickens says that crowds would surround his carriage and follow him home. Is that not similar to how fangirls follow the cars of their beloved male singers? Maybe Dickens experienced less screaming than some boy bands do, but still.
As I read this part of the chapter I was trying to imagine what it would be like if we reacted the same way to authors that we used to. The whole idea seemed so strange to me because our society has become so centered around movies and television, and now the Internet, that the newer generations are not showing as much of an interest in books. Therefore they are not reacting to authors the way that they do to Youtubers, singers, or actors. I mean yes of course people still admire authors and would no doubt still want to take a picture with them if given the chance (J. K. Rowling, Stephen King, and now John Green are just a few examples), but now people are just not as interested. We don't close down stores when a famous author wants to shop somewhere, or if we do it is not that common, but we close stores for celebrities like Beyoncé.
My point is, imagine what it would look like if we still cherished authors the way that we used to. Thank you for your time.
I completely agree with your statement, Ariel. I also think that the kinds of books we read and the reasons we read have also changed. We as teenagers often read only for entertainment. The authors you mentioned are all fiction writers who are known for their entertaining books. People who read their books usually don't read to be informed, educated, uplifted, inspired, or changed. They read to be entertained. This reflects Postman's statement that because we as a society put such a high value on television and technology, we consequently put a high value on entertainment. To add something to your final sentence, imagine if we not only valued authors more than celebrities, but we also valued authors like Postman more than we valued authors like Rowling and King.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking your time to read and respond to my post Kaila. Also thank you to pointing out that the authors I mentioned all write fiction because honestly I didn't notice that myself. Thank you again!
DeleteI also found it interesting when Postman brought up the point (in chapter four) that, in today's modern society, when we hear or see a name, we instantly think of that person's face or what they look like. In the past, did people think differently when they heard a name? How did the citizens of a word based society think of Charles Dickens when they heard he was coming to their town? He could just walk by them, without them knowing it was him, because they know him by his writings and not his physical features. It's difficult for me to imagine the past; it seems so strange.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and responding to my post Robert! In addition, I do agree with you on the fact that we automatically associate someone's name with their face is so normal for us that when we think about people not doing that it seems strange. Thank you for your time again.
DeleteHey Ariel! I definitely agree with you on this one! I'm not even going to try to argue a different perspective because it's so true. We expect celebrities to look good and be perfect all the time, but we let authors do their own thing. And sure, maybe there are those few Harry Potter fangirls out there who would scream and faint if they ever met J.K. Rowling in person (*cough cough* me*wink wink*), but meeting any other author would be like meeting a slightly famous YouTuber. It'd be fun and exciting, but you wouldn't have too many expectations or look at them like they should rule the universe. People idolize celebrities so much they refuse to see how they can do anything wrong. We've begun to worship these people and call them geniuses while people like JKR, George R. R. Martin, and John Green fade into the background. It's sad, but it's also how the majority of our modern day society works.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my post Lina and thank you for yet again expanding on my idea. You made me realize that we see celebrities as perfect being and we are blind to all the mistakes they make. Thank you again.
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