October 17, 2006: More on Reality and Fiction

Perhaps it is not just that reality is "too much with us." Perhaps the ultimate virtue of fiction is that, at its best, it tells us more about reality than "reality itself!" Consider today's report in Assimilated Press (which, for my money, has now displaced The Onion as the best source of satirical journalism). The headline reads "Kansas Farmer See Cheney's Face In Cowpie;" and the author picks up this theme and runs with it at a breakneck pace never encountered in Swift. Like the best of satire, this reflects a reality with far more accuracy than conventional prose could ever do.

Technology has changed our perspective of reality, probably not for the better. A friend of mine used to observe that hand-drawn images in biology texts that predated the camera were almost always superior to any subsequent photographs. In this case the reason was simple: The photograph showed too much. On the other hand the drawing showed just enough to make sure that the reader saw what the author wanted him (or her) to see. So it is that satire provides the author with a better command of the reader's attention than expository prose can. Is it any wonder, then, that Jon Stewart is now regarded as a more credible news reporter than the network anchors; and, perhaps because he is more up front about his point of view and the motives behind his texts, he really is more credible!