Misreadings by Umberto Eco
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Normally I die for Umberto Eco’s works. This however, seemed less interesting mainly because it becomes clear that this is an exercise in saying one thing though the filter of another. At times the meaning is twisted as with “Make Your Own Movie” where we play with the narrative form by exporting different possibilities. Other times, it’s the form of two news broadcasters speaking about the landing of Columbus for the first time. Perhaps this is because written in the 60s, these essays would have been more cutting edge than they are now. Either way, I am not certain they stand up today as works in themselves. As always, Eco’s observations and musings are interesting, compelling and insightful. But given the push that they are in, I am less interested in them as comedy than anything else.
In a sense, parody is only the pushing of what something is through its opposite. This is how comedy shows like the Daily Show can be news. It creates the news through its focusing on one object simply because it is “about” something “out there”. The form of its presentation preserves its content even if the deployment is “opposite”. I didn’t think that this is astounding as an execution, but it is astounding as a way in which we humans think and process information.
Still, if you want a brainy book about silliness, here it is.
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