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reacting to Megaboy
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From: Nina Lindsay <linds_na>
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1999 11:02:29 -0700 (PDT)
I'm enjoying this second chance to reflect on "Megaboy." Peggy and Nancy's comments are along the exact same lines as my previous thoughts and postings. But I want to think again about trying to place "Megaboy" outside the genre of a novel. Taking it outside the requirements of plot and characterization isn't quite far enough-- it leaves us with a
"discussion-starter" book, and I agree with previous posts that actual media clippings would provide better discussion about the subject of this kind of violence. So: try, just for fun, removing the book one step further, so that it becomes a commentary on the *media portrayal* of this kind of violent act. This becomes a VERY sophisticated discussion for most kids, but a potentially exciting and volatile one. As a fiction of a media event, (rather than a media-like fiction of a violent event)
"Megaboy" does provide something unique. It allows us to comment on exactly how "shallow" the players involved seem-- we KNOW there is something more, but the media delivers an image (the black/white of the principal; a "conversative" typeface versus a "trippy" one) that we can't always see past. When I read "Megaboy," what I'm blown over by is what is not there. But it is only "not there" while the book is closed: as soon as I read it, I imbue the emptiness with a very present obscurity.
Whether or not this was Ginny's intention, I think she must have known that she was creating something that was interactive on this level. I would love to hear her responses to our responses to her book; particularly, if she expected it to "get away" from her like this. I still think its use (in the traditional way that we use a book) is limited; and I don't think it's particularly well served in a public library collection (although it's in mine, and DOES make a good flash-book-talk in middle-school classrooms). It's its own strange creature; I think like a Chinese box: looks like something it's not on the surface, needs to be played with until you find the right spot
(subtly hidden, yet obvious once you see it) to begin its unfolding.
Nina
Nina Lindsay, Children's Librarian Melrose Branch, Oakland Public Library 4805 Foothill Boulevard Oakland, CA 94601
(510)535V23 linds_na at oak2.ci.oakland.ca.us
Received on Fri 09 Jul 1999 01:02:29 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1999 11:02:29 -0700 (PDT)
I'm enjoying this second chance to reflect on "Megaboy." Peggy and Nancy's comments are along the exact same lines as my previous thoughts and postings. But I want to think again about trying to place "Megaboy" outside the genre of a novel. Taking it outside the requirements of plot and characterization isn't quite far enough-- it leaves us with a
"discussion-starter" book, and I agree with previous posts that actual media clippings would provide better discussion about the subject of this kind of violence. So: try, just for fun, removing the book one step further, so that it becomes a commentary on the *media portrayal* of this kind of violent act. This becomes a VERY sophisticated discussion for most kids, but a potentially exciting and volatile one. As a fiction of a media event, (rather than a media-like fiction of a violent event)
"Megaboy" does provide something unique. It allows us to comment on exactly how "shallow" the players involved seem-- we KNOW there is something more, but the media delivers an image (the black/white of the principal; a "conversative" typeface versus a "trippy" one) that we can't always see past. When I read "Megaboy," what I'm blown over by is what is not there. But it is only "not there" while the book is closed: as soon as I read it, I imbue the emptiness with a very present obscurity.
Whether or not this was Ginny's intention, I think she must have known that she was creating something that was interactive on this level. I would love to hear her responses to our responses to her book; particularly, if she expected it to "get away" from her like this. I still think its use (in the traditional way that we use a book) is limited; and I don't think it's particularly well served in a public library collection (although it's in mine, and DOES make a good flash-book-talk in middle-school classrooms). It's its own strange creature; I think like a Chinese box: looks like something it's not on the surface, needs to be played with until you find the right spot
(subtly hidden, yet obvious once you see it) to begin its unfolding.
Nina
Nina Lindsay, Children's Librarian Melrose Branch, Oakland Public Library 4805 Foothill Boulevard Oakland, CA 94601
(510)535V23 linds_na at oak2.ci.oakland.ca.us
Received on Fri 09 Jul 1999 01:02:29 PM CDT
