The Interview Class 12 animation in English
Summary
TLDRThe video script features an interview with Umberto Eco, discussing his dual career as a scholar in semiotics and a novelist. Eco shares his views on the interview process, his writing approach, and the unexpected popularity of his novel 'The Name of the Rose,' which blended medieval history with a detective story. He reflects on the misconception that the public only enjoys easy reading, asserting that many seek challenging experiences, and ponders the unpredictable nature of his book's success.
Takeaways
- 📚 The interview has become a staple of journalism since its invention around 130 years ago.
- 👥 Opinions on interviews vary widely, with some seeing them as a source of truth and others as an intrusion.
- 📸 Some celebrities, like Lewis Carroll, detest interviews, comparing the feeling to having their soul stolen by a photograph.
- 🗣️ Rudyard Kipling viewed interviews as immoral and criminal, despite himself conducting them.
- 😅 H.G. Wells referred to interviews as an 'ordeal', indicating their often unpleasant nature.
- 🎭 Sol Bellow felt suffocated by interviews, likening them to thumbprints on his windpipe.
- 💡 Umberto Eco sees interviews as a powerful medium of communication, reaching a broad audience.
- 📈 Eco's writing style in his scholarly work is playful and personal, diverging from the dry academic norm.
- 📈 He believes in storytelling in academic writing, which he started doing from his first doctoral dissertation.
- 📚 Despite being a prolific academic, Eco is more widely recognized as a novelist.
- 🏰 The success of 'The Name of the Rose' might be attributed to its blend of detective story and deep dives into metaphysics, theology, and medieval history.
Q & A
What is the general attitude of celebrities towards interviews, as described in the transcript?
-Celebrities have varying opinions about interviews. Some view them as a source of truth or an art, while others, especially those who see themselves as victims, dislike interviews, feeling they are an intrusion into their private lives and diminish their individuality.
How did Lewis Carroll, the creator of 'Alice in Wonderland,' feel about interviews?
-Lewis Carroll had a strong aversion to interviews, described as a 'horror' of being lionized. He avoided public attention, rejected interview requests, and found amusement in maintaining his privacy.
What was Rudyard Kipling's view on interviews?
-Rudyard Kipling considered interviews to be immoral and a form of assault. He believed they were cowardly and undeserving of respect, comparing them to crimes against a person. Despite his stance, Kipling himself once interviewed Mark Twain, which is seen as ironic.
How did H.G. Wells perceive interviews, and what is ironic about his view?
-H.G. Wells referred to interviews as an 'ordeal' and found them unpleasant. However, he was often interviewed himself and even conducted high-profile interviews, such as one with Joseph Stalin, making his negative view somewhat ironic.
How did Saul Bellow describe the experience of being interviewed?
-Saul Bellow compared interviews to having 'thumbprints on his windpipe,' implying that he felt suffocated and restricted by the process of being interviewed.
What does Dennis Bryan suggest about the role of interviews in modern society?
-Dennis Bryan states that interviews are a crucial medium of communication in contemporary society, offering one of the clearest ways to learn about contemporaries. Interviews hold unprecedented power and influence because so much information is conveyed through one person asking questions of another.
How does Umberto Eco manage to accomplish so many things in his career?
-Umberto Eco believes he is always doing the same thing, despite appearing to engage in many different activities. He credits his productivity to working in what he calls 'interstices,' or the empty spaces in life, like waiting for an elevator, during which he can write articles and accomplish small tasks.
Why does Umberto Eco believe his scholarly work has a playful and personal quality?
-Eco explains that he began writing his scholarly works with a narrative approach, telling the story of his research, including his trials and errors. This narrative style sets his work apart from traditional, dry academic writing, which likely contributed to his ability to write engaging novels.
How did Umberto Eco transition from being an academic to writing novels, and at what age did he start?
-Umberto Eco began writing novels at the age of 50, largely by accident. He never felt frustrated by only being an essayist like his friend Roland Barthes, but one day, having nothing else to do, he started writing novels, which fulfilled his narrative storytelling desires.
Why does Eco think 'The Name of the Rose' became a mass success despite its challenging themes?
-Eco believes the success of 'The Name of the Rose' is a mystery. While it deals with complex topics like medieval history, metaphysics, and theology, he suggests that readers don’t always want easy reading. He notes that the novel reached a specific audience who were seeking more challenging experiences, though he admits timing also played a role.
Outlines
📚 The Evolving Perception of Interviews
The paragraph delves into the history and impact of interviews in journalism, highlighting how opinions on interviews have varied significantly over time. It mentions that despite the invention of the interview format being relatively recent, it has become a staple in journalism. The narrative explores different perspectives, from those who view interviews as a noble pursuit of truth and an art form to those who see them as intrusive and demeaning. The paragraph also touches on the personal experiences of famous figures like Lewis Carroll and Rudyard Kipling, who had strong negative reactions to being interviewed. It discusses the idea that interviews can be both powerful and invasive, with some interviewees feeling as though they lose a part of themselves during the process.
