Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Power of Pulp
Well, I was dumbstruck when I saw her with that red coloured book with Friendship @ Facebook.com inscribed on it. She had always boasted of being the descendant of Kafka or Marxism personified. She was trying hard to hide the forbidden literature under her chunni. Gosh what a hypocrite! I couldn’t help speaking these words. I started recalling my college days. She always was dressed in the Khadi kurtas and a jhola complementing her attire. She chose European Literature over popular fiction and Literary theory over Euro – Drama. Can’t forget the expressions on her face when I was defending what I call entertainment literature and she called pulp fiction, Grub Street literature. What a sham this woman was? How can she read it herself after condemning it forever?
I took a plunge into the memory lane yeah! What did she say during our discussion sessions? She, “It’s a shame! It’s a shame to the complete Literary Society of our college, that our Vice-President is advocating Grub Street literature. Wrong choice didn’t I tell you friends?”
I, “Whatever! I don’t care about your personal picks ma’am, but what is the harm in reading literature for entertainment? I love reading Shakespeare, but don’t Shakespeare’s works too contain almost all the entertainment ingredients which the so called ‘pulp-fiction’ has?”
She, “Why don’t you shut him up? My friend literature has nothing to do with entertainment or for that matter your enjoyment. Literature is meant for a purpose. A purpose of changing the society. Be a radical, a feminist. Do you know how hard-core feminist am I? Huh! I helped my friend to get out of the clasps of her phalocentric, patriarchal, chauvinist boy friend who asked her not to wear micro minis to Chandni Chowk. Who the hell does he think he was to tell her that? And that is what your pulp fiction supports.. Commodification of women. Victimisation of poor. Oh! God this world and society needs a change. We should ban this literature and hang pulp fiction lovers. There should be a protest.” A few chashma girls standing behind her and shouted with her in unison, “Ban it! Ban it!”
I felt that the conversation was getting heated up but just couldn’t understand the idea of not being biased towards everything in the world but be biased towards this source of entertainment. What is the harm reading a light novel at least it would make you smile! I don’t know what happens to some of these wanna-be intellectuals after joining English (Hons). The attire changes into only kurtas and jholas and they claim to be the cream literature lover class. I know a few who were avid readers of Mills and Boons before joining college. But what is it? Some enlightenment or something? These pseudo-intellectuals are further divided into two classes. The first being the one I’ve mentioned above the second ones are the “Maal/Stuff group” or the dopers’ gang. With their eyes half open, they talk of philosophies and believe me they too equally hate pulp fiction. I wonder why?
I was feeling like a sinner for being the Vice President of the English Department of my college, yet having a taste for pulp fiction. But I wanted to stand for my thoughts and so I did. I said, “So you feel my dear friend that literature should be either about women upliftment or should just reflect the victimisation of poor by the capitalists. Is that what you want?”
She replied, “Yes and in fact I would suggest that there should be solution oriented fiction novels such as How I hurled a matriarchal abuse at him, or The servant’s punch, etc.”
I knew we needed change but the idea of making literature only for change didn’t click me. I never wanted to argue anymore but I wasn’t even convinced by her idea, so I carried reading both my entertainment literature and the “refined,” Classical literature as well. Holy Crap! She was reading it? Unbelievable. I realised she herself accepted the Power of Pulp.
I took a plunge into the memory lane yeah! What did she say during our discussion sessions? She, “It’s a shame! It’s a shame to the complete Literary Society of our college, that our Vice-President is advocating Grub Street literature. Wrong choice didn’t I tell you friends?”
I, “Whatever! I don’t care about your personal picks ma’am, but what is the harm in reading literature for entertainment? I love reading Shakespeare, but don’t Shakespeare’s works too contain almost all the entertainment ingredients which the so called ‘pulp-fiction’ has?”
She, “Why don’t you shut him up? My friend literature has nothing to do with entertainment or for that matter your enjoyment. Literature is meant for a purpose. A purpose of changing the society. Be a radical, a feminist. Do you know how hard-core feminist am I? Huh! I helped my friend to get out of the clasps of her phalocentric, patriarchal, chauvinist boy friend who asked her not to wear micro minis to Chandni Chowk. Who the hell does he think he was to tell her that? And that is what your pulp fiction supports.. Commodification of women. Victimisation of poor. Oh! God this world and society needs a change. We should ban this literature and hang pulp fiction lovers. There should be a protest.” A few chashma girls standing behind her and shouted with her in unison, “Ban it! Ban it!”
I felt that the conversation was getting heated up but just couldn’t understand the idea of not being biased towards everything in the world but be biased towards this source of entertainment. What is the harm reading a light novel at least it would make you smile! I don’t know what happens to some of these wanna-be intellectuals after joining English (Hons). The attire changes into only kurtas and jholas and they claim to be the cream literature lover class. I know a few who were avid readers of Mills and Boons before joining college. But what is it? Some enlightenment or something? These pseudo-intellectuals are further divided into two classes. The first being the one I’ve mentioned above the second ones are the “Maal/Stuff group” or the dopers’ gang. With their eyes half open, they talk of philosophies and believe me they too equally hate pulp fiction. I wonder why?
I was feeling like a sinner for being the Vice President of the English Department of my college, yet having a taste for pulp fiction. But I wanted to stand for my thoughts and so I did. I said, “So you feel my dear friend that literature should be either about women upliftment or should just reflect the victimisation of poor by the capitalists. Is that what you want?”
She replied, “Yes and in fact I would suggest that there should be solution oriented fiction novels such as How I hurled a matriarchal abuse at him, or The servant’s punch, etc.”
I knew we needed change but the idea of making literature only for change didn’t click me. I never wanted to argue anymore but I wasn’t even convinced by her idea, so I carried reading both my entertainment literature and the “refined,” Classical literature as well. Holy Crap! She was reading it? Unbelievable. I realised she herself accepted the Power of Pulp.
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