It's 1:23 in the morning and I've just gotten back from watching Oliver Stone's latest picture "W." which chronicles the life of current president, George W. Bush. While I was watching the film, a couple of things actually stood out for me, things of which correlated to what chapter 23 of the text is about: narrative coherence and narrative fidelity.
According to the text, narrative coherence is basically when characters act consistently and leads the listener (or in this case, the viewer) to believe that the story is true. Having said that, there is NO narrative coherence in this film. With the exception of Josh Brolin (who does a solid job in portraying Bush), every character is absolutely blown out of proportion. In other words, the character actions in the film were not consistent enough to make me believe in the story.
While the film does have an example of narrative coherence, it also has an example of narrative fidelity. According to the text, narrative fidelity is when a story "strikes a responsive chord" within the listener (but again in this case, the viewer). According to Fisher, a story has "fidelity when it provides good reasons to guide our future actions". While I learned nothing new from Stone's picture, I was aware of the emphasis he put on the film. He emphasized key points in Bush's life in which Bush clearly showed that he was never, is not and will never be qualified to be the President of the United States. I would certainly assume that Fisher would see the narrative fidelity in this film, in which Americans, with good reasons presented before them, will be able to make better decisions in the future with regards to voting the right man (or woman) into the country's highest honor.
I realize this blog is totally unconventional from what we usually do in this class, but I felt the need to express this. I personally did not enjoy the film because it is blatantly biased (in support of Bush) and it simply places all of the blame on his advisers through his eight years as President, thus assuming that Bush should not be held accountable for anything, even though he makes the final decision. I surely hope that you can understand where I am coming from, whether you are in support of Bush or not, and I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read my blog.
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You make the comment that your blog is unconventional from what we usually do in class. Your personal experience and views are what made your blog interesting to read. I really appreciate your unconventional blog. I also enjoyed the movie review. You mention how the movie exhibited narrative coherence and narrative fidelity. It was interesting to read how you perceived both narratives. One last comment at the end of your blog you mention how everyone else is at fault except for bush. I guess he had many scapegoats. Really appreciated your blog and how you related the issues to media.
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