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cover of episode Joan Didion and How Hollywood Shaped American Politics

Joan Didion and How Hollywood Shaped American Politics

2025/3/28
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Alissa Wilkinson
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Alissa Wilkinson: 我对乔安·迪迪翁的解读并非从积极的创作角度出发,而是从她对人类生存机制的诊断入手。她认为,在面对混乱和无意义时,人们会通过构建故事来理解世界,这既可能带来慰藉,也可能走向黑暗。好莱坞为我们提供了许多这样的故事,而迪迪翁的写作正是对这种现象的深刻洞察。 迪迪翁的《白专辑》记录了她对20世纪60年代末洛杉矶生活的观察,以及人们在面对社会动荡和混乱时,如何试图通过构建故事来应对。她对当时的社会现象进行了细致的观察和报道,并揭示了人们在混乱中寻求意义的复杂心理。 迪迪翁的政治观点是一种带有西方色彩的保守主义,独立、自由主义,并且相当传统。她对尼克松和里根等政治人物持批评态度,认为他们将政治视为娱乐事业的延伸,注重形象而非实质内容。 约翰·韦恩及其电影对迪迪翁有着深远的影响,代表了她对加州传统和安全感的渴望。她对传统好莱坞电影的简洁叙事结构的偏爱,也反映了她对故事的重视。 迪迪翁作为影评人,偏爱传统好莱坞电影的简洁叙事结构,而非实验性电影。她认为,电影应该提供引人入胜的故事,而非晦涩难懂的艺术表达。 我接触迪迪翁作品的契机是其父亲患白血病去世,迪迪翁对悲伤的描写让我感同身受。 好莱坞的造梦机制深深塑造了迪迪翁的思维方式和对生活的理解,并影响了她后来的政治报道。她观察到美国政治文化被好莱坞的娱乐逻辑所同化,政治人物注重包装和形象,而非政策和理念。 迪迪翁认为里根夫妇将政治办公室视为电影制作,注重形象而非实质内容。她对里根夫妇的政治策略进行了尖锐的批评,认为他们将政治视为一场表演。 迪迪翁认为纽特·金里奇是第一个利用C-SPAN进行政治宣传的人,这预示了现代电视政治的模式。她对金里奇的政治策略进行了批判,认为他注重个人形象和宣传,而非政策和理念。 迪迪翁的观点可以延伸到对当今政治的解读,即现实电视和社交媒体的逻辑,即制造冲突以吸引关注,而真实性并不重要。 迪迪翁是一位现实主义者,她对人性持温和的观点,并认为政治具有价值,但娱乐化会破坏民主进程。 迪迪翁的政治转变始于共和党接纳尼克松。她对加州历史和独立性的既有认知进行了重新审视,认识到西进运动并非对所有人都有利,以及加州并非完全独立于联邦政府。 迪迪翁与伊芙·巴比特对加州和洛杉矶的看法存在差异,但她们的观点代表了同一枚硬币的两面。 好莱坞规范对政治人物评价的影响根深蒂固,摆脱这种影响需要公众提高警惕或找到新的沟通方式。 迪迪翁对911事件后的美国社会进行了反思,认为人们试图通过简单的叙事来应对创伤,这与漫威电影中英雄主义的叙事模式相似。 迪迪翁对好莱坞的关注主要在于其文化、人物和商业运作,而非具体的电影作品本身。她对当代好莱坞的跨平台运作模式进行了分析,认为这反映了人们对名人的期望和成名方式的转变。

Deep Dive

Chapters
This chapter explores Joan Didion's life and work, focusing on her Californian roots and how her experiences shaped her writing. It delves into her upbringing, political views, and her unique perspective on the state's culture and mythology. The discussion also touches on her relationship with Hollywood and the influence of John Wayne on her worldview.
  • Joan Didion was a fifth-generation Californian.
  • Her political views were complex and evolved over time.
  • She had a deep appreciation for John Wayne and the mythology he represented.
  • Her work often explored the intersection of California's culture and mythology.

Shownotes Transcript

Joan Didion famously chronicled California’s culture and mythology in works like “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” and “The White Album.” And it’s Didion’s relationship with Hollywood in particular that New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson explores in “We Tell Ourselves Stories,” her new analysis of the California writer. “The movies,” Wilkinson writes, “shaped us — shaped her — to believe life would follow a genre and an arc, with rising action, climax and resolution. It would make narrative sense. The reality is quite different.” We talk to Wilkinson about how Didion saw an American political landscape that was molding itself after the movies — and came to value story over substance.

Guest:

**Alissa Wilkinson, **movie critic, New York Times

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