There are two different writing styles that Eggers uses throughout the first part of AHWOSG that I throughly enjoyed.
1. A quick, precise dialogue.
2. Squirrely, argumentative conscience
Throughout this emulation, I want to try to combine these styles while trying to keep a light, humorous tone like Eggers. Here we go...
Once again, Friday has rolled around. After our usual bar shuffle through the streets of Athens, Taylor, Billy, and I stumble back to our house. We lost Kyle along the way. He ran into an old fling and decided to go home with her. It probably won't go well for him. It never does.
"Will you grab me a beer Anthony."
"Sure thing. What's gonna be playing on the tube tonight?"
"I don't know" Taylor said with disdain.
"Where's the remote?"
"Look behind the couch!"
"Found it."
"So what are we watching?"
"I don't care!"
Christ. There is only three beers left...and all the Woodchucks are gone. That's it..I'm getting a mini-fridge. I'll have to smother my own drinks into the house. Damn I'm hungry. I bet Kyle won't mind if I raid his food...
"How about the Big Lebowski?"
"Noway man. I watched that the other day stoned."
"Wanna watch a scary movie?"
"Like a B-lister?"
"I'm tired of watching shitty horror flicks."
"How about Rocky?"
"NO!"
Damn Billy must have a man-crush of Sylvester Stallone or something. He watches a Sly flick at least once a week...I mean I like Rocky, but damn...Pop-Tarts! Score. Ah they're blueberry...dammit Kyle. You're taste in Pop-Tarts is almost as abysmal in your taste of women. Burn...I could go for some First-Blood though. Sly is such a badass in that movie...he's a badass in all his movies...no that movie is all the way in my room...too far.
"Let's just watch a couple episodes of something..."
"That's cool"
"How about some Office?"
"Nah."
"How I Met Your Mother?"
"Anthony, you watch that show literally everyday."
"Yeah man. It's unhealthy"
"You're unhealthy."
"Nice. Comeback tool."
"Well then...since we can't decide...Hot Rod it is..."
"Fine."
"Sounds good."
This is a dilemma my friends and I face on a weekly basis...finding something to watch on Netflix. It truly is a huge event. I guess there's just too many options. However, we do have one rule: Whenever we can't decide within 10 minutes to watch something, we must watch Hot Rod or Pineapple Express. (We alternate between the two.) I can quote both movies verbatim; we're a very indecisive group of men.
Watching Netflix with friends is 75% deciding what to watch. Watching it by yourself, sometimes it can be as low as 40% deliberation. Anyway, my choice is never respected to top it all off; for months I tried to get us to watch Troll Hunters to no avail. Still haven't seen it, damn the gods.
ReplyDeleteBut that aside, I think this was very Eggersish, especially the longer chains of unbroken dialogue you use. Your narrations seemed a little more these-are-my-thoughts-as-I'm-thinking-them than Eggers was, though. But I liked your method; I was definitely reading that you were probably drunk, so you did that nicely.
I agree with Mish that you pulled off the Eggers-esque writing well. I liked the inclusion of the dialogue, and I really didn't have trouble figuring out who-said-what. I also liked seeing your train of thought. You cut in with random pieces like the Pop Tarts at the right times. I think you did a good job!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen Rocky. Is that bad?... I have seen Pineapple Express, though.
I think Mish is right that the thoughts seem a little more stream-of-consciousness than I actually think Eggers is. He's certainly fast, but there's a control.
ReplyDeleteThat said, there's an energy in the first part of this--with the choppiness--that hasn't necessarily been in some of your other work, and I like that you've stumbled on that tactic.
By the way, this website is pretty good: http://instantwatcher.com/titles/all/2
It allows you to search what's on instant netflix in a lot of different ways. I sometimes like to let it make my decisions for me (I'm occasionally anti-freedom!). If I say 70s, comedy, more than 3 and a half stars I get:
Manhattan
Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke
George Carlin Again!
George Carlin on Location
Slap Shot
Car Wash
A classic, and a bunch of films that would probably appeal to your Pineapple Express crowd. . .
Those six wouldn't be a bad weekend.
The best scene in Hot Rod (and possibly the greatest scene in the past ten years of cinema) is the one in which Chris Parnell explains the tattoo he has that depicts Calvin pissing on both FM radio and color television. Simply brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that you've recreated Eggers style pretty well, and would add that you even recreate his habit of immediately contradicting his thoughts with his own behavior when you describe how you'll have to get your own minifridge to prevent beer theft in then in the very next sentence decide your roommate won't mind if you steal his poptarts.
I liked this a lot. I think you do a good job of emulating Eggers's stream of conscience, and your dialogue is spot on. You weave your thoughts in and out of each other and by that give a description of your actions without saying I grabbed Kyle's pop tarts. Your situation is very relateable and funny, but still has a unique twist on things.
ReplyDelete