Jessica Beard on "Predilections"

I found it really interesting how Mark Singer was profiling someone who was profiling others. It was the profile of a profiler. More importantly I guess was the technique this profiler used...which was to let his subjects ramble on until eventually the initial crap that comes out of their mouths starts to become the truth. I can see how this works. I just hope I have the patience for my subject if he or she happens to be like Florence Rasmussen...God forbid.

Comments

[Minhquan Nguyen]

Actually, what I think I get out of this piece is that ordinary people are a lot more interesting than we give them credit for. I mean, I don't know about anyone else, but convoluted and complicated as some of these people's stories, I find them completely and totally entertaining. I was listening to that Florence woman talking and found myself just entertained. And therein lies the problem of allowing them to spew crap: it's all entertainment and the substance, the point, isn't there. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but sometimes I feel when people tell stories, even just in passing, there's no point to it. "Why are you telling me this, other than to pass time?" I think it's only after you've dug deep enough, beneath all that surface material, there's art and meaning to be found. People just have to be drawn out of it.

[Wileen Leu]

It's really refreshing that people extremely loony, like Morris, can become famous and appreciated. I really enjoyed Predilections because it allows the people to ramble. I think its fascinating to hear these people talk. It hasn't been diluted or made into a thought. It just is, and that's how we, as humans, really are. I think people regularly contradict themselves, and sometimes it's conscious, and other times its not. I think contradicting oneself is normal and necessary, because it's just hard to go through the ironies of life without different thoughts and beliefs at different times. Even Morris contradicts himself about not wanting to be embarrassed, and then saying that he wouldn't want to miss out on embarrassment.
I really enjoyed this piece also because it's really random, honest and funny. I think the randomness has more to do with how everything in Morris' life is so abrupt, and he seems to always be shooting off to one place or another. I also really enjoyed the little part about Morris calling the collection agency to see if Mr. Montori is O.K. I think that scene, though it might have just been there to show irony, also revealed Morris' character. It makes Morris weird, but endearing. I also enjoyed the last part in the Coda where Singer tells us that Morris did have the Stage Deli name a sandwich after him.

[Veronica Lewis]

I really liked this piece because it is just so random. One sentence catches the reader off guard, then the next sentence contradicts what the first one said. I especially liked how it was so realistic and, thus, readers can relate to it on a more personal, humanistic note. This piece tells it as it is; it doesn't sugarcoat life, it shows life for what it is, no strings attached. Hence, the reality of the piece makes the piece more personal and unique, although it is so ordinary. If anything, the fact that it is so ordinary is what makes the piece so unique and personal.

[Veronica Lewis]

On the same note, I just wanted to compare the structure of this piece with the sentence we read in class. The uniqueness of this piece comes from the fact that it is so realistic. The piece is so realistic because it uses short, choppy sentences as if the piece were a stream of consciousness, instead of an actual article. Hence, the short sentences worked in making the piece portray its main point and emphasis on reality. In contrast, the sentence we observed lost its point and meaning because it was just a run-on and after a while, seemed repetitive, even though it was not. The main focus got lost in the content. Hence, although the sentence featured realistic elements it seemed more whimsical because the sentence was comparable to a never-ending, spiraling maze. Comparing these opposing writing styles gives insight that structure directly affects the content,and, thus, affects the piece's ultimate effect on the reader.

[Marites Yao]

I also found the characters in Morris' profiles to be interesting as well. But as readers come to see, it is possible to make "ordinary" people extraordinary. What I was thinking of throughout this piece was how Morris found such people and string of events in the first place to create his film. Especially since they lived in such places as Vernon Florida. In general it is interesting how thing such as the news paper can find interesting people - even though I found it a good source of information for this class.

[Jeffrey Hong]

I don't know about anyone else, But I felt really irritated at Morris. I think the way that Singer depicted him, I couldn't help but picture this annoying weird man. I guess it's a good thing that he was able to capture his character so well but I found myself telling the book to 'shut up' several times at his weird non-sequiter comments. That's my two cents.