IRB Intro #3: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

I generally try to stay away from "feel good" books with a tragedy that ultimately leads to a warm and fuzzy moral about the triumph of the human spirit--sentiment makes me nauseous. Due to this, I thought that A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (just look at the title) by Dave Eggers would be the same type of heart-warming-turned-into-a-made-for-TV-Lifetime-movie memoir that I try to stay away from. However, after seeing the book crop up in various lists of top nonfiction reads online, I decided to check it out. The book is a "memoir" by Dave Eggers, but its clear that the book is trying to chew off more than the title memoir would imply just based on the reviews. The book is about Eggers' hardships as the sole guardian to his little brother after both of his parents died of cancer. While this sounds like the prime subject matter for soppy, sad, beach reads, apparently the book is rather known for its sardonic nature and bitter self consciousness. In other words, it has been likened more to David Foster Wallace than Jodi Piccoult. This makes me extremely interested in reading this book as I really do not know what to expect, and I hope to gain (perhaps) some moral or philosophical insight into the more human side of loss through reading this.

TOW #16: IRB (2)

Sebastian Junger's book War, an account of his time in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan during American occupation of the country in the late aughts, spends much of its time humanizing war. Junger focuses much of the first half of the book on the relationships between soldiers and the psychological effects of war that are seldom seen in press clippings of numbers of dead and progress made. The human aspect of war is a very important part of Junger's attempt to show war at its rawest and most honest, and in the second half of the book Junger also highlights the distortions between the progress we think is being made oversees in short news clippings and what is actually happening. In comparing the distorted and overly optimistic view of the U.S's progress in Afghanistan to the haphazard reality, Jungr effectively shows how war is much less black and white, and (in the case of Afghanistan) much more dire than the average civilian American would know.

Junger's account of the war in Afghanistan is far from saccharine. Much of the book consists of first hand accounts of the bloody, gruesome firefights between the Taliban and Battle Company on the Abas Ghar in the Korengal Valley. The death's of Americans are frequent and ironically unheroic, and the deaths caused by the American's follow in the same way. However, if you listened to military press officers, who presented only part of the truth about the war (the positive truth), you wouldn't know that. Junger shows this distinction to the average civilian by comparing the truth of war (which he has been describing throughout the entirety of the book) to what he calls "Vietnam moments". According to Junger, "Vietnam moments" were when journalists "weren't so much getting misled as getting asked to participate in a kind of collective wishful thinking" (Junger 132). Junger provides an example of this when he recounts how "more American soldiers were killed that year than any previous year before" (Junger 132), but this was distorted as being the cause of soldiers "taking the fight to the enemy"(Junger 132). This tweaking of the facts often distorts the public's perception of a war, and simplifies it into a black and white conflict that is an easier pill to swallow. Through showing the disconnect between how the war is presented and how it actually is, Junger demystifies the often-shrouded-in-mystery nature of war. This, along with his harrowing descriptions of the fear felt by soldiers in firefights and the connection between soldiers, does not necessarily argue against war but seemingly shows it in its rawest and most unadulterated context.

TOW #15: Visual Text

The line between body acceptance and complacency is a fine one indeed. Should acceptance of one's body mean complacency in terms of health goals? Can you love your body but still strive to become healthier? The short answer is yes. However, there is still controversy surrounding the reconciliation of body acceptance and fitness goals, and this can be seen in the iconic sports company Nike's controversial "Find Your Greatness" ad. The ad has come under fire for its image of an obese child struggling to run down a street. Detractors of the ad believe that the image is demeaning to the child, and portrays him in a body-shaming, unflattering light. Despite this, the ad's striking and blunt imagery effectively creates a rousing and determined message that forces the audience to, in accordance with Nike's famous mantra, just do it.

The visual was released in a 2012 pre-olympic ad campaign containing diverse images captioned "find your greatness". The campaign strove to contain not only images of physical-adonis-pro-athletes, but also average people in order to show that greatness resides within everyone. This particular image's stark placement of the struggling obese child against sprawling fields and an open road creates a very powerful effect. The audience can feel the perseverance of the child who, when faced with nothing but open road, continues to run despite his physical hinderances. The setting sun in the background and the emptiness of the frame hyper-focuses the audience's attention to the running boy, and simplifies the image to nothing but a boy and his goal, at odds with each other but destined to meet. The placement of the words "Find your greatness." written in sans serif font with all capital letters underscores this perseverance by not fussing with motivational words but bluntly stating the ultimate goal of everyone's physical endeavors--to reach greatness. This message, characterized by the running boy, causes the audience to see a nobility in striving for greatness, and shows them that greatness manifests itself differently for everyone. It shows that greatness, no matter if it is just running a mile or winning a marathon, knows no excuses and can be achieved by anyone as long as they put in the work.

This image can be criticized for its portrayal of the boy; however, criticizers cannot deny the power of the image's message of undying determination in the name of greatness. This image appeals to any person who has ever debated not going to the gym, ending their run early, or slowing down their game pace. If they simply recall the image of the running boy, they will remember that greatness knows no boundaries and can be achieved by even the most unassuming of athletes.

TOW #14: The League of Extraordinary Assholes

In our modern world of regulated capitalist democracy it is increasingly easy to see the inflated entitlement of the wealthy or privileged, whether it be while we are driving, in line at Starbucks, or waiting for luggage at the airport. While we look on from our relative squalor compared to these paragons of privilege, it is easy to see how their false air of superiority can contribute to, as University of Toronto Philosophy professor and writer for The Walrus Magazine Mark Kingwell rather gracefully calls it, "assholery". While this characteristic disregard of other human beings is often reserved for the privileged, Kingwell argues in his op-ed that there is a logical reason for "jerkiness", and that this "jerkiness" can be manifested in all of us whenever we are in a position of superiority.

Kingwell writes for the common man--but with an academic's flair--and deftly illustrates the tenets of "jerkiness" by defining and then providing examples for its various parts. He paints the picture of the jerk in everyone, saying that most people "may not be a jerk most of the time--except when I feel myself superior". By defining the superiority complex that enables jerkiness, the reader is able to connect to the concept of jerkiness, for they themselves have probably felt entitled in their superiority at one point or another. In order to reinforce this idea of "jerkiness", Kingwell provides examples of where jerky superiority might be manifested. He gives an example of  feigned superiority, saying "Thus servers, clerks, students, cashiers, and—especially—strangers can be seen as easy targets. Without fear of reprisal or loss of status, indeed with a sense of confirming it by getting one’s way or securing an advantage, jerkiness can seem justified".  Through showing how jerkiness grows and rears its ugly head, Kingwell thus shows that jerkiness is not just reserved for the over-privileged (who he describes to be not just jerks but rather at a more unsavory level of entitlement) but can be seen in all of us when we lose our sense of empathy and see ourselves as better than others. Thus, Kingwell begs the question, are you or have you ever been a jerk? And for most of us, the answer is yes.