An American Tale – Perspectives
Sep 24th, 2007 by Neyno
(Click below to listen or for information.)
Episode #121 of “This American Life” takes you on a journey through one man’s life from the eyes and memories of his nine children. I feel my thorough enjoyment of this program is rooted in the themes contained within. The pursuit of dreams, recreating the self, personal mythology, contrast and contradiction, and the concept of one’s identity were all present in the tale that spanned a lifetime.
The fact that the story is told from multiple perspectives is something that always grabs my attention. It reminded me of Citizen Kane in the sense that a person’s story is told through numerous individuals sharing anecdotes about said person. Using this method lends itself to the idea that numerous and seemingly contradictory feelings and ideas can exist in the same ’space.’ Not only can the father be loved, but he can also be hated – even by the same person in the same moment. Stories of this nature convey a very real and human side to things rather than a perfect dramatized version.
Life’s complexity is truly expressed in storytelling of this nature. As we navigate through the years of these people’s live’s we’re presented with the same character portrayed in different ways. Not only due to other’s perceptions, but due to the personalities he tries on as if they were a suit of clothes. Each change resulting from a constant striving for dream realization and completion of one’s perceived destiny, at the expense of his family.
I think many of us can empathize with the drive for ‘greatness.’ Not only that, but the desire to achieve it through recreating oneself in a more preferable image. It isn’t uncommon for people to pick up, move, and start a new life. Usually part of this life is a new version of the self. Neynobot v2.3 .vs the outdated v2.2 model, for example. One would hope to learn and improve with each model upgrade. However, as this story shows, some people never correct the inherent flaws in their programming and suffer as a result of it.
Sometimes the mythology and the reality are hard to pick apart. This is especially true in the case of someone who seemed to desire a myth to build around them. So, I invite you to give this show a listen for yourself. Hopefully you, too will come away feeling it was as worth your while as I did.
“This American Life” can be heard on Wisconsin Public Radio, and many other public radio stations nationwide. Be sure to go to their site to see if it airs in your area. If not – request it! You can also go to their site to get podcasts and news in regards to the show.
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