narrative; graphic

Wed Sep 21 15:27:56 UTC 2011

Sharif El-Gamal, developer of the Park51 Islamic Center (or "Ground-Zero
Mosque" if you're into melodrama) appeared on CNN this morning saying that
behind his decision to build the Center was a desire to "reclaim our
narrative" from "criminals and murderers" who were distorting Islam.

"Narrative" here seems to mean something like "tradition and publicly
recognized identity," but it's pretty murky to me.

Google reveals a few thousand "reclaim the narratives," usually in the sense
of "regain control of the debate"  Ex.:

http://desertbeacon.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/reclaim-the-narrative-social-security-is-not-going-broke/

"Reclaim the narrative: Social Security Is NOT Going Broke! The radical
right has made some significant gains in setting the narrative for
discussing “entitlement” programs."
Not quite the same sense of "narrative" to be "reclaimed" as El-Gamal's.
Watch this space.

JL

On Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 3:36 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I
>
> An eyewitness to the crash of a WWII fighter plane into the stands at the
> Reno Air Races tells CNN that the sight was terrible. In fact, "It was
> graphic."
>
> II
>
> In reporting the incident, a CNN correspondent explains that "a narrative
> is
> emerging that the pilot" may have tried to bank the plane away from the
> stands.  The semantic point here is that, right now, no one knows if that's
> true or not, and they may never know. It's just a "narrative."
>
> Of course, the reporter may simply have been thinking of "story," but a
> "news story" is supposedly factual, and an "unfounded rumor" not worth
> reporting in this case.
>
> JL
>
> On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 9:34 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I think you are overstating the cynicism in its current usage. I was
> > watching TV yesterday, and heard it used on the program "Necessary
> > Roughness" to mean something close to 'my story', as something one
> > will tell others about an incident.
> >
> > DanG
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 10:33 AM, Jonathan Lighter
> > <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > And nobody says, "That's my narrative, and I'm sticking to it!"
> > >
> > > Yet. But it wouldn't be funny if they did, because it would be an
> obvious
> > > admission of craft, unlike the potentially ambiguous "story."  Any
> guilty
> > > moron might say, "That's my story...," but only an
> > > unapologetic political operator with an advanced degree would say,
> > "That's
> > > my narrative...."
> > >
> > > JL
> > >
> > > On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 10:21 AM, Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu>
> wrote:
> > >
> > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >> -----------------------
> > >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >> Poster:       Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> > >> Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
> > >>
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>
> > >> As when PR specialists or damage-control experts or criminal lawyers
> and
> > >> their clients meet to "decide on a narrative."
> > >>
> > >> --Charlie
> > >>
> > >> ________________________________________
> > >> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of
> > >> Jonathan Lighter [wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM]
> > >> Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2011 10:02 AM
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Garson, my feeling is that that's a transitional case. In other words,
> > in
> > >> 1994 no one would have noticed it. That "great narrative" I take to
> mean
> > >> the
> > >> "grand story," even if biased.  And it refers chiefly to the past.
> > >>
> > >> In current usage, "their narrative" or "the narrative" usually refers
> to
> > >> some cynical, partisan version of events, including events current and
> > >> hoped-for. It's more like, "the half-truths they're feeding the
> > suckers."
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> JL
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 6:59 PM, Garson O'Toole <
> > adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com
> > >> >wrote:
> > >>
> > >> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >> > -----------------------
> > >> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >> > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > >> > Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> >
> > >> > Jonathan Lighter wrote
> > >> > > Tea Party theorist Dana Loesch on CNN today:
> > >> > >
> > >> > > "There are also three credit agencies that have already downgraded
> > our
> > >> > > credit rating. But you never hear about it because it's not part
> of
> > the
> > >> > > narrative. [The downgrades were] based on [Obama's] big spending."
> > >> >
> > >> > Here is a similar example, in my opinion, that uses the phrase "not
> > >> > part of the great narrative" in 1994.
> > >> >
> > >> > New York Times
> > >> > CHILDREN'S BOOKS; The New History: Showing Children the Dark Side
> > >> > By Martha Saxton
> > >> > Published: November 13, 1994
> > >> >
> > >> > http://goo.gl/4PahY
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >>
> >
> http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/books/children-s-books-the-new-history-showing-children-the-dark-side.html
> > >> >
> > >> > As long as women and blacks, American Indians, Asian-Americans and
> > >> > others were not part of history, then what white men did to them was
> > >> > not part of the great narrative of the nation. Now that all of our
> > >> > pasts figure in our history, however, tragedy is never too distant
> and
> > >> > celebration must share its place with reconciliation in the stories
> we
> > >> > teach.
> > >> >
> > >> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > truth."
> > >>
> > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >>
> > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > truth."
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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