Fact of Fiction?...Who Gives A Shrimp!!!!

The art of storytelling is an art that has been passionately loved and persued since the dawn of time. It is the source of nearly ALL entertainment that we know from day to day (be it lyrics, tv shows, visual art, or literature). It is the reason that we as human beings in a complex society act, think, and feel the way that we do. However, most importantly, the art of storytelling is what keeps the past alive within us. The art of storytelling is what allows memories to live again and knowledge to flow from mouth to ear, person to person, generation to generation, culture to culture. It holds the ability to transform a listener or reader or viewer into someone that is minutely different from the person they were before the given experience. "Abstraction may make your head believe, but a good story, well told, will also make your kidneys believe, and your scalp and your tear ducts, your heart, and your stomach, the whole human being." (O'Brien Writing Vietnam)

Two "storytelling marvels" that have recently come under the spotlight in class are, of course, Forrest Gump (1994) and The Things They Carried, a novel written by Tim O'Brien, a Vietnam War veteren and acclaimed author of fiction. As I type this, I am, myself, surprised at my choice of words "storytelling marvel" to discribe Forrest Gump. Forrest, himself, says that "stupid is, as stupid does.", and I will be the first to say that this very quote just about sums up the movie. I have mentioned in class many times that I do not like the film, but yet I think the fact that even a heavy critic of the film can consider it a "STORYTELLING marvel" is a testiment to the fact that dispite my personal feelings for the content, Robert Zemeckis (the director) did a fantastic job at getting the story of Forrest Gump across. "Forrest Gump has the elements of an emotionally gripping story. Yet it feels less like a romance than like a coffee-table book celebrating the magic of special effects.", says Stephen Holden, the top critic for the New York Times. What I do take comfort in, however, is the fact that from the moment I (unenthusiastically) begin the film, I know for a fact that it is entirely fictitious and holds no real historical accuracy. This is something that somewhat bothers me with Tim O'Brien's writing style.

While I commend O'Brien's choice to stray from the beaten path in his writing style, I can't help but struggle with the fact that his stories are not true...yet they are...but they're not, dispite the fact that they are. This just simply bothers me. Don't get me wrong, I can take a good story in whatever form it may choose to come, but I NEED to know beforehand what I'm taking in. If it is pure fiction (and I know that) I will love the story. If it is straight from history (and I know that ) I will love the story. However, O'Brien's use of metafiction makes me want to shake him and scream "MAKE UP YOUR MIND, MAN!!!! DID IT HAPPEN OR DIDN'T IT?!?!?" Maybe I'm just too particular about my taste in good writing, but the truth is I hold artists to a high standard, and I truly feel that in order to form a valid opinion, the opionioned must be completely honest. These are my honest thoughts on storytelling.



"And that's all I got to say about that.." (Forrest Gump 1994)