7. The Interview ( Mukund Padmanabhan)

7. The Interview

MAIN POINTS OF THE CHAPTER

1. This chapter is in two parts. In the first part, the writer describe the role and function of the interview in modern journalism. In the second part, he gives an extract of the interview between Mukund Padmanabhan (interviewer) and Umberto Eco (interviewee). This interview appear in The Hindu. यह पाठ दी भागों में है। पहले भाग में वर्तमान पत्रकारिता में साक्षात्कार के महत्व और कार्यों के बारे में बताया गया है।
2. The writer says that the system of interviews in journalism was invented a little over 130 years ago. Since than the interview has become very common in journalism. Today,almost everybody will have read an interview at some point in their lives. Several thousand celebrities  have been interviewed over the years, some of them repeatedly.
3.  The divergent views have been expressed about the interview by different celebrities. Some call it the highest source of truth and even an art. Other call it an assault that deserve punishment.
4. However over the last 30 years, thousands of celebrities have been interviewed. The interview has now become a commonplace of journalism.
5. Despite its so called drawbacks, the interview is a supremely serviceable medium of communication. Almost everything of moment reaches us through one man asking questions of another. It leaves on our minds most vivid impressions of our contemporaries. 
6. In the second part of the chapter, Amberto Eco talks to Mukund Padmanabhan abiut his experience as an academic and as a novelist.
7. Eco says that he has some philosophical interest and he pursues them through his academic  work and his novel. Even his book for children are about non- violence and peace - which are part of his philosophy.
8. About how he gets time for his varied work, Eco say that there are lots of empty spaces in our lIves just as there are empty space in the universe. Eco makes of these empty spaces and thus find time for his writing.

Think As you Read

1. What are some of the positive views on interviews?

Answer

Interview, in the 130 years of its existence, has become an inherent part of journalism. It is a useful means of communication that is, at times, considered to be an art, serving as a source of truth. Denis Brian has stated that in today’s world we get to know “our contemporaries” through their interviews.

2. Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?

Answer

Celebrity writers believe that interviews unduly interfere in their private lives. They regard themselves as victims of interviews. They claim that the interview in some way ‘diminishes’ them, just like some ancient cultures believed that a portrait of a person takes away his soul. Certain celebrities like V.S Naipaul have claimed that interviews leave them wounded, while others like Rudyard Kipling have referred to it as a crime and an immoral act.

3. What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?

Answer

Some primitive cultures believed that photographing a person is no less than stealing his/her soul out of the body and rendering him incomplete and slighted.

4. What do you understand by the expression “thumbprints on his windpipe”?

Answer

The expression means having been strangulated. The interview is an assault on a person as it makes him/her so tense that he/she feels as good as being choked.

5. Who, in today’s world, is our chief source of information about personalities?

Answer

In modern times, the chief source of information on personalities is the interviewer who, through his power and influence, gathers information and provides us with the best possible information on the interviewees. He extracts everything significant through his questions for us.


Understanding the Text

1. Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your opinion.

Answer

Yes, Umberto Eco, in all possibilities, likes being interviewed. He felt just at ease with the interviewer and answered all the questions fully and patiently without showing any hurry. He stated his achievement in a very modest manner and explained his philosophical views and interest clearly. He let the interviewer enter the secret about his craft with a loud laugh. Also, he elaborated his approach which was unique. He was mannerly, warm and properly responsive as well.

2. How does Eco find the time to write so much?

Answer

There are two factors that explain how Eco was able to write so much. In his own words, the life of every person has exply spaces- periods with no important jobs. He says that he did most of his writing during these free intervals. Second, he explains that people wondered that he (Eco) had written so much on various subjects. But the fact is that he was writing on the same lines and same interests-peace, non-violence, etc. All his works were linked with the thread of common interests. It saves his time and he could write a lot in a short period of time. That was the secret behind Eco’s prolific pen.

3. What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?

Answer

Umberto Eco's academic writing style is quite distinctive. It has a certain playful and personal quality about it. It is a marked departure from a regular academic style, which is usually depersonalised and often dry and boring.

4. Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar? 

Answer

Umberto Eco considered himself an academic scholar first and a novelist later. He makes his preference clear by saying, "I consider myself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays". On week days he attends academic conferences and does other scholarly, non-fictional work.

5. What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?

Answer

'The Name of the Rose' is different sort of noveL It is quite serious noveL It is a detective story at one leveL But it also probes into metaphysics theology and medieval history. The reasons for the success of the book, however, remain a mystery.

Talking about the Text

Discuss in pairs or small groups.

2. The medium you like best for an interview, print, radio, or television.

Answer

The medium I like best for an interview is the television. It has both audio and visual effect. It presents the interviewer and interviewee before the audience in their true colours. Usually celebrities accuse the reporters of misquoting them or misreporting them in the print media or the radio. This is not possible when they are face-to-face on the television. Their lip movement and body movement while replying to probing questions are there for all to see. The recording of various expressions coming on the face of the interviewee and his/her gestures and words are the additional advantages that television holds over the print media or the radio. The print media has dull, dry words alongside a picture whereas the radio tries to create the atmosphere by skilful variation of the sound. Both expect a lot of attention from the reader/audience.

3. Every famous person has a right to his or her privacy. Interviewers sometimes embarrass celebrities with very personal questions.

Answer

Interviewers want to present exculsive and intimate details about the famous person they are interviewing. Some interviewrs focus on the public life and achievements of the individual only. They try to be objective in their approach as well as assesment. However, there are others who want to make their interviews more spicy and usually cross the thin limit of privacy of the individual. In their zeal to present good copy they embrass the famous person with the personal questions. Sometimes impact of such questions on famous person reveals his/her aversion as well as irritation at the silliness of the person. If they shout, they are accused of being rude and proud and if they keep mum thy are labelled as arrogant. In my opinion privacy of an individual must be respected.