Themes and Politics

[M&P15]

Jake praised Obama in 1963? I better read 11/22/63 again - I am a bit confused now.

Jake praised Obama in the book.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

So, I thought King was a fan of the hero myth and distrusted institutionalization. But, he's a Democrat.

Doesn't that create some serious cognitive dissonance?

Critiquing institutions isn't only for conservatives. Your premise doesn't hold up. Progressives criticize corporate institutions all the time. Liberals also criticize government institutions when it's detrimental to a society like not recognizing gay marriage, implementing the death penalty and enforcing discrimination.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Mr. Mercedes starts with a guy driving a Mercedes (not a Ford or a Chevy, but a car associated with a higher socioeconomic class then that) running over a large number of unemployed workers at a job fair. And, the Mercedes was stolen. That's a terrific use of symbolism to portray the "Occupy Wall Street" metanarrative (iow, the institution of classism).

That's a bit of a leap. Considering

Spoiler: Mr. Mercedes spoiler

Mr. Mercedes was lower class and probably living in poverty, this "symbolism" doesn't hold up.

 

[Kurben]

That's a bit of a leap. Considering

Spoiler: Mr. Mercedes spoiler

Mr. Mercedes was lower class and probably living in poverty, this "symbolism" doesn't hold up.

Personally feel that its a completely invalid conclusion.

 

[M&P15]

Critiquing institutions isn't only for conservatives. Your premise doesn't hold up. Progressives criticize corporate institutions all the time. Liberals also criticize government institutions when it's detrimental to a society like not recognizing gay marriage, implementing the death penalty and enforcing discrimination.

Thinking that anything that runs counter to your views is detrimental to society isn't a Liberal or Conservative thing. I think most people feel that way.

 

[Kurben]

Thinking that anything that runs counter to your views is detrimental to society isn't a Liberal or Conservative thing. I think most people feel that way.

Exactly. Thinking that institutions, corporations or state agencies isn't always completely honest with you is not a political thing. To think that they are i think is rather naive. In some instances they have secrets. That, i think is what most of the so called ordinary people think regardless of what political view they have. It is called common sense. King has always written books about common people, there aren't many really rich people in his stories and if they are they are usually bad guys. (The Ledge, Dolans Cadillac). One of the reasons that King is popular, i think, is that his characters many people can identify with. Ordinary people with ordinary problems sees ordinary people became heroes (sometimes a little shady but still) in extra ordinary circumstances. I don't see any conflicting value problems in his stories.

 

[mal]

Labeling someone a democrat seems quite limiting. Inferring actions based on the label seems quite simplistic. You need conflict, whether one on one or one versus many. Nothing is ever black and white. I subscribe to the theory that "If you're not pissed off then you're not paying attention!".

 

[Neesy]

I don't really see that in King's work. It appears to me that, in his work, being a part of the institution makes someone institutionalized. It is a heroic thing to reclaim one's independence, but a character has to pull away from the institution to do that (and no examples come to mind where it doesn't signal an impending death for the character).

The example that comes to mind for me is in Firestarter but that is more a case of 'brainwashing' I guess. He manages to get away from The Shop, however I think he DOES die actually, come to think of it!

 

[Neesy]

Jake praised Obama in the book.

Like I said - I better read this book again!

I knew you meant the book BTW - but Obama was only two years old in 1963, so he could not have praised him to those people he was with in 1963.

 

[Neesy]

All the famous writers, when analyzed across a breadth of their work, reveal their views on life. This has nothing to do with their range as writers. Edgar Allen Poe is a Romanticist whose style and themes are such that a skilled critic could read an unattributed story and identify Poe as the author. Twain, Hemingway, Lovecraft, and all the other greats have a respective distinctive style and themes. A story is as uniquely an author's as is a dream, coached in symbols which have personal meaning and personal value. The more skilled and productive the author is, the more distinctively their own their stories are because they have to dig deeper into their mental mine to find ore of such quality that a professional story can be crafted from it.

So, the only way an author can write at his best and embed (unconsciously, perhaps) two conflicting value systems is if the author has two conflicting value systems which have become part of him - a situation which should cause cognitive dissonance.

I must admit I had to look up cognitive dissonance

It led me to this site:

Stephen King’s Cognitive Dissonance? | Political Film Blog

(and no this is not an intentional threadjack) - just curious, that is all - I hope we are not back to Glocks having safety's again!

 

[M&P15]

Like I said - I better read this book again!

I knew you meant the book BTW - but Obama was only two years old in 1963, so he could not have praised him to those people he was with in 1963.

He spoke glowingly of Obama to Sadie when describing the future to her. Not a big deal, but not the first time I've seen his political views seep into his stories, so you start to see a pattern. I think that's natural, you tend to write what you know.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

That's a bit of a leap. Considering

Spoiler: Mr. Mercedes spoiler

Mr. Mercedes was lower class and probably living in poverty, this "symbolism" doesn't hold up.

Woops. I put the wrong book for the spoiler. Could a mod fix this?

 

[Justin Rocket]

Critiquing institutions isn't only for conservatives.

Political parties are institutions. I assumed King would be non-partisan.

 

[Justin Rocket]

Mr. Mercedes was lower class and probably living in poverty, this "symbolism" doesn't hold up.[/SPOILER]

As I acknowledged, the Mercedes wasn't even his. His wealth was stolen and illegitimate. That's inline with the Occupy metanarative.

 

[Kurben]

Political parties are institutions. I assumed King would be non-partisan.

A rather strange assumption. Noone lives in a vacuume. Since we live in a world of institutions it doesn't make sense to assume that authors in general or King specifically cant critisize them or the opposite when it fits the story. But he doesn't critisize or praise on a regular basis. Isn't authors supposed to write about what they know? in a world of institutions why not write about ithem if they feel like it. King seldom does but it happens, (Firestarter).

 

[Kurben]

As I acknowledged, the Mercedes wasn't even his. His wealth was stolen and illegitimate. That's inline with the Occupy metanarative.

Well, to do such a thing with your own car would have been extremely stupid and the story would hardly have got off the ground. Of course it was stolen, makes it difficult to trace the car to him. It is a crimestory after all. It wasn't exactly his wealth, it was a temporary thing to accomplish his goal.

 

[Justin Rocket]

A rather strange assumption. Noone lives in a vacuume. Since we live in a world of institutions it doesn't make sense to assume that authors in general or King specifically cant critisize them or the opposite when it fits the story. But he doesn't critisize or praise on a regular basis. Isn't authors supposed to write about what they know? in a world of institutions why not write about ithem if they feel like it. King seldom does but it happens, (Firestarter).

What examples exist of him making institutions good things?

 

[staropeace]

Do you know many writers who make institutions good things?

 

[Neesy]

He spoke glowingly of Obama to Sadie when describing the future to her. Not a big deal, but not the first time I've seen his political views seep into his stories, so you start to see a pattern. I think that's natural, you tend to write what you know.

Okay - thanks! I will read this one again - it was one of my favourites the first time around.

 

[Kurben]

What examples exist of him making institutions good things?

Hes not a propagandist. He writes stories and these stories contains bad and good versus each other. In rare occasions that bad thing (the Shop in Firestarter) has been an institution. Not uncommon among authors. His heroes are people. Sometimes they work inside an institution (like Paul in The Green Mile). He was boss over the death row. He was unconmfortable about sending an innocent man to die but he didn't quit the institution and didn't stop the execution but was still the good guy. Was that book pro-institution in your view? Or against (because the man was innocent)? Paul was all for the system and death penalty for the scumbags. He didn't put the institution in question. There is your example.