The Great Gatsby, The Hunger Games, and what they tell us about Popular Culture

Source: Wikipedia

F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is widely regarded as one of the greatest American novels ever written. Nearly 90 years after its composition, it remains very popular among readers and, as Baz Luhrnmann's new film adaptation has proven, moviegoers. Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy is a bestselling series that has been adapted into an equally successful movie franchise. The success of both works has made them pop culture icons. This is ironic since The Great Gatsby and The Hunger Games actually criticize the very aspects of popular culture that popular culture emphasizes in them. Although The Great Gatsby is a biting critique of American materialism, the book has inspired art and films that emphasize the lavish lifestyle of Jay Gatsby. Similarly, although The Hunger Games criticizes the alleged "bread and circuses" atmosphere of contemporary America, the books have inspired movie adaptations (and numerous rip-offs) that capitalize on the inherent violence of the stories, preying on the very voyeurism they claim to criticize.

Gatsby's Mansion from the 2013 film The Great Gatsby
Source: imdb.com

The French critic Baudrillard argued that life was a simulation. He first posited that human concepts of meaning, power, law, and order were only simulations held in place by people who wrongly believe them to be real. However, Baudrillard went on to argue that "the simulation" (what most of us call "real life") would absorb any attempt to prove its existence, reinforcing its own hold on humans. While life itself may not be a simulation, popular culture certainly behaves the way Baudrillard argues "the simulation" behaves. Even successful critiques of American pop culture, like The Great Gatsby and The Hunger Games, ultimately fail to open our eyes to the inherent failings of popular culture. Although these books criticize the failings of American culture (our love of material objects and violent spectacle respectively), they have themselves become icons of the culture they criticize. We sigh as we imagine Gatsby's expensive cars, palatial home, and lavish parties. We thrill to the adventures of Katniss and her fellow competitors. Therefore, we support the very system the books we love criticize.

James Dean plays troubled teen Jim Stark
in Rebel Without a Cause
Source: Wikipedia

Of course, this kind of cultural appropriation is not new. Nor indeed, is this phenomenon confined merely to literature. During the 1700s, in an effort to quell Jacobite sentiments in Scotland, the English government banned kilts, bagpipes, and other symbols of Scottish nationalism, then appropriated these symbols to use as the icons of elite British regiments. Thus, the dominant cultural system absorbed counter-cultural symbols and turned them against the counter-culture. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, wearing blue jeans became a way of "defying the establishment" as James Dean proved in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). It did not take long, however, for blue jeans to transition from icons of counter-culture, to fashion statements. Instead of defying popular culture, blue jeans came to signify an adherence to popular culture. True, jeans are not as complex as a novel, but the pattern is the same.

On a final note, even Baudrillard's indictment of "the simulation" was, itself, absorbed by "the simulation." His essay "Simulacra and Simulations" became the inspiration for the popular Matrix movies, which, for all their good intentions, quickly devolved into mindless action movies. At the end of the day, The Simulation always wins.

Editing on Instinct

Page edited by Honore de Balzac (1799-1850)
Photo from allposters.com

Whether you do it yourself, ask a friend, or hire a professional, editing creative writing is essential. While some authors, C. S. Lewis for one, can have managed to be successful without much care for editing, there are dozens who scrupulously edited their work. Balzac, the French realist, famously edited his own writing with detailed notes, massive deletions, and intense self-criticism as the copy of one of his manuscripts to the right attests. Tolkein, Goethe, and Wordsworth revised and edited their own work for decades, producing numerous editions or revisions. Fitzgerald spent over a year working on The Great Gatsby while James Joyce added his masterful short story "The Dead" to Dubliners years after he finished the other stories. While it is certainly possible to over-edit a text and second-guess oneself (Wordsworth was often guilty of this) most texts benefit from rigorous editing. As a writer who has edited his own work and that of others, I feel I am in a position to offer a few comments on the subject with a reasonable degree of authority.

