| Original Message |
Danielle Cerullo (no login)
Posted Feb 4, 2008 12:24 AM
I'd like to respond to Jim's 'questions to consider' as a starting-off point for my response to this novel. Jim, the first question you pose is a difficult one to answer. I am truly unsure as to whether any subject should be considered 'forbidden' for an artist. Perhaps no, if the artist is writing or creating as a means to better his life or the lives of others. Perhaps yes, if the artist is seeking to intentionally hurt another or others. However, what if the artist is writing or creating in order to better his life or the lives of others by seeking to intentionally hurt another or others. This scenario is why I am unsure of the answer to your question. Although, I am sure that the subject of the tragedy of 9/11 should not be considered 'forbidden' for Beigbeder. As an artist, Beigbeder successfully presents an outsiders' view of the tragedy of 9/11 that is not to be offending to Americans, but rather to be empathetic to Americans. Throughout the novel I noticed that if there was a chance that Americans would be offended by what he wrote, he would suspend himself in his thoughts and apologize for his insensitivity. By acknowledging his insensitivity at times, he in turn makes himself seem more sensitive than he realizes. For example, on page 80 Beigbeder writes at the beginning of Chapter 8:48:
OTHER POSSIBLE NAMES FOR THE WORLD TRADE CENTER RESTAURANT:
-Windows on the Planes
-Windows on the Crash
-Windows on the Smoke
-Broken Windows
Sorry for that bout of black humor: a momentary defense against the atrocity.
It is apparent that Beigbeder had good intentions as an artist when writing this novel. Therefore, I'd like to pose a question to consider, if this novel was so carefully constructed and tastefully written for its audience, then how is this novel 'extreme' expecially in comparison with the film 'CUT' we viewed in the previous class? Is it extreme because of the occasional use of foul language or the snippits of sexual content? Is it extreme because of the sensitivity of the subject? Is it extreme because of the inevitable ending?
Perhaps it is extreme because of the feelings and ideas it provokes in the reader. It provokes feelings of sadness, fear, concern, and sympathy, but it also provokes ideas about destiny and inevitability of death. It is an extreme thought to think that Carthew and his sons were destined to die on 9/11, but the man who was ten minutes late for work that day was not. Here lies the idea that this could happen to anyone at anytime. I believe that this is part of why Beigbeder felt that he needed to write this novel, out of astonishment that he could have been Carthew and the Tour Montparnasse could have been the World Trade Center.
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