Magic Lantern
Friday, January 15, 2016
Andrew Moul 1/15
The first act I listened to was number nine, Of Dogs and
Men. On its surface, it is a humorous story told by a pet shop owner about a
couple who came into her shop and were looking for a dog collar. In the story,
being unable to make up her mind, the wife looks to her husband and comments
that he and the dog have the same neck size. She requests he try on the pinch
collar and after putting the collar on, she gives the collar a quick yank. Unsurprisingly,
he quickly agrees that this is the collar they should buy. Like I said before,
at first it seemed like just a funny story but upon closer inspection we could
potentially draw a bit more from this anecdote. While telling the story, the
shop keeper points out that the collars “don’t actually hurt the animal, they
just get their attention.” Maybe the wife’s motive wasn’t to get her husband’s
attention (she just wanted to make sure the collar fit); however, could the storyteller,
by making this observation, be making a statement about relationships? Do women
feel that they have to get their husbands’ attention? Maybe because they (the
men) aren’t paying attention, or because they get sidetracked… It really is a humorous
story; but, I think the storyteller can also use it to make a point or send a
message. I really like that the story has more than one use and I may try to incorporate
that technique in my story.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really love the deeper level of interpretation you took when listening to "Of Dogs and Men." I would not have thought of the deeper issues brought up within this piece, but now that you point it out, it makes sense. When you revise or rewrite your piece, incorporating this technique into it, keep in mind that it is often times more impactful to show the underlying meaning rather than outright state it. Use vivid description and subtle phrases to show that there is another meaning rather than state it. I think this technique will make your piece strong and more thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteI really like your reading of this story and the deeper implications it may have beyond its obvious surface humor. I think you can definitely find a way to incorporate similar meaning into your own story, especially with it being about something you clearly love to do (if you decide to stick with the piano piece, that is). If not, I'm interested to hear what else you'll come up with!
ReplyDeleteI really like your reading of this story and the deeper implications it may have beyond its obvious surface humor. I think you can definitely find a way to incorporate similar meaning into your own story, especially with it being about something you clearly love to do (if you decide to stick with the piano piece, that is). If not, I'm interested to hear what else you'll come up with!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you posted this because upon hearing this piece, I really didn't search for or consider any deeper meaning. It's hard to say if there is a deeper meaning laying beneath the humor of the story, but it's always worth considering and contemplating. This also makes me think about my own piece. It is a personal story, slightly humorous, and generally overall lighthearted, and I initially didn't think there would be much of a strong "deeper meaning", per se. But it's funny because as I write and revise, I start to realize that there may be something there after all.
ReplyDeleteI also walked away from this story thinking more about what the bigger implications of this story could mean. Personally I like stories like that a lot, where during the story you are interested and focused on what the author is saying, but then you can walk away from the story thinking about the bigger picture and what this means in the long run. I like how the author did it in this podcast too because the author didn't force you to think about the bigger picture, but it was there if you wanted to think about it. I think it would be a very beneficial technique to bring into your story because it puts your story in a larger, more complex context.
ReplyDelete