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/lit/ - Literature

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7446362 No.7446362[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Why is literature peddled as enriching? Why do you guys pretend that it's anything more than entertainment?

This "human condition" stuff is bs. Why not just go and live a life, if that's what you want to feel. Fair enough if it's stuff like All Quiet on the Western Front. But most of the time it's not.

I read somewhere that the study of literature, literary theory, was pretty much an accident. Rhetoric professors (or something like that) were suddenly forced to do research as well as teach, like the other professors.

Also the publisher model is laughable and its telling that you guys still worship it. Book choice, especially for the less discriminating masses, was centralised among a few people of homogeneous backgrounds, and now the internet changes things, yet you guys reject things. There's the laughable sight of the "aspiring writers" on here wanting to be chosen by the publishing gods, or else be condemned to self publishing. And even when the publishers wave around their Tao Lins and their maria whatshernames, you still won't contemplate any other measure of quality. Fair enough if you went to Oxbridge or Ivy League, wishful thinking otherwise.

>> No.7446367

Jesus christ please stop

>> No.7446368

I agree.

>> No.7446384

I've always been amazed by the social capital and prestige given to reading fiction, a children's activity really. It's waning and being supplanted by film and TV as the contemporary medium of discourse, but it had a good run. RIP in peace dusty books.

>> No.7446391

i agree. seppuku

>> No.7446399

>>7446362
Stay mad and dumb, pleb.

>> No.7446402

Not gonna lie, fiction doesn't do shit for me anymore. Philosophy and nonfiction are more enriching per sentence, let alone per page.

>> No.7446417

>>7446362
>>7446368
>>7446384
I can't tell if this is bait, or if you really haven't thought about this. If you don't enjoy reading, don't be so ashamed that you have to come up with elaborate rationalizations as to why it wouldn't be worth your time even if you did enjoy it. Just accept the hard fact that you don't understand the importance of literature and you don't enjoy reading it.

>> No.7446424

>>7446362
Reporting for spam

>> No.7446425

you're basically calling this board a shill which is correct.

literature is put on a pedestal only because successful writers act wise, classy and elitist. this sort of lifestyle and behaviour baffles the average person. the world of letters is a secret society, it's impenetrable. so they tremble in fear and the taboo is born. and those who manage to transgress it are instantly struck down by the emptiness and vanity they have pursued.

>> No.7446427

>>7446417
you confound two conclusions, when only one can be argued from the premise. if you don't enjoy reading, you don't enjoy reading.

>> No.7446440

POOOOOOOOOOP. POOP POOPED AS PENIS DICKED ABOUT HIS TITTIES, THE SNOT SWALLOWED SEMEN IN THE SHADOW OF THE SHIT. BUMMY COCKENCHRIST KILLED SMEGMA WITH PUS AND PUSSY ABOUND THROUGHOUT THE EVENING, WANDERING LUSTFUL AND GAY

>> No.7446467

>>7446362
If literature isn't enriching, then why have all of the best communicators, the most genius inventors, and the most effective leaders been avid readers of literature, and why does bartender Todd, who hasn't read since he had to read Spark Notes to prepare for his high school English exam, have trouble stringing two simple sentences together? Literature isn't enriching? Get real. You don't read and you don't want to read, but some part of you feels you're missing out - that's why you made this thread.

>> No.7446501

OP here. I like literature. I read books that /lit/ likes. But I feel like i'm held hostage. I can't stop reading, even temporarily, or else i'm a pleb

>> No.7446515

>>7446440
>ABOUND THROUGHOUT THE EVENING, WANDERING LUSTFUL AND GAY
this is pretty good t b h

>> No.7446521

I do agree OP. Though you don't really phrase it the way I would.

There's enriching literature. But most popular books aren't really that. They're just entertaining.

I do think literature as a medium has a lot more intellectual capacity to offer than say movies or games (I do think games have more capacity than movies though, even if it's not realized). It's about the time you spend with a piece of information. I have the general impression that games and movies have a much higher phase than books in general. It leaves less time to process information and in the case of games you're often also distracted by other things. Literature on the other hand leaves you exploring the information presented at any phase you want, you can even rewind easily. That extra time makes it easier to explain more complicated things.

I think that authors do play a big role because writing a book is in some way a more pure form of art than combined arts like movies or games and to some degree music (though obviously you can have solo composers and solo artists, artists obviously being more execution focused).

There was some intellectual barrier to literature a while back but I would consider that almost entirely gone. The people who have problems reading now are often marginalized in some way (where reading doesn't become a high priority) or they have mental conditions that make them unable (ADHD/"ADD" for instance). It's no longer an educated class type of thing. That stigma really has to go for literature to do well I think. You can't have kids not read books because it makes them look like nerds. The medium should be like movies are where anyone can watch it or read it. Then there can be a group of elite readers if that's necessary. Though it's fairly obvious this change has been going on for quite a while now.

>> No.7446598
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7446598

this is embarassing.

people hate what they can't grasp -- hence /lit/heads shitting on STEM, hence STEMfags shitting on /lit/.

it's fine if you don't like literature... but why, then, did you take your time to come here and give us some half-brained apologia? it's because you and literature don't get along, and it couldn't possibly be you that's stupid, right? not you, the thousands of years of high-culture are wrong.

only people who are literate can understand the value of literacy -- but hey, OP, at least you have that 'ignorance is bliss' thing going for you kek

>> No.7446662

Why do you hurt me so?

>> No.7446663

>>7446384
There have been studies done that prove reading literary fiction improves your social skills

>> No.7446679

>>7446663
No, that isn't what those studies said, you read the pop-science version. And using literature as a replacement for interacting with others is full autism.