Googlover: Do you think the state of literature has to do with general trend of anti-intellectualism and dumbing down that is widespread in our culture?Now, isn't that a wonderful question? IMHO, the answer is YES.
Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader will fail, Steve Jobs says, because Americans simply don’t read. From The New York Times:
“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.” Read More
I don't think Kindle will fail but I do agree that people don't read as much. How many people would have heard of the books unless it was made into a movie? What do you think? Are we becoming dumber? Will reading die out?
Then I had this question:
Talli Roland: There is a formula to fiction. I wonder if there was a formula a century ago, too, only it was different?Another great question. I've been thinking about this and I believe that even back a few hundred years ago, certain types of stories were popular. Take for example, Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen wrote that book because at the time, Gothic novels were popular. Jane Austen based her story on Ann Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho.
But enough of what I think. What do you think about these questions?
I'm not exactly sure that just because we read less that our culture is "dumbing down." There is some evidence to support that (we should read more often than watch crap TV or play videogames), but I know some very intelligent people who don't read at all, either because they read too slowly or don't have the time. Maybe they're simply exceptions, who knows.
ReplyDeleteWhat we need to do is uphold higher educational standards, such as failing a student who deserves to fail and not passing them along in order to not have to deal with them again. If anything, THAT is what's dumbing down American society, the fact that we are doing not much of anything to catch up with Chinese students.
And in regards to Steve Jobs' Kindle assessment, 40% is not enough to make the product fail, even with all the rabid readers out there who don't own the Kindle device. Smaller markets can still thrive, but according to Amazon, Kindle is nowhere near a small market.
Yes to #1, I am totally intrigued by this dumbing down concept. I believe intelligence use to be learned and earned, now it is Googled.
ReplyDeleteAs to #2, I believe it to be merely the dawn of another new beginning. People will always read or be read to. Look I read this.
As to #3 I do not have a dog in that fight. :D
Very interesting post.
Trying To Get Over The Rainbow
Clarissa - As an educator, I ask myself that question a lot - about dumbing down. I often think that schools, and the way students are prepared in many of them, contribute to the formulaic thinking that makes people think our culture is dumbing down. Schools very often do not prepare students to think critically weigh what they discover and draw their own conclusions. Instead, the goal of schools is to give students information and facts that are often (at least from students' perspectives) meaningless. So students learn that the way to get through school is to come up with the "right" answers for tests, and then move on. They sometimes simply do not learn to be thinkers.
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely not to say that no schools prepare students to be real thinkers; there are plenty of wonderful schools that do. But in the main, students are not encouraged to really engage their minds. I try to help the teachers whom I work with to coach and model real thinking and critical assessment of ideas, and there are some brilliant teachers out there. But standards-driven instruction simply prioritizes answers, not questions...
In the last workshop I attended, the facilitator told us to always assume the reader is more intelligent than us. Therefore, don't go to great pains to explain what should simple and easily understood.
ReplyDeleteWhen my ms got accepted for publication, I was asked to add explanations, etc. when I thought what I had written was as plain as the nose on my face.
Sometimes, in catering to the 'now generation' reader who has no time and has to be spoonfed, publishers do an injustice to all readers.
Gimme a good book that I can wrap my head around and actually do some thinking. Alas, dumbing down seems to be the order of the day.
Amanda, I agree with you 100%. I'm not an American, I'm Canadian but I can see even in the Canadian education system, the standards have gone down. I don't think that because we have google it's made us stupid. I actually think we have more knowledge at our fingertips. However, I think the publishing industry knows what the reader can handle and that's why young adult books are becoming more simple. But, classics, such as Pride and Prejudice are selling like never before... so who can say?
ReplyDeleteJules, in part, people no longer have to do the legwork, the results are already there on google. However, we have more access to larger quantities of information as never before. What we do with that knowledge though is key. What happens to e-readers? I think they will only increase, I do worry about paperbacks though.
CD
I don't think it's a dumbing down, but a generalization. Books are read by more (hundreds of thousands more) people than they were two centuries ago, or even just in the 19th century. The globalization of society means writing has to reach a more diverse and spread out audience. Sure, book sales are concentrated in certain areas. And breaking it into genre helps. But you have to remember how small the percentage of the population could read in Dickens and Byron's era. The fact that these works are making a resurgance and still hold up is proof that we are no less intellectual, but much more diverse.
ReplyDeleteWe ARE faced with an audience with a short attention span. This is why the Kindle with embedded videos and TV news vs. the newspaper are major players in the 21st century.
I don't usually plug myself, but if anyone is interested in the roots of present day literature, I am finishing up a Literary Movement Series tomorrow. So far, I've covered Gothic, Romanticism, the Beat Generation, and the Lost Generation. Modernism is Thursday. So check it out at my blog.
