Chapter 11: The Interview

English
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Chapter 7: The Interview

Class: XII

Exercise number – 1

Think As you Read

Question 1

What are some of the positive views on interviews?

Answer 1

Interview, within the 130 years of its existence, has become an inherent a part of
journalism. It's a helpful means of communication that's, at times, considered to be an art, serving as a source of truth. Denis Brian has expressed that in today’s world we have a tendency to get to understand "our contemporaries" through their interviews.

Question 2

Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?

Answer 2

Celebrity writers believe that interviews unduly interfere in their personal lives. They regard themselves as victims of interviews. They claim that the interview in some way ‘diminishes’ them, rather like some ancient cultures believed that a portrait of an individual takes away his soul. Certain celebrities like V.S Naipaul have claimed that interviews leave them wounded, whereas others like Rudyard Kipling have said it as a crime and an immoral act.

Question 3

What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?

Answer 3

Some primitive cultures believed that photographing an individual is not any but stealing his/her soul out of the body and rendering him incomplete and slighted.

Question 4

What do you understand by the expression "thumbprints on his windpipe"?

Answer 4

The expression suggests that having been strangulated. The interview is an assault on an individual because it makes him/her so tense that he/she feels nearly as good as being clogged.

Question 5

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

Answer 5

In present time, the chief supply of information on personalities is the interviewer
who, through his power and influence, gathers information and provides us with the most effective possible information on the interviewees. He extracts everything important through his queries for us.

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Understanding the Text

Question 1

Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your opinion.

Answer 1

He felt simply comfortable with the interviewer and answered all the questions absolutely and with patience while not showing any hurry. He stated his achievement in an exceedingly} very modest manner and explained his philosophical views and interest clearly. He let the interviewer enter the secret regarding his craft with a loud laugh. Also, he detailed his approach which was unique. He was polite, warm and properly responsive also.

Question 2

How does Eco find the time to write so much?

Answer 2

There are two factors that specify how Eco was able to write such a lot. In his own
words, the lifetime of everyone has imply spaces- periods with no necessary jobs. He says that he did most of his writing throughout these free intervals. Second, he explains that people questioned that he (Eco) had written such a lot on numerous subjects. However the actual 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 might write plenty in a short period of time. That was the secret behind Eco’s prolific pen.

Question 3

What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?

Answer 3

Umberto Eco's educational writing style is sort of distinctive. It's a particular playful
and personal quality regarding it. It's a marked departure from a regular academic style that is sometimes depersonalized and sometimes dry and boring.

Question 4

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

Answer 4

Umberto Eco considered himself an academic scholar first and a novelist later. He
makes his preference clear by expression, "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.

Question 5

What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?

Answer 5

'The Name of the Rose' is completely different form of novel it's quite serious novel it's a
detective story at one level however it additionally probes into philosophy theology and medieval history. The explanations for the success of the book, however, stay a mystery.

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Talking about the Text

Discuss in pairs or small groups.

Question 1

Talk about any interview that you have watched on television or

read in a newspaper. How did it add to your understanding of

the celebrity, the interviewer and the field of the celebrity?

Answer 1

The interview I have read in one newspaper is of Nicole Kidman. By watching her photograph and reading the answers she had given to interviewer I observed that

her pose, hair, attire, figure and necklace, you registered the photographers in the background. It is more common for such photographs of celebrities to have only the star in focus and blur the background; in fact this may be regarded as another element of the photographic code. Here, the photographers themselves indicate the importance of the event and the magnitude of the star, there are so many of them jostling to get the best shot. The celebrity is walking along a cat-walk designed to allow her to be photographed promoting her latest work. It is a photo opportunity pure and simple, for if there were no photographers there would be no point, as nothing else is happening. The press conferences that followed Kidman's appearance at Cannes were pseudo-events too. This was her simple way to impress the public and when she answer to the interviewer her answers was damn satisfactory and when interviewer try to pull leg of her she smartly give an answer right back in such a way that no one can question again in sarcastic way to her.

Question 2

The medium you like best for an interview, print, radio, or television.

Answer 2

The medium I prefer best for an interview is the television. It's both audio and
visual effect. It presents the interviewer and interviewee before the audience in their true colours. Sometimes celebrities accuse the reporters of misquoting them or misreporting them in the print media or the radio. This can be unimaginable once they are face-to-face on the television.
Their lip movement and body movement whereas replying to inquiring questions are there for all to visualize. The recording of various expressions coming on the face of the interviewee and his/her gestures and words are the extra benefits that television holds over the print media or the radio. The print media has uninteresting, dry words alongside an image whereas the radio tries to make the atmosphere by proficient variation of the sound. Both expect plenty of attention from the reader/audience.

Question 3

Every famous person has a right to his or her privacy. Interviewers sometimes

embarrass celebrities with very personal questions.

Answer 3

Interviewers wish to present exclusive and intimate details concerning the famous
person they're interviewing. Some interviewers target the general public life and achievements of the individual only. They struggle to be objective in their approach still as assessment.
However, there are others who wish to form their interviews more spicy and typically cross the thin limit of privacy of the individual. In their zeal to present smart copy they embarrass the superstar with the private questions. Generally impact of such questions on celebrity reveals his/her aversion still as irritation at the silliness of the person. If they shout, they are suspect of being rude and proud and if they button up they are labelled as arrogant. In my opinion privacy of an individual should be respected.