Thursday, November 13, 2014
Seven American Deaths and Disasters
In class, we talked about how this book of poems reveals the poetic quality of language in these moments of crisis and tragedy as reporters and witnesses seek to capture in words what is happening in front of them. Pick out two specific passages from the same section (so two passages from "Robert F Kennedy" for example) where you find the language particularly interesting and important. First, transcribe those passages. Then analyze both passages. What stands out about the language? How does it capture, or fail to capture, the crisis of the moment? How do we see the speaker struggling for words, struggling to understand? Describe the experience of the tension between what you know is happening, and the odd defamiliarized experience of reading this language on the page of Goldsmith's book. Describe the poetry of this moment.
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Page 161, in the Michael Jacson chapter, stuck out to me the most. It did because the language, well is very 21st century. It is especially because they say things in a simpler language, and also the umm's in the passage make me relate to the television cast. It makes me a feel the emotion of uncertainty. On page 162 when it is closing, it interested me because the last lines had two uh's in it because the broadcasters still did not know what exactly was going on. It also was interesting because right before this on page 161, "did you hear about the climatological," it was as if they were trying to distract people of the tragic news that was about to come. Of course they did not know at the time, but still it's like they had a feeling, they wanted "relief," but had to prepare to say the worst. Another thing about the language is that it is straight to the point and very casual. The language is very conversational. Another thing that stuck out about this passage is the fact that one broadcaster tried to downplay Michael Jackson as an icon, by contrasting his accomplishment to Elvis. This I did not appreciate because he was at the time in the hospital. It is unique though because it does show how outspoken, and how much people appreciate the freedom of speech. At one point people were way more strict on the radio. The Michael Jackson piece shows the 21'st language through a broadcasting piece.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe passage I read is in the Michael Jackson section of this book by Kenneth Goldsmith and a lot of the book brings back old memories by just the way it flows kind of how some poetry I want to write makes me feel, memories flowing back in word by word. This passage does not fail to capture the crisis of the moment but it does closely capture or at least help get us ready to capture the moment or at least for what’s to come, because they do a mood change but don’t directly say what has happened just yet, so technically the moment isn’t in there universe yet. At first the word choice seemed to send off an excited/news bringing tone but as I kept reading I understood that it was more of being surprised, worried, and sad about what the future may hold. I got the excited/news bringing tone from the language because they opened up the passage with “It’s so interesting. Before we came on the air today,” when they said interesting and right before they aired, which tells us something happened and it was different than normal. Then the mood changed when there was an abrupt change in tone and mood of topic that was to come, “— I hope this is not the case— but Jimmy and I were talking about how things happen in threes.” Following that death in the form of loss was brought up, “We just lost Ed McMahon, today we lose Farrah Fawcett,” which turned the mood even worse and made the topic to come seem very sad, dramatic, and depressing. And then the passage ended with news “walking” right in and then ellipses which like other things means something tragic and/or dramatic happened, ”now we’re hearing Jeff McKinney walking in telling us…” Throughout the passage the speaker wasn't fully sure what happened or how to even say the little part of what they did know, but they knew how to slide into a difficult task for all friends, foes, and spectators.
ReplyDeleteJohn Lennon
ReplyDeletePage 73
"John Smith is on the line and I don't care what's on the line, Howard Cosell, you have got to say what we know in the booth.
Yes we have to say it. Remember this is just a football game no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City. John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous perhaps of all the Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival. Hard to go back to the game after that newsflash."
This passage, in my opinion, captures the crisis of the moment very well. The language shows that the speakers are very affected by the tragedy, enough to interrupt their own show no matter the consequence to report this news. They even talk about it being hard to go back to talking about their usual stuff because they are so affected. It was different to experience this tension because they are reporting something that has happened instead of reporting as it happened like many of the other sections. It was very interesting and I felt as if reporting it like that gave them the opportunity to process their shock and express their emotions about the death.
Page 73-74
"We interrupt this program to bring you a special bulletin from NBC News. Former Beatle John Lennon is dead. Lennon died in a hospital shortly after being shot outside his New York apartment tonight. A suspect is in custody but has not been identified. Again, John Lennon is dead tonight of gunshot wounds at the age of forty. We now return to The Tonight Show."
The language in this very different passage stood out to me because of how blunt and emotionless it seemed. The crisis of the moment seemed to be completely ignore and the story was just presented as any other nonchalant news story. By reading about what happened in the context of Goldsmith's book, it made news appear in a form I had never seen it in before. At first, it almost made me annoyed that they seemed to play off these tragedies in the news, but then I realized that they have to use this language or every news story would cause panic. By using this language they are subduing the listener.
John Lennon
ReplyDeletePages 74-75
“It’s eighteen minutes after eleven o’clock on this, a rather gloomy Monday now for, uh, I was going to say for fans of music, but certainly anyone. John Lennon, former Beatle, shot to death in New York City this evening. It happened outside his apartment building on the city’s Upper West Side. Lennon, who just had his fortieth birthday in October, was rushed by police to Roosevelt Hospital and pronounced dead upon arrival. According to police, the shooting took place outside the Dakota, the century-old luxury apartment building where Lennon and wife Yoko Ono lived. Police have a suspect in custody. They describe him as a, quote, local screwball. And they say there doesn’t seem to have been any motive for the shooting. It was just two months ago that John released his first single in more than five years, ironically titled Just Like Starting Over. John Lennon, dead tonight in New York at the age of forty.
