Guest Post--Classics, Inc.

(NOTE FROM JOSH: I was sitting down to write this evening when the Boy, two days done with Middle School but not yet a Freshman, tells me to step aside. “You’re tired,” he says. “I’ve been thinking about something.”

Clearly he has been. And he’s not shy about discussing it. I hope I miss the train to Weenieville.

JG)

Classics, Inc.

By Joe Newman-Getzler

                What is a “classic”? Depending on whom you ask the answers could vary wildly. For some, a classic could be a book like Murder on the Orient Express, a movie like Casablanca, or a song like “Let It Be”. To others, a classic could be a book like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a movie like Johnny Dangerously, or a song like “Boom! Shake the Room." This need not only apply to books. The term “classic” can also be applied to anything from a good joke to a memorable sports play. But what, indeed, is a classic? And how does it unify these many different things?

                To most people, a classic is merely a thing that stays in their head for a long time, usually for a positive reason. But to some, the name goes much deeper than that. A classic means a piece of cultural significance, something considered a great thing that all should love and cherish for its greatness. Typically, there is a predetermined set of “classics” for any kind of genre or type. For example, if you want a “classic” book, the names that’ll probably come up would be books like Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, or Gone with the Wind. A “classic” movie? You’d probably see names like Citizen Kane, Some Like it Hot, or Singin’ in the Rain. But should we have our classics defined for us? Or should we form our own opinions on what is classic and what’s not?

                This is a question that has been troubling me for a while now: what’s a classic and what’s not? The reason this has been rumbling through my mind is because lately I have been trying to give myself a “classical” film and literary experience. Summer’s just begun, and now that I have gobs upon gobs of time to spend, I want to fill them with great books and great movies. For the former, my family has been supplying me with tons of great books like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye. And yes, they are great. But I will admit, my standards for classics are pretty low. The whole school year was peppered with classic books in my English class, like The Woman Warrior, The Chosen, Animal Farm, you name it. But my ideas of classics are Dave Barry is Not Making This Up, Bugs Bunny: 50 Years and Only One Gray Hare, and There Is No Dog. And yet, Mom and Dad say not to read those over and over. Read The Hobbit. Come on! It’s only 500 pages long, you wuss!

                Movies are another area of “classics” that drive me crazy, though for a different reason. While I would consider myself a rather decent film lover, there are still so many movies I haven’t seen that I feel pressured by myself to watch. Seriously?, I ask myself. You haven’t seen Citizen Kane? Jaws? The Dark Knight? You, sir, are on the train straight to Weenieville. And even my gym teacher’s let into me about my lack of film exposure: he spent 10 minutes telling me how I simply must watch The Empire Strikes Back in order to truly deem myself a Star Wars fan (BTW, I’ve only seen A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. That fact led to not only the aforementioned monologue, but another about how I should watch the prequels because, yeah, they suck, but I MUST have the complete Star Wars experience.) And yet, I also feel that there are a great many films that I truly love and yet many don’t even think of in the same league as “classics.” Seriously, does nobody but me consider UHF a classic? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory better than the Gene Wilder one? I feel so lonely.

                It’s times like this when I start to think about how subjective a term “classic” is. Can only what has been previously called a classic be a classic? Can others come up with their own “classic” films to share with the world? That is my hope. While, naturally, classic books and movies are to be revered and respected, they aren’t the only good books and movies out there! I wish more people would realize that. And YES, I am going to watch The Empire Strikes Back this summer. But the prequels? Hmm. Maybe. But for now…keep on readin’.                                                                                                    

Comments

[Jeff Cohen]

Finally, another Joe Adamson fan (Bugs Bunny: 50 Years...)! Read GROUCHO HARPO CHICO and SOMETIMES ZEPPO, Joe. It'll change your life.

[Toni Lotempio]

How old is your son, Josh????? I think you will be representing him as an author soon.

some people call Stephen King's early works "classics" too.

[Meryl]

Way to go, Joe!

I've been struggling with this question lately myself as State Governors are mandating new teaching standards, AND as I now advocate for kids/young adult graphic novels - books in their own rights that are truly classics. So, in your search for cultural statements and 'classics' I have a trove of outstanding fiction and non-fiction graphic novels I think you'll embrace. Just let me know.

Finally, check out my weekly posts - you may find some cool stuff to read about and inspire you to be a guest writer on my blog:

http://departingthetext.blogspot.com

In any event great post, and know you are not the only one wrestling with this question.

[Karen Olson]

Very thoughtful post, Joe. As a former English major, I had "classics" forced upon me. Who really has time to read TOM JONES, which clocks in at about 1,000 pages? Who really wants to?

I am a huge film noir fan and I love any movie with Cary Grant, but if we're talking more recent "classics," I'd have to go with FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (has your dad let you watch that one yet?) and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.

[Josh Getzler]

Hi. Joe here. Yes, I am a Joe Adamson fan (I also love TEX AVERY: KING OF CARTOONS). I'll be sure to check GROUCHO out (both the book and the movies. No, I haven't seen a single Marx Brothers movie. I'm working on it.)

