"I mean by 'narrative' a story. But not any kind of story. I refer to big stories-stories that are sufficiently profound and complex to offer explanations of the origins and future of a people; stories that construct ideals, prescribe rules of conduct, specify sources of authority,and, in doing this, provide a sense of continuity and purpose. Joseph Campbell and Rollo May, among others, called such stories 'myths.' Marx had such stories in mind in referring to 'ideologies.' And Freud called them 'illusions.' No matter. What is important about narratives is that human beings cannot live without them."
- Building a Bridge to the 18th century (p 101) by Neil Postman
The whole chapter (entitled "Narratives") essentially deals with the subject of this blog and the term which I frequently use in writing, "metanarrative." The differentiation between Postman's term and mine is only that my own use is distinguished from approximately five layers of narrative with the metanarrative 'layer' as the top and framed artistic expression as the bottom layer. I'll go into this further in future entries.
Showing posts with label Narrative Structure / Mimesis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Narrative Structure / Mimesis. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Initial Musings / Narrative Layers
The three layers to the human story are the narrative of the individual, narrative of the community, and finally an overarching metanarrative (Fee 78-93). Lyotard defined Postmodernism as an incredulousness towards all metanarratives (Lyotard xiii). This agnosticism of everything permanent has manifested in both the humanities and the sciences. The Metanarrative Voice is a forum to challenge and explore our incredulousness in order to grapple with the voice that might or might not be there.
Mimesis is the representation of reality. Whether one believes in reality or not is, perhaps, personal preference. However, many of us, for many different reasons choose daily to engage in one form of representation or another (i.e. the clothes we wear, the furniture we buy, the houses we live in, the facial expressions we make). These things are artistic choices, revealing and concealing the truth inside of us. Writers and painters get more attention for their craft. Critics like to pick apart the intentional act of mimesis. But there is also plenty of criticism for the unconscous act of representation. When dad comes down the stairs in two different socks, a plaid shirt and boxers - his dress is a fairly straight forward representation of the true nature within. When the young professional wears a permanent frown, she has dawned the war mask of the modern battlefield, and in choosing that mask she has simultaneously revealed herself. However, these acts of representation, like the ones of the professional artist, are nuanced with different layers of intentionality and truth. The truth that dad is feeling lazy is a very simple facet of the much larger story. The woman in the mask has revealed her need for emotional defense, but there is much more to her story as well. Any work of fiction, movie or work of visual art is inevitably an autobiography of the artist (Wilde 9). These intentional acts of representation are, in a sense, on a sliding scale of effectiveness. For whether we believe in truth or not, whether we believe in reality or not, we nonetheless try to communicate on a regular basis for some reason. Communication is human. The effectiveness of our communication may be linked to the power of our objective correlatives. While the universality of some expression may increase the likelihood of being understood, the ability to be truly and deeply known is aided by a more skilled, artistic intentionality in communication.
Mimesis is the representation of reality. Whether one believes in reality or not is, perhaps, personal preference. However, many of us, for many different reasons choose daily to engage in one form of representation or another (i.e. the clothes we wear, the furniture we buy, the houses we live in, the facial expressions we make). These things are artistic choices, revealing and concealing the truth inside of us. Writers and painters get more attention for their craft. Critics like to pick apart the intentional act of mimesis. But there is also plenty of criticism for the unconscous act of representation. When dad comes down the stairs in two different socks, a plaid shirt and boxers - his dress is a fairly straight forward representation of the true nature within. When the young professional wears a permanent frown, she has dawned the war mask of the modern battlefield, and in choosing that mask she has simultaneously revealed herself. However, these acts of representation, like the ones of the professional artist, are nuanced with different layers of intentionality and truth. The truth that dad is feeling lazy is a very simple facet of the much larger story. The woman in the mask has revealed her need for emotional defense, but there is much more to her story as well. Any work of fiction, movie or work of visual art is inevitably an autobiography of the artist (Wilde 9). These intentional acts of representation are, in a sense, on a sliding scale of effectiveness. For whether we believe in truth or not, whether we believe in reality or not, we nonetheless try to communicate on a regular basis for some reason. Communication is human. The effectiveness of our communication may be linked to the power of our objective correlatives. While the universality of some expression may increase the likelihood of being understood, the ability to be truly and deeply known is aided by a more skilled, artistic intentionality in communication.
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