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The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

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Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#51

Post by LanceH »

jimt1234 wrote: post #38
an0malous wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tony Montana being clearly depicted as a complete idiot whose lack of impulse control is his undoing. The didn't "misunderstand" Scarface. I think you’d be surprised how many people didn’t understand that

I feel the same about Fight Club (the movie, not necessarily the book). Many people focused almost entirely on the Tyler Durden character, either celebrating or criticizing the extreme masculinity. But the whole point of the movie was a rejection of that character.

Sure, but at the same time a whole lot of the movie is about rejecting the modern treadmill we find ourselves on -- and that appeals to many. If there were just a way to be strong and feel alive, and not worry about anything else.

Then the movie takes a turn and they hatch a scheme to blow stuff up and the viewer didn't realize what they were watching the whole time. In fact, calling it "Fight Club" is wrong if it's about the psychological drama going on in his head. It has nothing to do with the fight club, that's just one possible expression of it.

People latch on to the first 2 acts of discovering oneself when stepping out of the expectations of society. Critics of those people like to point out that there are bad things about the movie also. No shit. They don't seem to get that other people can differentiate between enjoying a fiction and blowing stuff up. Lots of people ran out to try an MMA gym, not very many started blowing up buildings. Most just watched a movie. But hey, it's really easy to feel superior saying those people are toxic idiots for liking it at all.

Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#52

Post by LanceH »

nemomarx wrote: post #39
akoboldfrying wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Jane Crowther's newly published novel, Gatsby, updates the plot to the 21st Century, and flips the genders I was tired of the idea of gender-flipping a story before the first story was ever gender-flipped, and I'm no less tired of it now. I suspect that even people who think it's important to perform the rite of gender-flipping a story don't actually like the stories that result. Because it's the same story as befo…

Flip just one character and see if the romance changes in interesting ways, or if you can use prejudice against the character or something. At least a little more interesting than just inverting a dynamic.

Just write your own story then, let it stand on its own.

Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#53

Post by snet0 »

I hate this sentiment. The book isn't "about" a thing in particular, neither does it "mean" any specific thing. It may have been written with some ideas in mind, and there may even be overt indications as to those ideas. Everyone has their own relationship with each and every piece of art, and may sometimes choose to include the artist and/or their intentions, but may also choose to exclude them.

The article even discusses certain readers' developing relationship over time! The book hasn't changed, the text is static. Even within a person, the understanding of the text is fluid. To say it could possibly be misunderstood is to say that there is a wrong way of understanding, but clearly there are at least multiple correct - or at least not incorrect - understandings!

A certain subculture of online males have fallen in love with Patrick Bateman. Now some of them might not have read or watched American Psycho, so to say they misunderstand the art is nonsense as they haven't actually seen it. For those that have and still choose to worship the obviously awful character, I see a lot of people say they haven't "understood" the film/book. They have! They just disagree with author's own interpretation!

Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#54

Post by tayo42 »

KPGv2 wrote: post #46
tayo42 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Game of thrones will be. No main character is safe since Ned Stark was killed on TV. No ending was going to be good. Sopranos had a controversial ending too. Silicon Valley captured the feel of the bay area and did a good job with satire. 2000s would be easier, I think 2010 is about the switch to super hero movies.

No one even talks about GOT anymore bc the ending was so bad. > No ending was going to be good Why do you say that? Plenty amazing shows have great endings. And GOT isn't some uniquely incredible story. Killing MCs is not new to GOT, either, and you give that show too much credit. Lost did it long before GOT. 24. Grey's Anatomy is SUPER famous for it. They killed off like half the original cast in a single helicopter…

None of those shows were a pop culture phenomenon like got was when it was on.

It only ended a few years ago. The office took over 10 years to have a popularity resurgence.

Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#55

Post by keiferski »

I think the 2013 movie unfortunately has made the book into the symbol of the roaring 1920s era, and that comes with a lot of baggage that Fitzgerald didn’t intend to put center stage. I can’t think of any other mainstream media that is also set in the 20s and has as big of a cultural pull. So everything 1920s related gets crammed into Gatsby, when in reality it’s more of a fable on American identity.

Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#56

Post by akoboldfrying »

sharkjacobs wrote: post #32
akoboldfrying wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Jane Crowther's newly published novel, Gatsby, updates the plot to the 21st Century, and flips the genders I was tired of the idea of gender-flipping a story before the first story was ever gender-flipped, and I'm no less tired of it now. I suspect that even people who think it's important to perform the rite of gender-flipping a story don't actually like the stories that result. Because it's the same story as befo…

What are the other gender swapped retellings that you're thinking of?

In truth, the only one that comes to mind is Ghostbusters.

Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#57

Post by keiferski »

kazinator wrote: post #4
gnabgib wrote: post #2

(2021) At the time (64 points, 72 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26085219

That's odd. The date on the article is now April 10, 2025. In the text it refers to the publication date of The Great Gatsby as being 100 years ago. That is correct; the novel was evidently published on April 10, 1925. I see in the Internet Archive that they revised the text. Originally the article was published Feb 9, 2021, and the wording was: "Almost a century after he was written into being, F Scott Fitzgerald's…

Makes sense. Certain phrases like “Gatsby misunderstood” are always relevant.

Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#58

Post by solumunus »

snet0 wrote: post #53

I hate this sentiment. The book isn't "about" a thing in particular, neither does it "mean" any specific thing. It may have been written with some ideas in mind, and there may even be overt indications as to those ideas. Everyone has their own relationship with each and every piece of art, and may sometimes choose to include the artist and/or their intentions, but may also choose to exclude them. The article even dis…

> To say it could possibly be misunderstood is to say that there is a wrong way of understanding, but clearly there are at least multiple correct - or at least not incorrect - understandings!

There are multiple correct understandings but there are also understandings that are completely incorrect, no? You’re saying any interpretation is valid, even ones that are clearly nonsensical?

Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#59

Post by cgriswald »

snet0 wrote: post #53

I hate this sentiment. The book isn't "about" a thing in particular, neither does it "mean" any specific thing. It may have been written with some ideas in mind, and there may even be overt indications as to those ideas. Everyone has their own relationship with each and every piece of art, and may sometimes choose to include the artist and/or their intentions, but may also choose to exclude them. The article even dis…

I don’t agree. Yes, every work of art is open to interpretation, but that interpretation has to be informed by the art. There has to be supporting evidence and you have to consume the art holistically.

You can’t, for insurance, conclude that the meaning of The Princess Bride is that Sicilians are dangerous when death is on the line by focusing solely on a single character’s words, ignoring the fact that he is outwitted and dies, and ignoring that the book is primarily not focused on that character. I mean, you can; but then you definitely haven’t understood the film/book.

Re: The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

#60

Post by thomassmith65 »

hutao wrote: post #6

Today, we tend to see The Great Gatsby as a work of historical literature, as it gives a window into the Roaring Twenties. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald did not set out to depict the past; he was depicting his own present. Similarly, Proust's literature is seen as a window into the French high-society of the Belle Epoque, a society in which Proust lived. Which works today do you think future generations will see as th…

Breaking Bad, if we're lucky. More likely some superhero movie with a title like ThunderMan VI: Dawn of the Mayhem Battalion.
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