Life experiences can transform us in many ways, and Laurie Paul wants us to appreciate how experiencing works of art can be powerfully transformative too. Works of fiction can change how we understand our own lives going forwards, or experiences we’ve already had. But art doesn’t always transform us for the better – when we truly open ourselves up to transformation, we can’t know in advance, or ultimately control, what the results will be.
Bonus clip
Click here to listen to a bonus clip discussing the ways that a novel or film depicting a faraway culture is different from actually visiting the place.
Works mentioned
– Jane Austen, Emma
– Alan J. Pakula (director), Sophie’s Choice
– Kim Ki-duk (director), Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring
– Johann Sebastian Bach, The Goldberg Variations (especially Glenn Gould’s 1981 recording)
Further reading
Emmanuel Ordóñez Angulo at Los Angeles Review of Books – Transformative Suffering
Nicholas Dames at The New Yorker – Music, Fiction, and the Value of Attention
The Path from Personal Transformation to Societal Change
How reading fiction can help students understand the real world
Video interview with Ellen Winner on The Psychology of the Arts