August 28, 2009
I saw the film Inglourious Basterds tonight, which was truly a singular experience…and it got me thinking. How much logic do we expect from a piece of art? How much do we need to believe that events in a film or book or story happen in a way that’s consistent with what we think of as the real world? In the case of this movie, there were many incidents that you could say would probably not happen the same way in real life. And yet, Basterds worked magnificently well as a piece of entertainment…stirring, thought-provoking entertainment at that. The director, Quentin Tarantino, understands that the purpose of art like this film is to make the viewer or reader feel something. He knows that imagery and symbolism can be much more important than slavish attention to accuracy and plausibility. Granted, there’s a threshold of believability that a writer or director has to maintain in order to meet certain audience expectations…but that threshold is pretty low. Artistic license carries with it sweeping powers; most people want to be entertained and moved more than they want to witness a depiction of events that unfolds in a highly detailed and logical fashion.
This is a message that’s dear to my heart, as I too strive to achieve emotional resonance without necessarily sticking to what might be logical or believable in the real world. I do think it’s more important to achieve an emotional effect than it is to rigorously develop systems and processes that the majority of readers would agree have a strong basis in reality. Impact and feeling, I think, should trump banal detail and logic…at least in the kinds of stories and books I tend to write. And the kinds of stories and books I love to read. See you soon!
