Social Creatures

Ok fine. I admit it. I (the owner of this blog,) watch reality T.V. I know it might come as a bit of a shock to those of you who think I am half deity and to those that think I don’t own a T.V. But alas, it’s true. I enjoy watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Americas Next Top Model. I will also admit to not changing the channel when Jersey Shore is on a number of times. There is just something that is appealing about the “reality of others. Even if it is through a memoir, T.V, or even an essay, it draws you in.

In the essay, Brief Lives by Kate Salter, she explains how Michael Kimball writes the story of peoples’ lives on the back of postcards. One could think of Kimball as an autobiographer, who highlights one moment in a persons’ life. He gets regular requests from people all over the world, asking for him to write a postcard for them. People write to Kimball telling them about themselves and there is “Something about email communication, and the fact that he is a stranger, makes them very open.” (Brief Lives, Salter)

People enjoy sharing their stories with others as the article about Kimball proves. In Reality Hunger they also talk about this. Memoirs are mentioned as well as essays. I think that in all of these forms of writing there is a sense of capturing a moment how you want it to be captured.

In an essay there is less freedom for the imagination because it is generally associated with non - fiction writing. Still it is not that different to what Kimball does with his post cards. The postcards themselves could be thought of as essays about real events and real people. He is an autobiographer to all these strangers. Those that write essays are “ a specie of metaphysician: they’re inquisitive and analytic about the least grain of being.” ( pg. 133, Shields) This is true because there is a fair amount of research that goes into essays unless you are completely writing a fantasy essay, which I don’t even know if it exists (My teacher is probably reading this so there’s a question for him to answer in class). Even the postcard guy has to find out more information from the people he writes to.

Kimball writes other people stories and has to find out about them. These people must not know about memoirs or they just like sharing their story. In a sense that is what Kimball is doing, he is writing a memoir for other people. Yes, I know it is not a memoir if someone else writes it. A memoir could be anonymous and the thrill of that might be great, but as is explained in the article: “what I'm doing is very public - full names, photographs. A lot of the people who are participating are claiming - or reclaiming - themselves.” (Brief Lives, Salter) In a memoir there is the same sense of self exploring, but these postcards are just another excuse to be egocentric and talk about yourself to someone who is not only willing to listen.

Shields writes that “a conversational dynamic – the desire for contact – is ingrained in the form” (pg. 133, Shields) No matter what form is being employed whether essay, memoir, or a script for reality T.V, it is that human want that pushes us to communicate. Humans are social creatures that want to get their point across no matter what.