THE INTERVIEW

BY: CHRISTOPHER SILVESTER

GIST OF THE LESSON

PART I

 The Interview has become a commonplace of journalism. Opinions on the functions, methods and
merits of Interview vary considerably.
 Some claim it to be the highest form, a source of truth and in its practice an art.
 Some despise the interview as an unwarranted intrusion into lives, which diminishes their personality.
o V.S. Naipaul feels that ‘some people are wounded by interviews and lose a part of
themselves’.
o Lewis Carroll never consented to be interviewed for he believed it to be ‘a just horror of the
interviewer’.
o Rudyard Kipling considered it ‘immoral, a crime, an assault that merits punishment’.
o H.G. Wells referred interviewing to be an ‘ordeal’.
o Saul Bellow describes it ‘like thumbprints on his windpipe’.
 Despite the drawbacks interview is a supremely serviceable medium of communication. Interviews
are the most vivid impression of our contemporaries and the interviewer holds a position of
unprecedented power and influence.

PART II

 An extract from an interview of Umberto Eco interviewed by Mukund Padmanabhan.

 Umberto Eco was a professor with a formidable reputation as a scholar for his ideas on Semiotics,
literary interpretation and medieval aesthetics before he turned into writing literary fiction. He
attained intellectual superstardom with his publication “The Name of the Rose”.
 In the interview Eco shares his idea of empty spaces in our lives just as they exist in an atom, which
he calls Interstices. He says that he makes use of these empty spaces to work.
 Eco’s essays were scholarly and narrative. He likes to be identified more as a university professor
who writes novels.
 Eco’s ‘The Name of the Rose”, a serious novel, which delves into metaphysics, theology and
medieval history, enjoyed a mass audience. It dealt with medieval past. He feels that the novel
wouldn’t have been so well received had it been written ten years earlier or later.

Page No: 69 Think As you Read

1. What are some of the positive views on interviews?

Answer: Interview, in the 130 years of its existence, has become an inherent part of journalism. It is a useful
means of communication that is, at times, considered to be an art, serving as a source of truth. Denis Brian has
stated that in today’s world we get to know “our contemporaries” through their interviews.

2. Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?

Answer: Celebrity writers believe that interviews unduly interfere in their private lives. They regard
themselves as victims of interviews. They claim that the interview in some way ‘diminishes’ them, just like
some ancient cultures believed that a portrait of a person takes away his soul. Certain celebrities like V.S
Naipaul have claimed that interviews leave them wounded, while others like Rudyard Kipling have referred to
it as a crime and an immoral act.
3. What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?
Answer: Some primitive cultures believed that photographing a person is no less than stealing his/her soul out
of the body and rendering him incomplete and slighted.

4. What do you understand by the expression “thumbprints on his windpipe”?

Answer: The expression means having been strangulated. The interview is an assault on a person as it makes
him/her so tense that he/she feels as good as being choked.

5. Who, in today’s world, is our chief source of information about personalities?

Answer: In modern times, the chief source of information on personalities is the interviewer who, through his
power and influence, gathers information and provides us with the best possible information on the
interviewees. He extracts everything significant through his questions for us.

Page No: 73 Understanding the Text

1. Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your opinion.
Answer: Yes, Umberto Eco, in all possibilities, likes being interviewed. He felt just at ease with the
interviewer and answered all the questions fully and patiently without showing any hurry. He stated his
achievement in a very modest manner and explained his philosophical views and interest clearly. He let the
interviewer enter the secret about his craft with a loud laugh. Also, he elaborated his approach which was
unique. He was mannerly, warm and properly responsive as well.

2. How does Eco find the time to write so much?

Answer: There are two factors that explain how Eco was able to write so much. In his own words, the life of
every person has exply spaces- periods with no important jobs. He says that he did most of his writing during
these free intervals. Second, he explains that people wondered that he (Eco) had written so much on various
subjects. But the fact is that he was writing on the same lines and same interests-peace, non-violence, etc. All
his works were linked with the thread of common interests. It saves his time and he could write a lot in a short
period of time. That was the secret behind Eco’s prolific pen.

3. What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?

Answer: Umberto Eco's academic writing style is quite distinctive. It has a certain playful and personal
quality about it. It is a marked departure from a regular academic style, which is usually depersonalized and
often dry and boring.

4. Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?

Answer: Umberto Eco considered himself an academic scholar first and a novelist later. He makes his
preference clear by saying, "I consider myself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays". On week
days he attends academic conferences and does other scholarly, non-fictional work.

5. What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?
Answer: 'The Name of the Rose' is different sort of noveL It is quite serious noveL It is a detective story at
one leveL But it also probes into metaphysics theology and medieval history. The reasons for the success of
the book, however, remain a mystery.

Talking about the Text

Discuss in pairs or small groups.

2. The medium you like best for an interview, print, radio, or television.
Answer: The medium I like best for an interview is the television. It has both audio and visual effect. It
presents the interviewer and interviewee before the audience in their true colours. Usually celebrities accuse
the reporters of misquoting them or misreporting them in the print media or the radio. This is not possible
when they are face-to-face on the television. Their lip movement and body movement while replying to
probing questions are there for all to see. The recording of various expressions coming on the face of the
interviewee and his/her gestures and words are the additional advantages that television holds over the print
media or the radio. The print media has dull, dry words alongside a picture whereas the radio tries to create
the atmosphere by skilful variation of the sound. Both expect a lot of attention from the reader/audience.

3. Every famous person has a right to his or her privacy. Interviewers sometimes embarrass celebrities
with very personal questions.
Answer: Interviewers want to present exclusive and intimate details about the famous person they are
interviewing. Some interviewers focus on the public life and achievements of the individual only. They try to
be objective in their approach as well as assessment. However, there are others who want to make their
interviews more spicy and usually cross the thin limit of privacy of the individual. In their zeal to present good
copy they embrass the famous person with the personal questions. Sometimes impact of such questions on
famous person reveals his/her aversion as well as irritation at the silliness of the person. If they shout, they are
accused of being rude and proud and if they keep mum thy are labeled as arrogant. In my opinion privacy of
an individual must be respected.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?

Ans. Most celebrity writers despise being interviewed as they consider it as an undesirable intrusion
into their personal lives. Some viewed it an immoral and offensive activity. Some others feel it would
‘diminish’ them.
2. How is Umberto Eco’s non-fictional writing style different from academic writing style?
Ans. Umberto Eco’s non-fictional writing style has a certain playful, narrative and personal quality
about it whereas his academic writing is depersonalized and often dry and boring.

LONG ANSWER QUESTION

1. "Interviews an unwarranted intrusion in the lives of others". Elucidate with reference to The
Interview.
Ans. Value points:-
Interviews are common feature in Journalism – Most celebrities consider them as an unnecessary
intrusion in their lives – "a horror of the interview", "an ordeal", "thumbprints on windpipe"-
interview is a supremely serviceable medium of communication- the most vivid impression of our
contemporaries -the interviewer holds a position of unprecedented power and influence.