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Friday, July 22, 2005
My psuedo-interview with Jared Diamond
As I mentioned a few posts back, Washingtonpost.com hosted an online "chat" with Guns, Germs and Steel author Jared Diamond this past Wednesday and the question I submitted for the chat was answered (read the whole transcript here):
Wilmington, N.C.: Dr. Diamond, whenever a documentary such as Guns, Germs and Steel is released on television, there always seems to be some criticism from academics and other experts in the discipline that the program focuses on. What was your experience with helping to produce a television series in which your expansive theory was adequately covered in such a relatively short amount of time (a three-hour program)?
Dr. Jared M. Diamond: Well, I had to get used to the fact that a 200,000 word book that would take 20 hours to read out loud has to get summarized for TV within 3 hours. A lot had to be shortened, but on the other hand, TV can evoke and recreate in a way that a book cannot. And I myself think that it is wonderful how National Geographic and Lion TV succeeded in making complex subjects come vividly alive.
(My question was actually inspired by recent posts by two other bloggers: PZ at Pharyngula because of his concern over the "low-density" format of science shows on television; and Alun for his post on archaeology on television.)
Diamond's response to my question is parallel to my own belief that the visual aspect of television and other multimedia can work wonders for both students that are learning for the first time and experts who are already familiar with the subject matter. I've been reading the book off and on for a few years now and just from watching the first two episodes I already have clearer understanding of Diamond's theory. Naturally he's going to defend science on television because he's currently promoting his special on PBS, but I think low-density science programming for the masses is just as important (if not more so) than technical professional journals. Naturally, I would have loved to see Guns, Germs and Steel as a 10-disc epic documentary a la Kens Burns, but three hours was enough to scratch the surface in such a way as to provide a thorough introduction to the theory of ecological/geographical determinism.
As an aside, the GG&S DVD that I ordered from Amazon.com the other week just arrived and it's magnificent. The 2-disc set includes all three episodes plus some pretty cool interactive special features. If you're going to buy it, get it at Amazon
Posted by Will at July 22, 2005 06:35 PM in Anthropology | In the News