The Writer’s Audience is Always a Fiction

The entire objective(s) of  “The Writer’s Audience is Always a Fiction” can be understood by two key characteristics, including that the writer of the text must choose a role for the audience and that the audience must respond by fulfilling that role as they read, even if it does not reflect any part of their true reality. This means that with all published work, authors imagine who their desired or targeted audience is and hope that through this relationship, the audience will reciprocate that role and better understand it and the texts overall meaning through the perspective of the author or writer.

Another factor of reception for audience members involves the verbiage of an author’s written text, as this is key in how readers process the overall meaning and understanding. This can be better understood when Ong expands on Hemmingway’s “that” and “the” concepts. There is a vast gap between the understanding of work when recited orally or written, as written work is said to “neutralize time” and be able to “preserve information and conquer space by moving this information”, whereas, the audience is right in front of a speaker. Going off of that, another key factor to proper communication through written text includes immediacy and intimacy. These must both be established since the reader is distance and diverse. Additionally, oral narrators assist the underlying meaning of their story by their live interaction and behavior, allowing the audience to fictionalize themselves from this alone.

A link provided in the case study section included one from Enchanted’s “That’s How You Know” scene. This film is, in a sense, a remediation of a handful of past Disney movies and works to portray a current fairy tale. This entire scene is filled with dancing, singing, costumes, vivid and color graphics and is bustling with non-stop activity. Obviously filmed in a modern but well-known location, New York City, the audience can immediately relate to this geographical location and deem it credible while trying to process and believe the idea of a modern day fairy tale plot. With everyday city goers, workers, and normal looking civilians, this scene depicts modern day life but gives it a spin of magical essence and helps the audience to establish a certain role that they should partake in throughout the entire movie.