In the background all I can hear is a mixture of clapping, charlie brown style 'wahn wahn, wahn wahn" voices, and the partner yelling at the television screen. Someone else's wife is speaking about... something. Every so often the partner runs into the computer room with this look of....Bewilderment? Astonishment?
"Why aren't you watching this? Why? Are you hearing this?"

Yeah, I am hearing it.

Last year I did a directed reading on narrative and historiography. Our thoughts tended to wander away from the readings, and we would pick up on whatever tangents and unformed thoughts that popped into our minds. Somehow, the question of historical fiction came up one class, and we discussed a letter to the editor found in the local newspaper that referred to Gone With the Wind as a legitimate source for information about slavery and black/white relationships.

After vomiting in the garbage can over the thought that someone actually thought this statement to be true, we picked up on that thread and discussed how fiction does shape our understanding of reality, both past and present, and future. The election of The Terminator was the second example to be used in this long and rambling discussion, and we marvelled over how all it took was the flex of an arm and the people turned out in droves. Had people really reached a point where they could not distinguish between fiction and reality?

Yes. Yes they had.

Even he cannot tell the difference.

"What a greeting! This is like winning an Oscar! ...As if I would know! Speaking of acting, one of my movies was called “True Lies.” (source)


Future Story:
did I mention that the partner and I aren't married?
(sure to include a discussion on the politics of marriage)