CHAPTER 7 - THE INTERVIEW ( FLAMINGO)
CHAPTER 7 – THE INTERVIEW
Christopher Silvester
Learning
Objectives –
• By the end of the lesson students will be familiar with the
prominent personalities talked about in the chapter.
• Students will be able to comprehend the chapter with the help of
vocabulary assistance provided to them in the blog.
• Students will be able to understand the key points about Interview
mentioned by the author and will be able to do self-assessment through the
questions given to them at the end of the blogs.
Dear Students
I hope by now you are
getting comfortable with learning through the digital platform.
This blog focuses on
a chapter from Flamingo titled THE INTERVIEW written by Christopher Silvester.
Christopher
Silvester was born in 1959. He has written for several newspapers and magazines, including
the Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent on Sunday,
Esquire, Gand Vanity Fair. He is also the editor of the Penguin Book
of Interviews: An Anthology from 1859 to the Present Day and
the author of The Pimlico Companion to Parliament.
You must spend
time in reading and comprehending the chapter. After you have gone through it,
read this blog for better understanding of the main concepts in the chapter.
There are two parts
to the chapter. Part 1 focuses on what an interview is and Part II is
an actual interview where a popular author Umberto Eco is being
interviewed by a journalist named Mukund Padmanabhan. In this
blog I have identified for you some key points that there are in part 1.
Part 1
Introduction
– Look back in your memory and remember of the last interview you
read on a digital or print media platform. As an educated tot, each one of you
would have read quite a few interviews in your life. Think about the importance
of reading an interview and the importance of taking someone’s interview. Think
from both perspectives, of one where you read an interview about an eminent
personality or one where you are being interviewed.
Would
you be comfortable sharing or answering extremely personal questions about
yourself to the world? Is it justified to form an opinion about someone just
based on an interview they gave? Would there be a dearth of knowledge in the
world if journalists stop taking interviews? These are some of the questions
you must pause and think about and try and answer before you proceed further.
Vocabulary
-
Now let us look at a
few new words that you will come across while reading the chapter and try and
extrapolate them in a different context.
NEW
WORD
|
MEANING
|
EXTRAPOLATION
|
Extravagant
|
Excessive
or elaborate
|
Residents
were warned not to be extravagant with water, in view of the low rainfall this year.
|
Unwarranted
|
Not
justified or authorized. never done or known before
|
He
accused the police of using unwarranted brutality
|
Intrusion
|
Entrance
by force or without permission or welcome
|
This
newspaper article is a disgraceful intrusion into
my private life.
|
Lionized
|
Give
a lot of public attention and approval to (someone); treat as a celebrity.
|
Modern
sportsmen are lionized a bit too much
|
Condemnatory
|
Expressing
strong
disapproval
|
He
was justified in some of his condemnatory outbursts
|
Assault
|
Attack
someone physically or emotionally
|
The
roar of city traffic is a steady assault on
one's nerves.
|
Vile
|
Morally bad; wicked
|
This
vile policy of ethnic cleansing must be stopped.
|
Since by now you are
well acquainted with these words, we shall proceed to read some of the key
Points in Part 1 of the chapter.
INTERVIEW:-
A)
Some Facts stated in the chapter about Interviews
B)
Some Opinions shared by the author about Interviews.
A.)
FACTS
• Invented
over 130 years ago
• Common
in Journalism
• Educated
people would have read interviews
• Celebrities
are always interviewed
B.)
OPINIONS
- Different opinions
about interview
- It has different
functions, methods and merits
• Opinion 1 -
1. It is a source of
truth
2. It is an art
• Opinion 2 –
1. Some celebrities
dislike it because -
• Interviews
interfere with their personal life
• Interviews
decrease/steal their aura or soul by trying to look too deep inside
• V.S Naipaul
thinks-
1. People lose a part
of them
2. People are wounded
• Lewis Carol thinks-
1. Horrified of the
person who takes interviews
2. Was scared of
getting public attention because of interviews
3. He never gave any
interview
• Rudyard Kipling
thinks –
1. Refuses to give
interview as it is immoral and a crime
2. Asking for an
interview is an attack on that person and deserves punishment
3. Asking for an
interview is a cowardly and an unpleasant act
• Saul Bellow thinks
–
1. Interviews are
like Thumbprints on his windpipe
All
famous people even though have a strong dislike towards being interviewed, yet
at the same time either themselves have given interviews so many times or have
interviewed somebody else.
The above statement
points towards the hypocrisy of people. They criticise the whole concept of
taking and giving interviews and yet highly rely on the same thing for
knowledge and communication.
ADVANTAGES
OF INTERVIEW
1. Great medium of communication
2. Helps people get a
very realistic and graphic details about their contemporaries (peer)
3. Interviewer has a
powerful position and influences people
4. The information
that reaches us today is because of one person asking questions to another
says; Denis Brian
Interviews
are like Thumbprints on his windpipe means -
- Interviewee is not
in control of the conversation.
- The narrative
depends upon the questionnaire of the interviewer
- An expression of
feeling choked, constricted and being controlled
- It is as if your
expression has been limited when you are giving an interview.
Now
based on your understanding of part 1 of the chapter you should be able to
answer the following MCQ questions -
1. Who holds the
position of unprecedented power and influence?
a.
The Reader
b.
The Interviewer
c.
The Interviewee
d.
The Publisher
2. What does the
expression ‘thumbprints on his windpipe’ mean?
a.
To be exhausted
b.
To be strangulated
c To
be choked and suffocated
d.
To be depressed
3. Despite the drawbacks
of the interview it is used as
a.
Horror of the interviewer
b. A
supremely serviceable medium of communication
c. A
mode of satisfaction and amusement
d.
Condemnatory attitude towards the interviewer
4. Who feels that
some people are wounded by interviews and lose a part of themselves?
a.
Lewis Carol
b. Rudyard Kipling
c.
Christopher Silvester
d.
V.S Naipaul
5. What has become a
common place of journalism?
a.
Interview
b. Debate
c. Survey
d.
literature
LIFE
LESSON-
1.
Power of Pen (power of the written word) - It is rightly said
that pen is mightier than the sword. One should never underestimate the power
of the written document. When we write something about someone we should be
very careful because we cannot assault someone with our words and trample on
the dignity of a person.
2. The art of
asking questions - When we ask about something to someone, it is not
necessary that we get the required answer. This art of asking the right
question at the right time or the way a question is posed is acquired over
time. We are all observers, learners and contributors. We can do all of it well
only when we make continuous efforts in using the blessing of language in the
most appropriate way possible.
Meanwhile if you are
interested in learning more about the art of interviewing,
here is a very
informative video about the same by a popular journalist and film
maker Ramesh Menon.
Just click on the link below and you can watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94IRKVw7cgM
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