Tuesday, March 08, 2011
8:38 PM
Rushdie's world view of the planet being fragmented to a point that no one group has legitimacy and the importance of free speech as a universal desire are interesting. A question that this book has raised for me is this: why do statistics serve to scare us but never make us feel better? I mean, there are statistics that anyone can find on themselves where they are on the right side of the data and some of us know them but for some reason it gives us no solace.
What Edward Said says about his career in advertising copy reflects in his art (in a good way) is poignant. In many ways people who work in advertising are hounds, understanding human nature better than most of us. There is limit to this kind of knowledge and there is such a thing as knowing just enough to be dangerous. The affect he uses processes the images in a propaganda-like manner (again, not negatively).
I digress, I think that the book is beautiful but will have to read it many more times to understand it. The humor is unique, it illuminates the ordinary in an endearing way that preserves the image. The cast of "pickled souls" will be marching around in mind for quite some time.
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