[Josh Getzler]

Joe speaking. Thanks very much! And my dad has shown me neither of those movies, but I plan to watch them ASAP.

[Susan]

Wow! So impressed! Have you considered starting your own blog, Joe? Might be a fun summer project!

[Jeff Cohen]

Id recommend starting with HORSE FEATHERS or MONKEY BUSINESS, Joe. You should build toward DUCK SOUP, and avoid the later ones until you know how good they can be. I envy you your coming experience.

[Karen Olson]

Joe, I think you'd really like both those movies. And in reference to Jeff's comment about the Marx brothers: My daughter LOVES the Marx brothers and has actually taken up playing harp because of Harpo. I bet you'd love those movies.

[Talia Hurwich]

Joe, this is awesome (and I'd agree that not NEARLY enough people have seen or enjoyed UHF)!

To perhaps push your idea of what makes a "classic" (and pardon the push): does it have to be timeless? Can something be a classic for its generation and than fade into obscurity? Or MUST a classic be culturally significant for several generations in order to prove just how good it is? Do you see some third option that I don't to answer a question like this?

These two options also speak to the subjectivity of what a classic is, and may sharpen some of these thoughts. Or it may make things even more complicated. I can certainly think of several implications for each possible answer, and am still unsure what my answer to my or your question personally is.

[Jerry]

Interesting. I just finished a course (on the iPhone) called The Skeptics Guide to the Great Books (read "Classics"). The professor thinks that some classics are hard to get through and suggests alternatives. Are the alternatives "classics?" Who cares? From the blurb:

The truth of the matter is that there is so much more to literature than these giants of the Western canon. In fact, you can get the same pleasures, satisfactions, and insights from books that have yet to be considered "great." Books that are shorter, more accessible, and less dependent on classical references and difficult language. Books that, in the opinion of popular Great Courses Professor Grant L. Voth of Monterey Peninsula College, "allow you to connect with them without quite so many layers of resistance to work through."

When you take this skeptical approach to the "Great Books," you open yourself up to works that are just as engaging, just as enjoyable, and—most important—just as insightful about great human themes and ideas as anything you'd encounter on a college-level reading list. Professor Voth's course, The Skeptic's Guide to the Great Books, is your opportunity to discover new literary adventures that make worthy substitutes to works from the Western literary canon. In these 12 highly rewarding lectures, you'll get an introduction to 12 works that redefine what great literature is and how it can reveal startling truths about life—all without being such a chore to read.

Discover Alternatives to the Great Books

The first half of The Skeptic's Guide to the Great Books focuses on what Professor Voth considers direct "alternatives" to more canonical works of literature. In each case, he convinces you that you won't be missing out on much by reading these books instead of their more famous cousins and proves that these selections can be just as substantive, challenging, and stimulating. He also points out that reading these "alternatives" can give you a good introduction to the canonical works—especially if your initial attempts to tackle them have proved frustrating.

Here are three examples of the books you'll explore in these lectures, along with the canonical counterparts they substitute for.

Dead Souls as an alternative to War and Peace: Like Leo Tolstoy's mammoth novel, Nikolai Gogol's shorter work captures the heart and soul of 19th-century Russia in a lot fewer pages. Using digressions, lyrical passages, humorous episodes, and epic similes, Dead Souls offers as much enjoyment and insight as War and Peace but without the intimidating length.
Angels in America as an alternative to the plays of Bertolt Brecht: While plays such as Mother Courage and The Good Woman of Setzuan are wonderful on stage, you can't get the same enjoyment from reading a Bertolt Brecht play as you can by reading Tony Kushner's kaleidoscopic commentary on the culture and politics of 1980s America. In addition, Kushner's work is funny—making us laugh in a way that Brecht's plays seldom do.
The Master and Margarita as an alternative to Faust: While Goethe's Faust demands that a reader spend his or her entire life poring over its intricate references, Mikhail Bulgakov's novel (in which the Devil visits Soviet Russia) does not. And in addition to being a provocative and engaging story, it comes with more readily accessible ideas about religion and nationalism.
Uncover the Power of Nontraditional Literary Genres

You'll also encounter books from genres that traditionally fall outside the purview of the Western canon. Just because these books are more popular with everyday readers doesn't mean they don't possess the same power to challenge, guide, and inspire us as their more "established" predecessors do. For example, you'll learn

how John le Carré's The Spy Who Came In from the Cold transforms the spy novel into serious literature by asking thought-provoking questions about the relationship between the political ideas one professes and the methods used to defend them;
how the graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons injects the comic-book format with a startling level of realism by casting its superhero characters in darker, more ordinarily human shades; and
how Yaan Martel's Life of Pi proves that just because a novel is a best-selling success doesn't mean it can't offer readers an unforgettable lesson on the nature of an individual's spiritual journey through life and the enduring power of faith.