Storytelling is inherently dangerous. Consider a traumatic event in your life. Think about how you experienced it. Now think about how you told it to someone a year later. Now think about how you told it for the hundredth time. It's not the same thing. Most people think perspective is a good thing: you can figure out characters' arcs, you can apply a moral, you can tell it with understanding and context. But this perspective is a misrepresentation: it's a reconstruction with meaning, and as such bears little resemblance to the event.
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About Charlie Kaufman
Charlie Kaufman was American filmmaker and novelist. Charles Stuart Kaufman is an American filmmaker and novelist. His work is distinguished by postmodernist and surrealist storytelling, with many critics considering him an auteur. Read more on Wikipedia →
Themes
- Creativity — The spark of original thought, invention, and artistic vision
- Life — Reflections on the meaning, challenges, and beauty of life
- Time — Reflections on the passage of time and how we spend it