John patiently listens to my occasional diatribes about why I should end my blog. During one of these, he pulled Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality off the shelf. He pointed to a few paragraphs, and, as he directed, I substituted "blog" for the word "video camera." I read with a rueful smile; Gabler's thoughts echoed some of those I've had since high school about general camera use, too, even though I've evolved into a chief camera offender. Though not my main reasons, these paragraphs do contain one reason among the many that prompt my blog-murder mumbles from time to time. Anyone faithful enough to read need not anticipate my blog ending, though. I fear I'm a giant bark with little bite.
For your perusal or refusal, here are the selected passages.
(Remember to replace "video camera" with "blog.")
No doubt one of the appeals of the video camera, if not its chief appeal, was that it put ordinary people on the other side of the glass, making everyone in its purview a star....But more than perform for the camera, people also began to tailor the major events of their lives to its demands, which were the demands of entertainment. Weddings, baby showers, bar mitzvahs, anniversary parties, even surgeries, all of which had traditionally been undramatic, if occasionally unruly, affairs, were now frequently reconfigured as shows for the video camera, complete with narratives and entertaining set pieces throughout...
If anything, the Internet was even more accommodating to life movie performers. A few exhibitionists converted their lives into entertainment and placed themselves on the other side of the glass by mounting television cameras in their dwellings that, like security surveillance equipment, recorded their every move. Anyone who logged onto the site could then view the ongoing drama or lack thereof of the individual's daily existence: Life the TV Show [BLOG!]."
What are you waiting for?!?
Go ye therefore and view Life as Blog--
Starring: THE OWEN FAMILY (trumpet crescendo).
i understand.
ReplyDeletei'll never stop being happy that you blog. that is, until you stop.
we miss you when you don't blog... so keep it comin'!
ReplyDeleteIt really is a very STRANGE phenomenon. Thank goodness it hasn't yet replaced the real world!!
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed at how the Owen library can house genres and topics of all sizes, shapes, and variety.
ReplyDeleteGlad John worked his literary magic and found the *perfect* book to convince you to 'stay on'.
Because-without you-blogging just wouldn't be the same.
I think it has become the real world for some, and for others, while it's not the real world, it intrudes on, alters, or distorts the reality that lies outside of the computer. The other reasons behind my mumbles about quitting (bark, bark!) are more pressing than the ideas that this passage raises, even though I think it's something worth thinking about.
ReplyDeleteRebecca,
You'd be amazed. John's been sorting through books, AGAIN, for the last month and has culled hundreds. His goal is to only own a certain number of books, so he's getting rid of ones he enjoys or thinks he would enjoy, and only keeping those that he knows he'll read and use.
I don't know if this book is going to make the cut. The quote actually was incentive for me to quit blogging, but, like I said, I'm mostly bark. :)