Media and popculture in the narrative litterature (women writers)

Research project P 14164 Media and popculture in the narrative litterature (women writers) Klaus ZEYRINGER 06.03.2000 Since the 1950s and 60s, the demand for esthetic and narrative forms of expression has been increasingly met by the mass media, radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, and lately, computers and the worldwide web -- an amalgam of influences that dominate our everyday lives. Popular culture contributes substantially to this world of simulated realities, forming a matrix of crossover influences. Due to the enormous presence and impact of the electronic media in particular, those in the field of cultural studies have begun to debate the end of what Marshall McLuhan calls the "Gutenberg Galaxy," as well as the decline of literature in general. To prevent such a prognosis from becoming a reality, critics and writers alike are constantly proposing and testing out methods to make literature more attractive and relevant to modern-day life. The research focuses on the following questions: In what way, consciously or unconsciously, do German-speaking women authors of the 90s infuse influences from, references to, and subjects covered by the media and popular culture into the style, content, and structure of their narrative fiction; Do the media and popular culture have a greater influence on the narrative fiction of this latest generation of German-speaking women authors than on their predecessors; Does the importing of media and popular cultural influences into narrative fiction result in literary works that are relevant to modern-day life; and How does the narrative fiction of these writers reflect the blurred boundaries between "high" and "low" forms of art, between forms of artistic expression, and between genres within each form, all of which are characteristic of popular culture? The project intends to provide concrete evidence of media and popular cultural influences on narrative fiction. The research is confined to younger women writers of the so-called "Generation X," which is the first generation to have grown up with this pervasive media presence. Therefore, the perceptions and esthetic approaches of this generation are most likely to have been shaped by that presence. The project will involve an analysis of a large number of texts in order to compile a catalogue of the most frequently used narrative styles, themes, and subject matter drawn from pop culture and the media. Based on these text analyses, along with analyses of book/author promotion and marketing trends, authors` biographical data, and the psychological and sociological literature on Generation X`s relationship to the media and popular culture, the project will be able to determine the literary viewpoints characteristic of this group of writers as well as their female and artistic role models. As a result of this research, the youngest generation of German-speaking women authors and their works will be seen for the first time as born of the interactive context of media, popular culture, and artistic expression.

Literature competes against other, more powerful ways of storytelling for the same audience. At the end of the 1990`s, however, there was talk of a boom and revitalization in German-language literature. This project started with the question of how young female authors who have grown up surrounded by the everyday presence of the media have responded to this presence in their work. At the center of the analysis are works that have some connection to pop culture and the media, works that deal with and are conscious of contemporary trends, and /or works by authors that have found notoriety in literary reviews as the so-called "German girl wonders." Books by the following artists were selected: Karen Duve, Silvia Szymnaski, Alexa Hennig von Lange, Sarah Khan, Lena Kugler, Zo Jenny, Julia Franck, Else Buschheuer, Carmen von Samson, Bettina Galvagni, Ildik von Kürthy, Bettina Balàka, Sibylle Berg, Tanja Dückers, Antje Rvic Strubel, Elke Naters, Robby Dannenberg / Anke Stelling, Susanna Grann, Kathrin Dorn. Upon reading the works, one thing became obvious right away: many authors of the younger generation do not attempt to imitate techniques of other media with literary tools but instead return to their innermost realm of writing. There is a noticeable trend to use the first-person point of view, which focuses on the interior lives of the characters. Many of the novels examined follow a simple pattern: The first-person narrator reports from his or her life, without necessarily following the proven techniques of popular fiction. The new authors are willing to experiment, mostly outside the realm of the writing itself: Ready to promote their work in unconventional ways, they allow and even encourage autobiographical interpretations of their writing, thus breaking through traditional concepts of literary accomplishment. The books seem authentic, but the authors do not use this authenticity to tear down the male gender perspective in favor of a more female point of view, thus supporting their separation from a feminist tradition. Even if the first-person point of view is a storytelling device with enormous literary potential, our society in the age of multi-media information still figures very prominently in these works. Many young authors infuse references to and subjects covered by the media and popular culture into the style, content and structure of their narrative fiction. The results of the research project are in the form of a book manuscript that addresses both an audience of literary experts and laypeople interested in literature. That is why particular attention was given to accessible writing style and highly informative content.