as the (at least) fourth and newest vegetarian on the list, i
think this is a good time to chime in. first, maybe it's
soymilk on that grocery list-- now there's a moral but
definitely not entertaining choice (if by entertaining one
means tasty). the handcuffs would help if one wants to get
the kids to drink it.
does fiction entertain or teach? one way to approach this is
to ask a different question: under what conditions does it
become possible for the terms
"entertain" or "instruct" to enter discourse? every instance
of relationship between writer and reader is so context
bound, so saturated in complexity, possibility, and power
relations, that defining what we even mean by "entertaining"
may be just as useful
(or useless) as trying to figure out what we mean by
"moral." in other words, entertainment is another name for
the sanctioned fetishization of codes and commodities backed
up by the threat of force: the right to tell stories, to
distribute them, to consume them, the very existence of what
we call fiction is the political fabrication of the
individual, of property, the reinvention of the state. if by
moral, we mean contributing to the social construction of
sanctioned behaviors, then storytelling is, of course, always
already moral by virtue of the nature of its social
production. and this, friends, is how i was trained to write
in grad school. sounds seductive doesn't it? fuck it. i'm
with Al. i want a book full of sex and danger, rain-soaked
streets, whiskey, ambiguity, and a big fat question mark
hovering over everything like the eye of a dead god. (sings)
that's entertaaaainment!!
--- Allan Guthrie <
allan@allanguthrie.co.uk> wrote:
> I know of at least three vegetarians on the
list.
> Don't know about any ecologists, rabbis,
etc.
>
> No sure about this 'implicit quest for good
against
> evil'. The best noir reveals complexity of
character
> rather than polarising good and evil.
>
> Entertainment may not be the final goal, but it
has
> to be the primary goal. If the reader
isn't
> entertained sufficiently by the story, they're
not
> going to turn the pages so any loftier
ambition
> won't be realised.
>
> Al
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: E. Borgers
> To:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:21 PM
> Subject: RE : Re: RARA-AVIS: Re: Name Your
Poison
>
>
> Ask the ecologists, the vegetarians for your
list
> !
> Even rabbis, mahometans, hindus, if you
have
> enough time...
>
> Nothing coming from humans is innocent.
> Reality is a myth as we all know, and IMO
good
> fiction uses a part of it to reach something of
a
> higher order. Maybe "natural" moral, not
a
> systematized one as organizations, states,
religions
> try to impose.
> The best fiction carries something of the
same
> essence as poetry: more than the written
word,
> speaking to the "feelings", in noir and others
of
> exceptional quality IMO it touches the same
inner
> area in the person as metaphysics do.
>
> On the other hand, very few things are
universal,
> the same for all humans. The list is short: life
and
> death, fear, love, basic psychology and
instincts...
> Good and bad is also a constant, but outside
its
> "natural" essence, application is always
a
> manipulation by society.
> So speaking of morality in fiction is a
double
> level of speculations, entering the territory
of
> highly speculative ideas. In noir lit. the
implicit
> quest for good against evil is something
constant,
> its existential essence, what is found behind
the
> transgressions or the apparent follow up of
a
> "clasic" moral code (product of a
society).
> And I'm not convince at all that
"entertainment"
> is the final goal of lit.
> My views on this "moral" issue.
>
> E.Borgers
> HARD-BOILED MYSTERIES
> http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6389
>
>
> Allan Guthrie
> I can see how you can derive a moral theme from
a
> shopping list (bread, milk, handcuffs, tape,
spade),
> if you're so inclined, but that's -- as I
said
> before -- the reader's interpretation. It's very
far
> from giving a moral lesson. A lesson requires
intent
> on the part of the author to instruct the
reader.
>
> Long live ambiguity,
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> D飯uvrez un nouveau moyen de poser toutes
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ici.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have
been
> removed]
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have
been
> removed]
>
>
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