Clarissa, these are great questions you pose. And the quality of response is such that I want to visit everyone's blog!
Michele
Writers Jailed today on SouthernCityMysteries
I agree less people read these days. Men read far less than women, too. Considering men tend to dominate the leadership roles in this country and our businesses, I find that disturbing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a thoughtful blog, including the comments. Strangely enough, those who do read are reading tons more because of the Kindle.
ReplyDeleteClarissa, isn't this a difficult question. As a teacher, I know first hand that the curriculum of high schools are dumbed down. Critical literacy is taught but not in a way to get students to really think deeply. However, I practically live in my hugh City Library, and it is choc full at all times with people sitting around reading, attending author events, workshops etc. I can't believe so few books are being read!! My 5 or 6 a week must up the average..:)
ReplyDeleteMargot, you make some really good points. You said, "Instead, the goal of schools is to give students information and facts that are often (at least from students' perspectives) meaningless." My son still comes home from school and wonders what the point of it is. I admit he plays too many video games but he has a love for reading and now he's gaining a love of writing. He says that what he learns in school is not helpful for life outside of it... I don't know, I think the act of learning teaches you to learn and continuous learning is vital.
ReplyDeleteBut, you're right, for the most part, students try to find the easy way out of the school years and take the first job. Not saying this applies to everyone but to a lot.
Joy, I love the books where you have to go to the dictionary once in awhile or where you learn something new about something. Even if it's a fiction book. Why should we dumb down our books. It doesn't do the next generation any good.
Oh, I have a question... left to themselves, do you think your children would read if not forced to? If the answer is no, it could be goodbye bookstores.
CD
Alex, it is disturbing. I don't know what it means for our future and the next president but... look away now.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I actually kindle is perfect for the next generation. You get your books in minutes - for the impatient. Now kindle comes with text to speech, so people don't even have to read.
L'Aussie, I used to go to the library every week without fail. I sure miss the library here in Mexico. That's why I like Kindle so much.
CD
Everyone, I think Michele's right. You should check out her blog.
ReplyDeleteYou said, "Books are read by more (hundreds of thousands more) people than they were two centuries ago, or even just in the 19th century." But, playing devils advocate, there are a lot more people on earth then there was a few hundred years ago.
I think that kindle will do well.
CD
Kids will read if their parents instill the love of reading from an early age. Both of my boys read voraciously, and even at the ages of 12 and 10 I still read to them at night before bed.
ReplyDeleteThere are formulas for writing books. Introduce protagonist. Hit him/her with something bad. Resolve some of the issues, but then make everything much worse. Amazingly save the day but in a manner that seems completely logical once the reader sees it.
Ted, you're right about it being the parent's responsibility and that's a major cause of illiteracy. Parent's don't read to their children as much as they did before.
ReplyDeleteANd you're right about the formula. It's been like that for years.
CD
In the UK the average adult reading age is that of a 9-year-old, I don't know about anywhere else, but this saddens me, the best way to improve that is to get more people to read. I've met so many people who say "I don't read" as though that's something to be proud of. I suppose they're all at home watching reality tv instead.
ReplyDeleteI think there are definite trends in literature, as you pointed out Clarissa, Austen copied a particular trend of the time with one book, and often books with similar themes and ideas will appear together, building on the popularity of the style.
I think the questions are great, particularly number 3 (ha!). But I think you're right - certain types of stories were more popular. There will always be 'trends' and less appreciated writers trying to break through.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I do have to force my son to read, but only sometimes. I started out by buying him books before he could read and he's a member of a book club, so now reading is second nature to him. He'll ask me to buy books that catch his eye. Of course, I have to be vigilant 'cause he usually likes those that are below his reading level. Lazy sod! :) Will check out Michele's blog.
ReplyDelete"Googlover: Do you think the state of literature has to do with general trend of anti-intellectualism and dumbing down that is widespread in our culture?"
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, a thousand times yes. All one has to see for evidence of this point is by reading even the comments on certain agent blogs. Several people saying they didn't like books whose writing was "too good" as it struck them as "elite" or that anyone seeking to write "the great American novel" should "get over themselves". So many others come to mind, but those comments have stuck with me and filled me with a bit of anger and resentment. Given that they were written by aspiring authors actually has me avoiding the blog for a bit so I don't pull any more of my hair out.
The second question: I think Jobs is wrong. People are reading. Many are reading what I consider to be not worth the price of purchase, but they're still reading.
Number three: Many periods have certain formulas, but as those formulas are rather general many books can be stated to have followed one. Even modern literature has a "formula" it would seem. That matters little to me - it's all in the execution.