Session Summary

Seminar: Roman à clef – Fictions with a key – Schlüsselromane Dozent: Prof. Kirchhofer Protokoll vom 29.November 2007

1996, 1998. Scandals: Public debates and scandals about Bill Clinton, debates and scandals about the publication and the authorship of Primary Colors

Why did Joe Klein decide to publish the novel under “anonymously”?

It appealed to many people because of its authenticity, fostered speculation and it suggested revealing the view of an insider. By not revealing his authorship this impression was secured. The book has to be published with a name on the cover therefore it had to be published under anonymously → author function If he would have made up a pseudonym the publisher would still have needed biographical details to put in the back of the book

Why did Joe Klein or a person at Random House not make up a biography?

Pro - if the author makes it up Random House does not have to take responsibility - it would go along with the fictional theme which is related to reality and the reader has to sort out which is fiction and which not - publisher wants to keep up the mystery surrounding the author

Con How far does fiction go? – people cannot make up their biography without someone finally finding out about it

Why did Joe Klein deny his authorship for such a long time?

-to protect his sources (he said in an interview with a magazine) -he protected himself as a source -he might have underestimated the search for the author (p.372) but on the contrary he should have guessed what would happen since he was writing about the current US president -there has not been something comparable recently because the media presence changed considerably in the 1990s when the public was starting show an increasing interest in personal details of politicians even those which were not related to politics

Feature of the genre: the novels do not only have suspicion and hints that something might be based on reality in regard to the text but it extends to the author

The question to be discussed in the course of the semester: What special relationship is there between the text and the author? How did this relationship change in the course of time (from New Atalantis to Primary Colors)? Authors of fiction had a different status at different times.

Does the media manipulate public opinion and the political system or/and is the media manipulated by politicians?

-There have been huge fund-raisings by American celebrities to fund Clinton’s campaign ( → therefore public opinion is influenced by the media) Since I cannot recall the example which was mentioned please add to it

How is the relationship between the media and the candidates portrayed in the book? -Politicians consider how to get their message out to the people most effectively (e.g. Susan Stanton holds Jack’s hand to convey unity and intimacy on air but as soon as the lights are off she lets go of his hand; Daisy uses the Larry King Show to proof that the tapes presented by Cashmere are faked) -The media tries to uncover scandals and ‘sabotage’ a campaign or a politician’s career (e.g. the anti-war demonstration, Cashmere affair, the pregnancy of Wili’s daughter) -The media is presented as a strong force and Stanton’s staff has to react to all the ‘dirt’ which comes up

In reality Clinton knew how to manipulate the media (e.g. when his affair with Monica Levinsky first became public).

Does the novel want to criticize the way in which the media influences the campaign?

-the novel is mainly criticizing politics – the way in which politicians abuse their power -it might be partly concentrating on the role of the media -There are differences between newspapers and television because with newspapers you can choose which one you want to read and you can correct statements which turn out to be untrue. Whatever is said on TV, in contrast, cannot be taken back and be correct as soon as it is said. → newspaper coverage of the campaign is not mentioned in the book (except when Stanton is on the cover of the Times Magazine) → Is this a hint? Does this imply anything about Klein’s journalistic ethics? -The majority of people would not question the text and read it so critically → they have a rather limited view but a lot of people knew about the book without having read it because of the media coverage on an almost daily basis → only a minority of the US citizens read the book at all -The book describes the ‘real’ events and how they are portrayed in the media therefore it is not necessary to read it that critically in order to find out that the media does not tell the whole truth if at all. -Picker is the character who questions the influence of the media. -The influence of the media on the public sphere is shown by the author without a predominant view on criticizing it.