Monday, April 16, 2007

Truthiness

This a concept I can't quite get a handle on. Is it entirely satirical? Is the whole idea a critique of the Bush Administration's. Or is it something more? Does it exist outside late night humor. Is it a beltway term? What the hell is it?
Could you use it in a sentence for me? And not a sentence that requires me to know the meaning to understand the sentence. In other words not, Charles Colert invented the term, "truthiness." Or "you'll know truthiness when you see it." 'Cause I won't.

Check out the interview with Megan Abbott with Steve Allan right here: http://noirwriter.blogspot.com/
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6 comments:

Steve Allan said...

"Truthiness" is a way to describe the ludicrous spin pundits give the news media. Although the Bush Administration has been very successful at this, the real starting point of the modern era was Clinton. There is an excellent book written by Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz called "Spin Cycle" which examined Mike McCurry's handling of the various scandals that haunted the Clinton administration.

However, the Bush Administration, and the numerous conservative pundits, have taken this spin to another level - a level that the Democrats aren't even close to touching - using spin not as a reaction to scandal (at least until recently), but as a proactive way to skewer and twist the news and present it in way that fits their agenda. Sometimes resorting to lying, if it sounds like it could be true.

Take the recent shouting match between Geraldo and Bill "Luffa" O'Reilly. It was about an illegal immigrant drunk driver who killed a teenage girl in a car accident. Bill argued that it was lax immigration laws that casued the accident. No illegal immigrants, ergo no drunk driving accidents. Geraldo correctly stated that it wasn't an immigration issue, but a drunk driving issue (and a snowball made its way through Hell). So, through his "truthy" logic, Bill was giving his audience a reason to support strict immigration laws.

Another example of truthiness: the reason behind the Iraq war. Weapons of mass destruction, oops, not true; Ending Sadam, ends unrest and violence in the Middle East, oops, not true; democracy in Iraq, oops, truns out they're not very good at it; etc., etc., etc. The reason given changes when the previous one proves to be false - and it is never mentioned again.

So: "George Bush and his supporters have used the truthiness of select information and verbally bent evidence to further an agenda that would otherwise fail to appeal to the American public."

How's that?

10:04 AM
pattinase (abbott) said...

Better. Still trying to see how this concept can translate into a story for Hardluck Stories. I think it requires a satirical touch I don't have. And that's the truth.

10:21 AM
Anonymous said...

I think one of the best examples of "truthiness" in fiction is Bonfire of the Vanaties. Probably Thank You For Smoking as well. I can't see how to apply to it to crime fiction exactly, though.

11:25 AM
pattinase (abbott) said...

You and me both. More clever minds will have to prevail.

5:16 PM
Steve Allan said...

You can't think of a way to bring political punditry and crime together? Really? Honestly, do you read the news? You're definitely thinking too hard. :)

9:30 PM
Anonymous said...

Allan mostly right, though Truthiness is more a description of such lapdogs /mutual exploiters as the Fox News crew and Rush Limbaugh, who hope you will accept their opinions as truth if they are couched emphatically or repetitiously enough. Hence Stephen Colbert's use of the word in his motto screen. Also, spin predates the most recent slick admins...surely we have no greater Truthiness than among those who wish to deify Reagan and his largely criminal when not merely ineffective administration, when we move away from the clear success in dismantling reasonably efficient federal bureaucracies and replacing them with less efficient but far more lucrative (for certain folks, in turn generous with their campaign contributions) intermingling of private industry and political appointees "overseeing" them...much to the detriment of the nation since. The haven't called them Beltway Bandits for decades solely because of the alliteration.

10:51 AM

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