In making all necessary changes, you will have to be careful to keep the author's artistic vision in mind. While considering the reader's impressions and the potential appeal of the work you are editing is important, editing too much can strip a work of its author's original intent. The editor must balance the writer's goals with his own. This is a difficult task that requires practice and patience on the part of editor and author. Even if the author and editor are the same person, it is possible to stray from one's original goals or ideas. Sometimes, as with great acting, the best writing can be spontaneous. Tolkein subconsciously scribbled the first line of The Hobbit while he was grading a student's exam. As an editor, you must be careful not to stifle the originality of the author. The best way to avoid this is to learn the author's vision, absorb the ideas of the book, then do what I call "editing on instinct." Assess what the work (be it a novel, a short story, a play, or a poem) then decide what seems "true" to the spirit of the work and what is not. That which is not "true" to the work should be changed or deleted, that which is should be preserved at all costs. This philosophy should be kept in mind when following the steps I suggest in the following paragraphs and (even if the particulars I recommend are disregarded) should be kept in mind. Approaching an author's work from this standpoint is essential.

The first step to editing creative writing, whether it is your own or someone else's, is to read the work, noting your impressions and correcting major errors (Microsoft Word "track changes" can be a very helpful tool with this step). If the work does not leave the emotional or intellectual impressions the author desires, this should be noted. General impressions are important at this stage as these will help you develop the instincts necessary to edit the book. Is the tone serious, sentimental, or silly? Do the characters feel realistic or exaggerated? Does the narrative progress in any particular order? The answers you give to these questions are vital. If the effect of the piece seems inappropriate or inconsistent with the author's stated purpose or the work's subject matter, revisions may be necessary. If you have identified an issue, take it up with the author and focus on specific instances where the problem seems to occur. If, for example, you are editing a novel about a cancer patient and you find the author's occasional bouts of levity disrespectful, consult him or her and point out specific passages. It may be the case that only a few sentences  throughout the work need alteration or you need to change your point of view as editor or perhaps the author needs to make his purpose more clear from the outset. In other cases, details may need to be added to enhance character depth and make imagery more vivid. As always, the overall vision and feel of the work should be your guide.

Once major issues in the writing have been addressed, it is time for you as editor to focus on sentence structure, vocabulary, punctuation, and spelling.  Ordinarily, proper English grammar rules and spelling should be observed but in some cases, the author may need to break rules intentionally to achieve certain effects. For example, characters (even narrators) may need to use incorrect grammar to create a better mental image of their personality and background for the reader. I have personally added slang and grammatical errors to dialogue in a novel I was editing in order to make the characters feel more real. Again, you should trust your instincts as a reader (or writer) in determining what a character should say or do.

While I do not believe the process of "editing on instinct" is revolutionary, I believe the idea can benefit many aspiring writers and editors. Ultimately, the concept is a good one because it respects the author's vision while still taking into account a reader's impressions. The editing process relies upon balance. The author's instincts as a writer, and the editor's instincts as a reader are both critical guides. Obviously, the more skilled the author is and the more well-read the editor is, the better their instincts and the finished work will be.

"There is a world elsewhere"

Hello and welcome to "A World Elsewhere,"

My name is Adam Vera. I am a freelance writer 
with a BA in English Literature who regularly publishes a wide range of articles and essays, apart from the odd fictional piece. I love to study literature, film, and culture and plan to attend graduate school next fall to study Renaissance drama. My fictional influences include Shakespeare, Middleton, Marlowe, Poe, Melville, and Fitzgerald while my critical and scholarly influences include Montaigne, Barthes, and Baudrillard.

The title of my blog, inspired by a quotation from William Shakespeare's Coriolanus, is a nod to my love of Shakespeare and an allusion to the purpose of this blog, to explore the worlds offered by great works of art. My posts will deal with plays, books, films, television programs, and other aspects of popular culture, especially those relevant to current events or cultural trends. My goal is to provide intelligent, clearly-written, and thought-provoking posts that will be of interest to anyone who loves good literature, films, or other works of art. 

My blog should be of interest to students, academics, writers, and anyone else interested in literature or culture. Feel free to leave feedback, comments, dissenting views, or questions, I love them all. I am always conscious of my audience and will follow up on comments, possibly with new posts related to them. Finally, following my posts is free. You can have access to what I hope will be enjoyable and stimulating writing that follows currents of modern thought, while simultaneously looking beyond our current society into the vast expanse of human thought and creation represented by literary and artistic achievements handed down to us from that "world elsewhere."