…I would imagine Beatle fans, at this point, just fans of John Lennon who, for no other reason, are all shocked and just felt they wanted to come here and…and be close to him.
…every other song for the remainder of this hour will be, uh, a track of music by the Beatles, as we kind of, uh, shall we say, think or exist in memorial for the death of John Lennon.”
I can kind of see where it seems like the speaker was reading from an information sheet and the parts where the speaker is talking unscripted. It seems as if he is at a bit of loss for words because of Lennon’s death. His ‘uhs’ seem to show his loss of words. However that portrays the situation well, many people would be at a loss of words from Lennon’s sudden murder.
Page 85
“I saw John and Yoko get out of the…get out of the limousine. They…they walked into the gate and, oh God… Let me just… And then I heard four or five shots. It was ear-shattering, ear-shattering. And then I heard Yoko…I heard a woman screaming…it was Yoko. She was screaming, help me!”
The person recalling what they saw is still in shock, and I think that even in Goldsmith’s transcription it captures all of the strong emotions that they were feeling. I feel as if they still don’t believe that Lennon is dead and even worse that they witnessed it.
I find it more difficult to fully understand the feelings that these people are having knowing and finding out that Lennon has been shot and killed because it is just history to me. Reading it with the pauses and seeing the ‘uhs’ help to create the emotion that they are feeling.
The passage I am doing mine on is the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. The early section of the reading really got to me. It was so frantic and chaotic that it got my heart racing. It was so sad that he started by asking a question and then all of a sudden it was being reported that he was shot. “Senator Kennedy has been… Senator Kennedy has been shot! Is that possible? Is that possible? It could… Is it possible, ladies and gentlemen? It is possible he has… not only Senator Kennedy… Oh my God!” (43). I think that this covers the whole situation. No way somebody could ever be prepared for a Senator and possible presidential frontrunner being assassinated right in front of you. The situation is complete shock and the broadcaster portrays that. I think that its interesting him saying that it is possible. All of a sudden he comes to the realization that he just witnessed him being shot. It got my heart racing because it felt like I was in the commotion when he was yelling at everyone to move back. The other section that struck me was the one when they had captured the shooter. “This is a… this is… What is he? Wait a minute. Hold him! Hold him! Hold him! What is he? Wait a minute. Hold him! Hold him! Hold him! We don’t want another Oswald! Hold him Rafer, we don’t want another Oswald! Hold him, Rafer!” (44). This part annoyed me almost. I wanted him to jump in and help Rafer. It is crazy that he just is watching this and isn’t in there tackling him and making sure that he is disarmed and not going to get shot by another person. It shocks me also that he jumps to the Oswald connection right away. It is so sad that two brothers could be assassinated while holding political office. The Kennedy family really had bad luck.
ReplyDelete"the shuttle progrm itself, to this time, has been untouched by any human problem"
ReplyDeleteThe choice of words here is interesting I think. Obviously it is intended to mean, no one has yet been injured in the space shuttle program, but it could also have other meanings, if you think about it. "[U]ntouched by any human problem", if taken literally would mean the space shuttle program hasn't been afflicted by any of the issues that afflict humans. Or, more interestingly, it has not been marred by human error or the complications humans beings bring to any equation. All three interpretations fit the setting very well. It would seem that, quite by accident, the announcer stumbled upon a very good, dense way of summing up that particular moment.
"Oh! A terrible thing!"
This phrase is repeated several times. Indeed, in each chapter of the book, a similar phrase is often repeated by one or more individuals. The true enormity of what has just occurred seems to have temporarily overwhelmed them. All they can do is repeat, almost as a cry for help or for it not to be so. To me this is powerful in its human-ness. We don't expect bad things to happen, so we seldom cope in the moments after they do.
“A terrible thing! Debris falling out of the sky—falling slowly, painfully, tragically slowly—toward the Atlantic Ocean, just a few miles offshore. This flight was to have been such a bright chapter in the history of the manned spaceflight program, but it turned—in a flash of an instant—into a terrible, terrible tragedy... This is Mission Control Houston. We have no additional word at this time.”
ReplyDelete“I looked over that way as soon as I could tear my eyes away from that terrible tragedy in the sky and people were just…just leaving, you know, what else could they do? They were getting out of the grandstands and walking away. Some of them seemed to be shaking their heads in disbelief, but there didn’t seem to be any hysteria, no running. It was just like they could not believe what their eyes had just recorded in their minds.”
Excerpt From: Kenneth Goldsmith. “Seven American Deaths and Disasters.” iBooks.
A reporter is responsible for relaying the event of the shuttle launch. He is a biased party-- he has a certain opinion on the idea of the shuttle program, and has preconceived expectations for how the event will unfold.
The attending audience is...
The reporter finds himself faced with the event deviating from his expectations in a way that he finds profound and "terrible, terrible," and his language betrays his bias. He declares that the event "was to have been... a bright chapter in the history of... manned spaceflight." He attempts, repeatedly, to impress upon his television how terrible a "tragedy" this event became.
The reporter eventually becomes aware that the attending audience is leaving, with not "any hysteria, no running." These people are aware of the enormity of this event and its significance to their own lives-- nobody needed this reporter to tell them that what "their eyes had just recorded in their minds" was a tragedy.
The reporting served only the purposes of its own, stunned reporter.