🎓 Umberto Eco: Scholar and Novelist
This paragraph focuses on Umberto Eco, a renowned scholar at the University of Bologna, known for his work in semiotics, literary interpretation, and medieval aesthetics. It discusses his transition from academic writing to fiction, resulting in the highly successful novel 'The Name of the Rose,' which sold over 10 million copies. The summary explores Eco's unique approach to writing, which combines scholarly rigor with a narrative style that is both playful and personal. The paragraph also touches on his views on the interplay between his academic work and his fiction, and how he sees himself primarily as a scholar who writes novels.
📈 The Mass Appeal of 'The Name of the Rose'
The final paragraph discusses the unexpected mass appeal of Umberto Eco's novel 'The Name of the Rose,' which, despite its complex themes of metaphysics, theology, and medieval history, reached a wide audience. Eco reflects on the success of the book, suggesting that it may be due to the public's interest in medieval history, but also acknowledges the unpredictable nature of what makes a book successful. He shares anecdotes about publishers' expectations and the actual sales figures, emphasizing the mystery and variability of what resonates with readers.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡interview
💡medieval history
💡semiotics
💡narrative
💡Umberto Eco
💡The Name of the Rose
💡academic style
💡lionized
💡interviewee
💡contemporaries
💡interviewing ordeal
Highlights
The interview has become a common place of Journalism since its invention a little over 130 years ago.
Celebrities have been interviewed over the years, some of them even repeatedly, leading to varied opinions on interviews.
Some believe interviews are a source of Truth and an art, while others see them as an intrusion into their lives.
Lewis Carroll had a horror of interviews and never agreed to be interviewed.
Rudyard Kipling viewed interviews as immoral and a crime, yet he himself interviewed Mark Twain.
H.G Wells referred to interviews as an unpleasant experience but was a frequent interviewee.
Saul Bellow described interviews as being like thumbprints on his windpipe, indicating a feeling of suffocation.
Interviews are considered a supremely serviceable medium of communication.
Umberto Eco, a professor at the University of Bologna, is known for his ideas on semiotics, literary interpretation, and medieval Aesthetics.
Eco's novel 'The Name of the Rose' sold more than 10 million copies and made him extremely popular.
David Lodge remarked on Eco's ability to do many things, to which Eco responded that he's always doing the same thing.
Eco believes there are a lot of empty spaces in our lives which he calls 'interstices' where he finds time to work.
Eco's non-fictional writing has a playful and personal quality, departing from the regular academic style.
Eco started writing novels at the age of 50 by accident, to satisfy his taste for narration.
Eco identifies himself as a university professor who writes novels on Sundays.
Despite writing more scholarly works, Eco is known more as a novelist than as an academic of semiotics.
Eco is not bothered by being known as a novelist because he reaches a higher audience with his novels.
The success of 'The Name of the Rose' is considered a mystery, even by Eco himself.
Eco suggests that the success of his book might be related to the period of medieval history it dealt with.
Transcripts
could the huge success of the novel have
anything to do with the fact that it
dealt with a period of medieval history
that that's possible
since its invention a little over 130
years ago the interview has become a
common place of Journalism
Christopher Sylvester
he talks about the opinions of different
celebrities about interview
today almost everybody who is literate
will have read an interview at some
point in their lives and from the other
point of view many thousand celebrities
have been interviewed over the years
some of them even repeatedly so it is
not surprising that opinions of the
interview of its functions methods and
merits changed considerably some might
even make extravagant claims that in its
higher form it is a source of Truth and
in its practice it is an art others
usually celebrities who see themselves
as its victims might hate the interview
as an unwarranted intrusion into their
lives or they feel that it diminishes
them just like in an ancient culture
it's believed that if one takes a
photograph of somebody then one is
stealing his soul these Nepal feels that
some people are wounded by inter views
and lose a part of themselves
Lewis Carroll the creator of Alice in
Wonderland was said to have a just
horror of the interviewer
and he never agreed to be interviewed it
was his horror of being lionized
lionized means made important
which made him repel his acquaintances
interviewers and the persistent
applicants for his autograph
acquaintances are known people he didn't
like publicity in this way rather he
would silence all such people with much
satisfaction and amusement by his
creations
Rudyard Kipling expressed an even more
contemnatory attitude towards the
interviewer condemnatory means and
acceptable his wife Caroline writes in
her diary for the 14th of October 1892
that their day was wrecked by two
reporters from Boston she writes that
her husband said to the reporters why do
I refuse to be interviewed
you ask
because it is immoral
it is a crime
just like a crime as an offense against
a person like an assault
and it deserves a punishment assault
means physical attack it is cowardly and
vile vile means very unpleasant no
respectable man would ask it and give it
though he made such statements yet he
himself made such an assault on Mark
Twain a few years before yes
some years before he himself interviewed
Mark Twain
ironic
H.G Wells in an interview in 1894
referred it as the interviewing ordeal
ordeal means unpleasant experience he
considered the interview as an
unpleasant experience but he himself was
a frequent interviewee
he had interviewed Joseph Stalin
