jeff says he cannot relate to the story that i submitted for class. at first i was offended and assumed he hated my story and that i sucked and what not. but i guess that might be a different thing. because i got to thinking about stuff and i guess i like the stuff i can relate to the most. is that the same with everyone you think?
like “almost famous.” i love that movie with a passion because i relate so well to william miller about being a nerdy kid without a lot of friends (except in my case i’m a nerdy adult without a lot of friends).
but i like to think that i can appreciate the beauty in art that i can’t relate to. stuff that moves me or that i can empathize with.
what do you think?
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Seriously?
Yeah, and I kinda blasted you back. Sorry. I do like your story, really. I just can’t put myself in Anita’s shoes, that’s all.
are you trying to make me cry today?
here’s what i think. i think there’s a combination of two factors which allows people to “get into” a story: 1) how well the story is written, and 2) how easy it is for a person to separate himself from his own self-image.
1) if a story is really well-written, i can get into it despite how different the characters are from me. in fact, i am often in awe of a story which has the ability to get me to empathize with someone who does something i would NEVER do. however, if a story isn’t well written, i can’t get into it no matter how much i can relate to the characters.
2) i do think there are some people who can’t get into a story unless they can relate to the characters in a more personal way. maybe it has something to do with being unable to set aside your own identity to a certain extent, to be able to immerse yourself in a different character. i also have noticed that many men seem to have a harder time getting interested in stories that have characters dissimilar from them. i think this relates to the fact that as we grow up, in school we are exposed to more literature by men than women. so women become adapted to stories about men, whereas men don’t have to adapt as much to stories about women. this is just a theory, but i’ve noticed it for a long time and i think it might have some validity.
… sorry for the longwindedness there. 🙂
you are a genius!
smooch!
is this theory based on the premise that men have a hard time understanding women? hmmmm. i don’t understand.
it has nothing to do with whether or not men understand women, it has to do with whether or not men are adapted to reading about people who are different from them in a significant way (i.e., men and women are different and their experiences of the world are different).
like i said, it’s just a theory. i’m not trying to male-bash or anything, here.
i was only poking a little fun at men themselves. as a whole, we’re a dopey lot. if that were to be my theory, i would offer a page or two of iwilldare to quickly prove my case.
your theory is a fine one, and not once did it sound like male bashing to me.
that’s good. i was afraid someone might have taken offense to it.