All Talk 2 - What’s the point of Reading?

22/11/08

Dr. Nostrum

(beat) Anyway, that was your idea, but what I thought (pause) would be (longer pause) interesting (pause) not that we could do it today, (yet another pause) but why don't we just...(e.t.c.) create that series... that we tried to start writing... on podcasts? Not in terms of the finished article, but actually the Creation Of The Series is the podcast?

Hutchback

Ok, that's possible.

Dr. Nostrum

Cos that's actually not a bad theme. You know, two people who don't know what they're doing, creating a TV programme that no-one will ever make.

Hutchback

Hmm. Mm. Okay, that's, uhm...

Dr. Nostrum

I mean that's... That's different

Hutchback

Haven't.. haven't we done it all already?

Dr. Nostrum (spluttering)

Well, what we.. Yeah but.. yuh.. wuh.. This is.. what I'm saying is.. it's, er.. it's.. revisionist. Is that you can come back, with actually, you can come back with your scripts and say.. and look at it, or improve on it, or make it worse, one or the other.

Hutchback (eating chocolate now)

Mm. mm.. mm.

Dr. Nostrum

But as an idea (pause) it is a better idea than just recreating someone else's talking about rubbish.

Hutchback

Mm, mm. Mm. (finished) Maybe. Well, yeah, I guess once.. but that was, a theme.

Dr. Nostrum (irritated)

Yeah, yeah, I know it was a theme!

Hutchback

Like: The Worst Reality TV Show Imaginable. Or the worst collection of reality TV shows

Dr. Nostrum

Well yeah, that's where you start, but then, but what the theme becomes is, eventually becomes, is who the people are isn't it? Which is what the programme would be.

Hutchback

Hmm.

Dr. Nostrum

Same as writing a book, it's not actually about... well, depends what it is. (beat) and in fact someone was pointing out – I overheard this and have probably got it wrong – but a very different thing about literature now, than literature say, up to the Second World War, is that great literature used to be, mainly about (here comes a halting explanation) the behaviour that, people were, forced into, rather that, and you know, which was an external thing, so heroes were heroes cause they went out and did thing whereas now, now we write about internal dialogues whereas you used to write about, you know, great themes used to be external things, you know, what happened around people and big events But now they're like little tiny things about just, oh, "I feel terrible and that's important because I'm, er, I'm emotional."

Hutchback

What about Jane Austen?

Dr. Nostrum

(despite never having read a Jane Austen book in his life)

Well, er, Jane Austen, er, a thing of her time was, er, subject to all the, er (pause) the er, (pause) the problems that, of 'the woman's life', I suppose.

Hutchback

Yeah...

Dr. Nostrum

Whereas now...

Hutchback

Not exactly 'great events'

Dr. Nostrum

No, no, but Jane Austen, if someone wrote Jane Austen stuff now it would just.. it would be
much more, um, (pause - searches for the word) bitter.

Hutchback (thinks)

Hmm

Dr. Nostrum

Wouldn't it?

Hutchback

Yeah. Because we are now cynical

Dr. Nostrum

Yeah. That's.. that's all

Hutchback

But they were cy.. But there were also cynics back then.

Dr. Nostrum

Yeah

Hutchback

You know, Darcy is, to some extent, a cynic.

Dr. Nostrum (making it up)

Yeah, but she's not making fun of him...

Hutchback

No

Dr. Nostrum

...which is what would happen, you know, everything's become much more, um, (pause) er, selfishly important. You know, as if what's happened to you is somehow incredibly important, whereas...

Hutchback

You see, there we go, we started talking about something that required some knowledge...

Dr. Nostrum

Yeah

Hutchback

...and then we had to rapidly stop...

Dr. Nostrum

Yes!

Hutchback

...when we realised neither...

Dr. Nostrum

Cause I.. we don't know enough about...

Hutchback

...neither of us knew anything really...

Dr. Nostrum

...Jane Austen

Hutchback (he was just a better faker)

...about Jane Austen except what we've seen on TV.

Dr. Nostrum

Yeah. Well that's enough. That's enough.

(pause)

Hutchback

So the televised adaptations of great literature, you know (pause) is that the, the final giving up of the ghost of...

Dr. Nostrum

For great literature?

Hutchback

...for any expectation of people reading these books? (pause) cause there's no longer really any reason to read them. (pause) Because, because, um, rather than as, as was said 'that the pictured are better', you know, "I prefer reading books cause the pictures are better"

Dr. Nostrum

Yeah

Hutchback

The reality is that people don't, don't, um, don't actually want to go to that effort.

Dr. Nostrum

I just think you don't have the time.

Hutchback

(beat) And how many great books will you be lying on your death-bed thinking – I never read War and Peace – I never read, um...

Dr. Nostrum

Well, only the people that give a shit about it.

Hutchback

...I never read Franz Kafka, I never read...

Dr. Nostrum

I d.. well (pause) I did read Franz Kafka.

Hutchback

Well may.. yeah, I've read a bit of Franz Kafka, but alright, but I never read...

Dr. Nostrum

I read a bit of Fr..

Hutchback

Finnegan's Wake... (playing the deathbed regret) "I never read Finnegan's Wake."

Dr. Nostrum

I read Finnegan's Wake!

Hutchback

Did you?

Dr. Nostrum

Yeah

Hutchback

What a waste of time that was.

Dr. Nostrum

Well it wasn't a waste of time, it was just, impossible.

Hutchback

Well there you go. Did you finish it?

Dr. Nostrum

I imagine it was a lot harder for me to..

Hutchback

Alright, I never read Thomas Pynchon, I never..

Dr. Nostrum

I read that too!

Hutchback (instantly, frustrated)

Alright.

Dr. Nostrum (amused)

No, and a bit.. none of this, you know.. it's just, the thing is is that.. it's not.. I did all, you know, lot's of people read lots of stuff and you read a lot more than me probably, just different stuff, and I don't do it anymore, but not because I don't wanna read it, just because I...

Hutchback

Can't be bothered.

Dr. Nostrum

...I'm doing other stuff. Yeah, I can't be bothered. I'd rather sit around doing something else.

Hutchback

Yeah...

Dr. Nostrum

Cause there's more stuff to do, so maybe what's just happened is there's more stuff to do now.

Hutchback

Hmm, 'The garbage'.

Dr. Nostrum

Yeah, you gotta put out the garbage.