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Article: Something to Die For.
- Article from:
- The Review of Contemporary Fiction
- Article date:
- September 22, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Review of Contemporary Fiction. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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This time the Cassandras who talk about the death of the novel may be right, because the great enemy, television, is working to bring about the death of the book. Television is ideal for people without memories. As an instrument of control it might be even more effective than the Bible or Mao's little red book. The strange and amazing thing is that television is not owned by any controllers, but only by a vague number of self-interest committees. This is why it so rarely stands for anything (although it does so when needed as a propaganda tool, as when one drops bombs in Iraq). It never seems to be explaining or conveying, only grinning like Francis Bacon's Idol of the ...