Normally when I am assigned readings for English class my goal is to get through it as fast as possible so my mind doesn’t explode from confusion, but one theorist Mikhail Bakhtin caught my attention. I have never been too fond of reading, in fact I try to avoid it at all costs, but somehow Bakhtin made my hatred for reading a little less severe when he made me look at writing in a different way. Bakhtin said that a novel is never finished; it is almost like a living thing because it can be interpreted in so many different ways depending on who is reading it. He also introduced the term “Polyglossia” which is the many languages going on at once during a novel. There is the language of the author, the narrator, as well as the publisher and editor. The next time I picked up a book I started to notice how these different languages play off each other and how it enhances literary work. When Bakhtin discussed how a novel is never finished and how it is entirely up to the reader’s interpretation this made me think about some of the terms we discussed in class and how they are entirely up to interpretation as well. For example the term Hero is word that is defined by the individual because no two people have the same standards of what a hero is. Bakhtin made me look at novels in a different way and made me realize how important interpretation is in the reading process.
You may be asking yourself what the hell I am talking about since this may seem to have nothing to do with the theme of my blog but Bakhtin’s points apply to movies, music, and T.V. as well. In movies, music and T.V. “Polyglossia” is constantly taking place even more so than in a novel. This is because you have the voices of the writers, the producers, directors, and everyone else that is involved in the production of this one movie, song, of show. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to organize all these voices and make it seemed organized. Production of a movie for example involves hundreds of people all with differing opinions. Taking what everyone has to offer and incorporating it into the film must be extremely tough. Bakhtin made me look at reading in a new way as well as how I watch movies and TV and listen to music.
