The Constraints of Reading a Text

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I think we agree that there are cases in which people's even really, really worked out close readings of things are batshit. And I take it that that's what, for instance, room 237 is all about where you're just like, well, like clearly. Except the one about the native. Or the moon landing. Right. But I don't want a theory that doesn't allow me to say that there, there's little to no value in what they're saying because it's not grounded within the texts. Like, and that's the thing. There are better and worse interpretations.

What’s the meaning of a work of art? Does the text mean just what the author intends it to mean? Does it matter what Kubrick and Arthur C. Clark thinks about the end of 2001? Or is the artist’s interpretation just one interpretation among many once the text is out in the world? We explore the question of authorial intent, and brace yourselves - this is just about as postmodern as David gets.

Plus – do we have what it takes to get an invite to the thought criminals club?

Links

The Party is Canceled [newyorker.com]

Was I Wrong About The Irishman? by Thomas Flight [youtube.com]

Authorial Intent [wikipedia.org]