Saul Bello who has agreed to be
interviewed on some occasions had once
described interviews as being like
thumbprints on his windpipe Sol Bello
described interviews as thumbprints on
his windpipe what does this mean
it means he felt suffocated being
interviewed
yet despite the drawbacks of the
interview it is a supremely serviceable
medium of communication Dennis Bryan has
written these days more than any other
time our most clear impressions of our
contemporaries contemporaries are the
people living at the same time are
through interviews almost everything at
moment reaches us
through one man asking questions of
another because of this the interviewer
holds a position of unprecedented power
and influence now you will watch an
extract from an interview of
Umberto week the interviewer is
from the Hindu
Umberto Eco a professor at the
University of Bologna has already
acquired reputation as a scholar for his
ideas on semiotics literary
interpretation and medieval Aesthetics
semiotics is the study of signs signs
not science then he turned to writing
fiction he has written large and
wide-ranging forms ranging from fictions
articles books academic texts he became
extremely popular in 1980 with the
publication of his novel the name of the
Rose which sold more than 10 million
copies the English novelist David Lodge
once remarked I can't understand how one
man can do all the things Eco does how
do you have enough time maybe I seem to
be doing many things but in the end I'm
convinced that I'm always doing the same
thing
and then I have a secret
did you know what will happen if you
eliminate the empty spaces from the
universe eliminate the empty spaces in
all the atoms
the universe will become as big as my
fist
similarly we have a lot of empty spaces
in our lives
I call them interstices
say you are coming over to my place
you are in an elevator and while you're
coming up I'm waiting for you this is an
interstice an empty space I work in
empty spaces while waiting for your
elevator to come up from the first to
the third floor I have already written
an article
not everyone can do that of course your
non-fictional writing your scholarly
work has a certain playful and personal
quality about it it's a marked departure
from a regular academic style which is
the personalized and often dry and
boring have you consciously adopted an
informal approach or is it something
that just came naturally to you when I
presented my first doctoral dissertation
in Italy dissertation is a long essay
for a University degree one of the
professors said Scholars learn a lot
about a certain subject then they make a
lot of false hypothesis then they
correct them and at the end they put the
conclusions you on the contrary told the
story of your research
even including your trials and errors at
the same time he recognized I was right
and he went on to publish my
dissertation as a book which meant he
appreciated me at that point at the age
of 22. I understood scholar books should
be written the way I had done that is by
telling the story of the research this
is why my essays always have a narrative
aspect
and this is why probably I started
writing novels so late at the age of 50
more or less I remember that my dear
friend Roland barths was always
frustrated that he was an essayist and
not a novelist he wanted to do creative
writing one day or another but he died
before he could do so I never felt this
kind of frustration I started writing
novels by accident one day I had nothing
to do and so I started novels probably
satisfy my taste of narration talking
about novels
from being a famous academic you went on
to becoming famous after the publication
of the name of the Rose you've written
five novels against many more scholarly
works of non-fiction at least more than
20 of them
over 40 over 40 among them you've
written a seminal piece of work on
semiotics but ask most people about
Umberto Rico and they will say oh
he's a novelist people know you more as
a novelist than as an academic of
semiotics does that bother you
yes because I consider myself as a
university Professor who writes novels
on Sundays it's not a joke I participate
in academic conferences and not meetings
of pen clubs and writers I identify
myself with the academic Community but
okay if they have read only the novels
I know that by writing novels I reach a
higher audience I cannot expect to have
1 million readers with stuff on
semiotics which brings to my next
question the name of the Rose is a very
serious novel
it's a detective yarn at one level but
also delves into metaphysics Theology
and medieval history yet it enjoyed a
huge mass audience were you at all
puzzled by this no
journalists are puzzled
and sometimes Publishers and this is
because they believe that people like
trash and don't like difficult reading
experiences consider there are 6 billion
people on this planet the name of the
Rose sold between 10 and 15 million
copies so in a way I reached
only a small percentage of readers but
it is exactly these kind of readers who
don't want easy experiences
or at least don't always want this I
myself at 9 00 PM after dinner watch TV
and want to see either Miami Vice or
emergency room I enjoy it and I need it
but not all day could the huge success
of the novel have anything to do with
the fact that it dealt with a period of
medieval history that that's possible
but let me tell you another story I
often tell stories like a Chinese wise
man my American publisher loved my book
but she said she didn't expect to sell
more than 3 000 copies in a country
where nobody has seen a cathedral or
studies Latin so I was given an advance
for 3 000 copies but in the end it sold
two or three million in the U.S
a lot of books have been written about
the medieval past far before mine I
think the success of my book is a
mystery nobody can predict it I think if
I had written the name of the Rose 10
years earlier or 10 years later it
wouldn't have been the same why it
worked at that time is a mystery
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