“I admire journalism where I actually see a nuanced world with complex human beings captured,” Simon says. Journalism, he thinks, should bring “real life and real issues through the keyhole” in a way that leads to “meaningful thought, if not action.”
Too often, I think, we (as a profession) blow right past the nuance and complexity of life. We do so at our own risk. When we tell true stories, we are opening to door to reporting and writing about that nuance and complexity, and our readers and community will be the better for it.
David Simon has become a great screenwriter. ... He's a quote from another great screenwriter -- Paul Thomas Anderson: "Tell the story! Tell the story! That's what I saw in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The films that I love are very straightforward stories, like really old-fashioned stuff. I've never been a fan of whimsical or confusing storytelling." ... I reckon that can apply to us, too.
ReplyDeleteScott, I totally agree - I think we do blow through nuance and complexity. But I think sometimes we do it out of a misguided sense of ethics - because we have this idea that if we somehow get "involved" in our town, in the complexities of the world around us, that it'll make us unable, somehow, to be fair and balanced. I think that's crap; in fact, I think our arms-lengthing of our world is what is making journalism today LESS balanced and accurate than ever, but I don't know what can be done to overcome it... I'd sure welcome any ideas, though...
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