Fabulous essay Samira. Even I have read some of your work and have tended to believe the voice of a fictional narrative must belong to the author. You asked what we think: when THAT happens, you can be sure the author (or actor) is doing a great job at portraying / delivering a story. As you put it, we can sit in a movie and set aside disbelief on purpose, knowing it's fiction -- because it's a movie.
But, readers, especially on social media, do tend to think it's all true. No ability to apply critical thinking.
You wrote:
"Discernment....Not everything is a cover-up. Sometimes it’s just art. As someone who writes fiction, I want people to question the world. I want stories to unsettle you and make you think. I also hope we’ve not reached a point where every piece of performance art is treated like leaked evidence. Sometimes a story is just a story."
AMEN! Well written and important to be shared with a wide audience.
Oh, my. Thank you so much lovely. Your comment truly means so much to me. It’s so thoughtful and I appreciate the time you took to not only read it, but leave such a lovely comment as well. I’m so pleased that I have offered another perspective 🖤
I am not aware of what James Franco was up to. But I do think you have a point where those in social media have a difficult time distinguishing fantasy with reality. It could be a bi-product of Reality Television
I’m not sure about reality television. I think it’s a clever way to promote his upcoming film, but hey, I could be wrong. He could be warning us of the upcoming ‘Alien Invasion’ 😜
Thank you love. We just need some discernment. It is pretty hard these days determining what is deep fake, a conspiracy, or in this case, storytelling. I am going with the latter 😜
I haven't seen any of James Franco's posts or heard anything about it until now, but you make a good point. If one role of social media is to garner attention, and if artists are looking for new ways to do that, why wouldn't this just be one of those ways? Makes sense to me. But I think part of the problem is that a lot of people just fly through everything and take little time to explore, to investigate and come to their own conclusions -- to discern what is happening and even if there's a story under the surface. I've been asked by my wife, "Is that story a message to me?" No, it's not. It's just a story. Some of my stories have my own fantasies woven in, but usually it's just my wild ideas about everything needing a place to breathe. You have to stop a minute and let it in first, and then maybe you can know.
Thank you, I appreciate this. I think you've captured exactly what I was trying to say. We often rush to interpret instead of simply experiencing the work first. My stories often begin with a moment in time that is true, and then I expand it into fiction. The reader can decide which is fact and which is fiction. Maybe that's where the magic of storytelling really begins.
"It's fiction. Not a confession." Love this
Thank you so much, Jude 🖤
"Sometimes a story is just a story."
Fabulous essay Samira. Even I have read some of your work and have tended to believe the voice of a fictional narrative must belong to the author. You asked what we think: when THAT happens, you can be sure the author (or actor) is doing a great job at portraying / delivering a story. As you put it, we can sit in a movie and set aside disbelief on purpose, knowing it's fiction -- because it's a movie.
But, readers, especially on social media, do tend to think it's all true. No ability to apply critical thinking.
You wrote:
"Discernment....Not everything is a cover-up. Sometimes it’s just art. As someone who writes fiction, I want people to question the world. I want stories to unsettle you and make you think. I also hope we’ve not reached a point where every piece of performance art is treated like leaked evidence. Sometimes a story is just a story."
AMEN! Well written and important to be shared with a wide audience.
Oh, my. Thank you so much lovely. Your comment truly means so much to me. It’s so thoughtful and I appreciate the time you took to not only read it, but leave such a lovely comment as well. I’m so pleased that I have offered another perspective 🖤
I am not aware of what James Franco was up to. But I do think you have a point where those in social media have a difficult time distinguishing fantasy with reality. It could be a bi-product of Reality Television
I’m not sure about reality television. I think it’s a clever way to promote his upcoming film, but hey, I could be wrong. He could be warning us of the upcoming ‘Alien Invasion’ 😜
Its always best to look behind the curtain before taking anything at face value. Well said love. 🖤🖤🖤
Thank you love. We just need some discernment. It is pretty hard these days determining what is deep fake, a conspiracy, or in this case, storytelling. I am going with the latter 😜
I haven't seen any of James Franco's posts or heard anything about it until now, but you make a good point. If one role of social media is to garner attention, and if artists are looking for new ways to do that, why wouldn't this just be one of those ways? Makes sense to me. But I think part of the problem is that a lot of people just fly through everything and take little time to explore, to investigate and come to their own conclusions -- to discern what is happening and even if there's a story under the surface. I've been asked by my wife, "Is that story a message to me?" No, it's not. It's just a story. Some of my stories have my own fantasies woven in, but usually it's just my wild ideas about everything needing a place to breathe. You have to stop a minute and let it in first, and then maybe you can know.
Thank you, I appreciate this. I think you've captured exactly what I was trying to say. We often rush to interpret instead of simply experiencing the work first. My stories often begin with a moment in time that is true, and then I expand it into fiction. The reader can decide which is fact and which is fiction. Maybe that's where the magic of storytelling really begins.