Blog 9

Blog 9

Michelle Klug

Rational Vs. Romantic Reporting

Webb brings about a modern definition of new journalism that rejects five preconceived ideas of what journalism was and instead replaces them with parallel ideas that change and context and style of the writing.

            Webb emphasized the old style of journalism as being strictly based on fact and objectivity. This he terms “rational reporting”. This emphasizes the reporter as a man or woman who is able to reason and see outside reality. This reporter knows the uniform nature of human beings and writes for an unchanging world. He or she understands things in pieces. The reporter does just than, reports. He or she stays objective by not immersing himself or herself, just observing, and relaying his or her message back to the reader

            The “new journalism” that Webb describes is termed “romantic reporting” as a reportage that extends the writers emotions into the piece. The romantic reporter longs to find the internal thoughts and emotions of others as well as embraces the diversity of human nature. He or she views the subject in their ups and downs and looks at their effect on the human ecosystem as a whole, instead of in pieces.

            Webb is smart to rename new journalism because in fact it is not necessarily new. Some of the elements he described are present in earlier pieces we have read. And also some “old” or “rational” journalism techniques are present in some of the most recent pieces we have read.

            On one end of the spectrum, I would place Wolfe as the most romantic writer. He is ultimately immersed in the culture in “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” (1968). He goes into detail to the point where you might think he was actually present in the situation. He was “on the bus” although he may not have been present in the bus trip. The book is based around his feelings of what is happening and the book is understood in terms of thought and interaction with others. Wolfe captures internal thoughts of the pranksters and reflects on them in their diverse roles. He is documenting a new culture, on that is dynamic and experimental. Ken Kesey and his experimental bus trip are characterized by ultra-changing actions and mindsets, the opposite of a static situation. Although he gives emphasis to individual roles he captures the collective voice. There is a communal understanding of letting go and being who you are and doing what it is that is “your thing”, as long as it functions well with the community.

                                    If “new” journalism is strictly in reference to time period, then Boswell must be a time traveler because his biography of Samuel Johnson has many of the romantic journalism elements. The book coins the era of writing as “distanced objectivity”. This is the opposite. Not only does Boswell interject himself into the story, he stages scenes, and then admits to it! Boswell constructs scenes, incorporates dialogue, and gives status detail to paint a picture for the readers. Overall, this piece is very romantically written and is almost 200 years before its time.

            Hersey’s “Hiroshima” is no Wolfe but ranks pretty high in romantic writing. Hersey does in interject himself or his feelings into the piece but instead does massive research in order to captures others internal reality and feelings. Each character is diverse and exists independently of the group, however he ties links together and captures the feeling of the Hiroshima bombing as a whole at the end. The story is not as objective as others we have read but very detailed, vivid, and strongly worded.

            Jones’ “The Things That Carried Him” is another example of romantic writing. This piece is full of emotion and internal characterization. Each and every character, from the gravedigger to the widow, is portrayed as real and full of feeling and life. The story is dynamic, taking through all walks of life, and different places in the world, then coming to a whole as one interconnected life as we see how the rituals and burial process of a fallen soldier.

            Bragg’s tornado story vs. the wire service version showed us just how different two pieces can be when written romantically vs. rationally. At one end Bragg takes us through the emotional plight of each diverse character and captures the towns feelings of loss in a wholistic view. The piece focuses on the characters’ internal realty as they search for answers and question their own faith after such a horrific accident. The wire service version is the opposite. It simply gives the cold hard facts, and is void of color and emotion.

            Herr’s excerpt from “Dispatches” (1977) also strikes me as romantic writing because of his word choice and interjection into the story. Herr has internalized his own reality as opposed to Wolfe’s internalization of others realities. He expresses his fear, worry, and disgust. The story is dynamic, telling the good stories and the bad. This writing is objective in that it does not glorify the soldiers or war but tells the story in his crude and informal way, documenting human nature and war culture.

Capote has many elements of romantic writing but also some of rational as well. The characterization and extreme detail is what makes this piece dynamic. Perry, Dick, and the Clutters are all very diverse and Capote captures the air of the community very well (suspicious, watchful, scared). The piece isn’t quite as emotional as some of the other pieces we have read, and sometimes plays on the rational mind. For example, the story made Perry seem very child-like, kind of just going along with Dick’s master plan. Although there is a wholistic view, the story is best understood in the parallel pieces Capote dissects it to.

            Mitchell’s “Up in the Old Hotel” I would characterize as semi-romantic. He characterizes Louie very well and we at times see Mitchell’s own interjection into the story. Louie is a complex character who is often times nostalgic about his old town. He does not seem to be able to completely cope with not having a history and prominence in his new country and is severely disappointed when he finds his establishment doesn’t either. Mitchells grasps the elements of emotion and internal reality. The group message did not stand out to me, since the story is focused on the thoughts and actions of one person for most of the story.

Green’s biography of Sean Connery is characterized by his own opinions, broken expectations, and scene selection. He chooses a nostalgia approach, accenting his fallen hero’s, then goes on the portray a injured James Bond, but one that he still admires. He captures his internal reality, but not the reality of his subject. The character he displays is not very diverse; in fact we don’t learn that much about him besides his doctors visits. Overall, I would not rate this as romantic or rational, but maybe somewhere in the middle.

            Dickens and Defoe both seem to capture a more rational approach to journalism. Both seem to be a search for truth, and wanting to portray a preconceived notion in a more factual light. Although there is dialogue and dynamic characters, the pieces are not particularly emotional and do not capture anyone’s internal reality and group message.

            Breslins’s portrayal of Kennedy’s funeral is written in plain style; without long, winding, detailed sentence. Breslin takes a Hemingway approach with short strong worded sentences. Although this piece is not void of emotion it is not written to greatly express any one character’s innermost feelings. The characters are not dynamic, but the piece does have a feeling of community understanding and respect of the dead president. This piece reads more as a rational piece to me.            

My question for the class is : We have focused on our three main literary elements being dialogue, status detail, and scene-by-scene construction. Is there a connection of the level of “romantic” journalism and the presence of these elements?