When I hear new ideas, it helps to have pegs in my brain to hang them on. Reflecting on the horizon-broadening ideas I heard this month at the Festival of Faith and Writing, I can think of a few pegs. Here's an example:
From Scott Russell Sanders and Kathleen Dean Moore ~ Art described as "regional" is usually from someplace other than the big cities the media normally highlights as the norm. If the New York Times calls writers of the stature of Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder "regional," there's something wrong with the term.
I associate this with other discernment lessons about the propagandizing power of media biases, especially in the areas of politics and religion. I didn't realize this ethnocentric tunnel vision happened with media presentation of the arts, too. Another peg to hang this on is questioning established definitions, such as how we define success or freedom.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
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2 comments:
Does this mean that the media will favor "edgy" books that are about angst in the city, but marginalize books about angst in the country? Or do books about angst in the country automatically become "heartwarming" books by the media because they are set in the country and media bias doesn't allow angst in the country? Or did I totally misunderstand?
Good question, but I don't know the answer to it. I think the comment specifically applied to the media's dismissing the opinions of thinkers and essayists from rural areas, or even cities other than the cities the media deems significant.
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