Two articles in today’s
San Antonio Express News helped explain my state of mind lately, and offer insight into why Woman hollerin stays silent sometimes.
First, a
wire service feature asks readers why we care about the ups and downs of the lives of three young women who were born under stars (ill-fated or otherwise).
Britney Spears doesn’t wear underwear.
Lindsay Lohan drinks too much.
Nicole Richie is cursed. Why do we care about the minutiae of these women’s lives?
Second, a
review of My Name is Iran: A Memoir. Michiko Kakutani, who writes for the New York Times, thought the book missed the opportunity to share thoughts about Iran the country by focusing on the formation of the identity of Iran the woman. “The problem is she never convinces the reader that her personal journey is more interesting than the plight of Iran, and in focusing too insistently on her own search for an identity, she seems to have squandered a splendid opportunity to give us a window on a conundrum of a country that she has known intimately through several tumultuous decades of change.”
I haven’t read the book yet, but
Kakutani has a reputation for harsh criticism, so perhaps the work is more compelling than she thinks. Why would we expect the small life of one woman to interest North American readers more than the history of a country we find either exotically appealing or threatening? Why should any single life or single person’s thoughts compel such interest?
Maybe Ardalan should have written the book Kakatuni wanted to read, she placed her focus where I would expect in this moment in U.S. cultural history. Rather than rejoice in the promotion of the individual, I falter in presenting my work to the public because of my answer to this question. I don’t think that I am all that important.
While this is, perhaps, the indicator of a healthy soul, the attitude doesn’t lend itself to winning public office or building an impressive body of work as a writer or photographer. Of course, my attitude doesn’t impede the building of a body of work or involvement in efforts to build healthy community. I just don’t stick with self promotion. If you don’t like what I write or do, fine. I will not impose on you. I am a counterforce to people like Kakutani, but hardly anyone knows. This is the conundrum. How does one promote the idea that exploration of individual identity is less important than knowledge of events that connect individuals to humanity and the universe in the individualistic United States?
The question of my identity may be interesting to me, but if I don’t make the connection to something larger than myself, there’s no reason for anyone to care. I’ve had wonderful opportunities to learn about the world beyond me and have devoted my professional energies to encourage students to explore the world around them. We all need to explore ourselves, but if we don’t place ourselves, our own families, our own communities, in the context of the world beyond our sight and feelings, we are stunted.
I may not be as compelling as a social movement, but when people like me don't speak, the self-absorbed attention seekers can monopolize the floor.
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