Kerry wrote:
<< At the same time, I think this points to one of the areas where noir has
gone that has been summarily dismissed, and that is post-modernism. The
stylistic flourishes that are so often denigrated here as self-indulgent and
over-clever are intended to point out, I believe, the increasingly pervasive
influence of ever-expanding media. Kevin's reading list is just one example
of this, and it's not new. The mean streets, whether published in ink or
concrete, are entirely cultural constructs. Media reports affect human
behaviour which is reported by the media in endless cycles, and has since
stories went around campfires. Human existence is so far beyond any context
for objective reality that references to the "real world" merely draw
attention to that fact. One way or another a narrative has to reflect this
for it's characters to be recognizeable.>>
Well said. All narratives are explorations in hyperreality. We can suspend
our disbelief, or we can accept the fact. Realism has been dominant in
fiction for some time, but I'd hate to think that there's no room for
anything else. Especially since I've not got much of a handle on realism. Or
reality, come to that.
Al
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