I read that Bell piece when it came out, as well as several savage take-downs of it. (The WaPo is my local paper.) I tend to agree with the take-downs, but that's because it was art and opinion masquerading as science.
(Summary: World-class violinist plays a Stradivarius violin outside the subway, busker-style, during rush hour. Only one person who recognized him, one small child, and possibly a third (I don't recall) stopped to listen to the lovely music, thus proving that we are all small-minded people closed from the beauty around us, and/or that we can't distinguish a world-class violinist from a random busker, and/or that some people have to actually get to work on time,
even in Washington.)
But that wasn't Sia's question.
The more I roll the idea around in my head, the more I'm not sure what it means...
If life is "one damn thing after another," then all narrative indeed attempts to enforce meaning and order on it. My husband, the political blogger, frequently talks about "the narrative" and how everyone is trying to control "the narrative." "The narrative" contextualizes your facts, gives them shades of meaning, influences other people's perceptions of events. It's the difference between "faceless accusers" and "anonymous whistleblowers."
My mother died because she had cancer. She had cancer because... she had cancer. Maybe it was genetic. That's it. But in a story, that's almost never it (unless the point of the story is that yes, sometimes things happen for no reason). Hawke's mother dies to teach us about Evil Crazy Blood Mages and how they're bad and hurt people, even strong people like Hawke. It's a part of Kirkwall's larger narrative.
But do I think that all stories need to stake out a philosophical or moral ground and defend it, that is, expound on a possible meaning of life, why we're here, what we're meant to do? Eh... I suppose even genre fiction will have that, too. How are your characters rewarded or punished for their actions? Does the Warden who puts aside love for duty ever, ever,
ever find satisfaction in that duty? How you answer that question says something about the relative value of love vs. duty. Are you working in an inherently moral world where good tends to win (eventually) and evil tends to fail (eventually)? Or do the bastards get ahead, and die of old age in their beds? When the hero encounters injustice, is it always resolved? What are the values that lead to happily ever after, and what are the ones that lead to more pain?
True story: Twice, I've had other folks here on BSN request that I *not* resolve two different series by having everyone find True Love and Be Happy. They were hungry for a story which showed a Meaning of Life that was something *besides* romantic love. Not that there's anything wrong with True Love - but it's *everywhere.* They wanted something that held up a different idea as a vehicle for self-fulfillment.
And one of those was a light sex farce kmeme series, too. If *that* can have a wider meaning, I guess just about anything can.
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