Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roper

Megan Phelps-Roper’s inside story reveals the bigoted Phelps family’s hatefulness as tragic, exposing raw humanity at depths Louis Theroux couldn’t extract in The Most Hated Family in America through an equally patient and compassionate lens. It’s fascinating to see the impact of dangerous ideas at such a microscopic level, and refreshingly confounding to a popular narrative which fetishises polarisation and discourages empathy.

I looked at contributors who were making questionable decisions:…the Westboro Baptist Church members…the subject of enquiry was people facing impossibly difficult choices, of how best to support troubled loved ones.

Louis Theroux

That the reasoning of MPR’s relatives often amounts to vigilance for the safety of family reminds me of how we are all flawed by the block to objectivity and rational decision-making that is fear, especially when compounded by the potential vulnerability of our brothers or sisters. However, this is hopeful. It’s a paradox revealing the universality of our feelings, a historical foundation for peace-making.

Would [Jim and Sally and Ivan and Anya] debate the differences between their respective Governments? Or would they find themselves comparing notes about their children and what each other did for a living? Before they parted company, they would probably have touched on ambitions and hobbies and what they wanted for the children and problems of making ends meet.

President Reagan

Though whether the Phelps’ wanted “to raise their children in a world without fear”, as Reagan went on to state as a truism of parents, is another matter entirely.

Christopher Hitchens defined God as a sort of infinite tyrant, whose will you were subject to even in death. The Westboro Baptist Church’s teachings thrive on fear of the Lord’s wrath, exemplifying an unusual enthusiasm to be enslaved which contradicts the rather kind Christianity I’ve been exposed to. Supportive of the atheist idea that religion inherently and unreservedly binds groups and deepens divisions is that a young MPR believed the term “Christians” to be synonymous with “evil.” Coupled with the author’s frequent quoting of the actual biblical scripture which is the backbone of their doctrine, Unfollow could be a seriously compelling argument against religion in general. No wonder some atheists like to define religion by its fanatics.

Therefore context is very important to this book and its message. I think it’s vulnerable to misinterpretation otherwise.

MPR’s blasé description of the picketing of soldiers’ funerals, for example, made me feel extremely uncomfortable, despite my awareness of her and the family’s disposition. But this likely pales in comparison to how she felt writing it. Having had fundamental disagreements with relatives myself, but likewise nothing on the scale of hers, she is a remarkably brave person. Inspiring too – demonstrating how even the worst of us can change. More hope! (Something I didn’t totally expect at the outset reading this.)

Further, the impact of social media and internet message boards on her life is extraordinary – contradicting the negative feelings I have about online discourse in general – exposing MPR to competition in the domain of ideas. Even the character limit on Twitter, which I’ve always viewed to distort and ruin opinions by minimising potential context or explanation and encouraging improper brevity, supported her self-improvement in a way I’d never though of.

Contempt for the conmen. Compassion for the conned.

James O’Brien

Interestingly with the Phelpses, their indoctrination and brainwashing very much a family affair, the lines are blurred here, so it’s difficult to find satisfying blame. The characters in the book play both roles only through fault of birth. Their familial trust is tragically mutually and unwittingly exploited to embed hatred. It is truly astounding how MPR summoned the courage to escape: her ideas being intertwined with the strongest of personal bonds eliminating the potential for an easy enemy.

Hence MPR’s anagnorisis is gripping, written brilliantly to allow our understanding and to experience the depth of her conflicted psychology. It’s an exciting and Orwellian and excellent turning point. Worthy of even the best thrillers I’ve read. The ensuing navigation for a way to security is heart-breaking, but eventually sees a mind reborn apply openness and critical thinking through and from vibrant re-evaluation of ideas previously held to be infallible. It’s beautiful and satisfying: the tale of discovery and the epic thesis Megan Phelps-Roper makes for freedom of speech now and forever. Poignant, relevant and convincing, Unfollow makes a captivating and illuminating read.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This is why I buy used books – the page smeared with makeup notwithstanding. A copy of a novel like this is brilliant entertainment practically for free, even if The Hunger Games is a bit of a kids’ book – at least it means the pages are well spaced.

Part one flew by. Having watched the film recently – I’m ashamed to say I’d never seen it – I can now appreciate how faithful it was. And that it worked so well probably indicates the book’s excellence. The writing reminds me of books I would read when I was little but also Hemingway, only without the cavernous implications. When sentences are simple (and amply sized in clear print!) I don’t ever have to re-read. The story feels like it’s being told by an actual storyteller, if that makes sense – rather than enthusiastically stylised for critical review. Meaning is not lost, the words being placed carefully and deliberately.

Perhaps I’m just rationalising my now evidently low reading level. But having read Ludlum just before this, his style a world away from Collins’, and reading Einstein simultaneously, this light dystopia is ironically refreshing.

Only individuals have a sense of responsibility.

Nietzsche

The Games are exciting for exploring the idea of individual worth and the identifiers of individuality. That the nation Panem challenges fraternity creates Katniss’ unease a conduit for the author’s contempt, her sense of filial responsibility made righteous. If I had a child or knew a despot I’d have them read this book; it seems fantastic for communicating good values, and reminding the reader of any fantasy universe with an Imperial faction.

Being introduced in part two, the eponymous saga is a rollercoaster of emotion, broader than you might expect for the bleak outlook. Collins’ use of relationships also becomes key to her message, turning empathy into overdrive for even ostensible enemies. Division is refused by the charming characters. Humanity paradoxically exposed by the imposition of barbarism. (Gosh, it’s all a bit Lord of the Flies. Especially at the end of the Games in part three.)

Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy.

William Golding, Lord of the Flies

I really enjoyed this one. Looking forward to the next two and I think there’s a recent prequel – a nice surprise. This might be the first time for a while I’ll finish a series of novels. Thank you Suzanne.

Straight Time, Featuring Dustin Hoffman

I love how older films use silence. Deliverance, They Live, Midnight Run all thrive on tension without overpowering, unending soundtracks. Some, therefore, might use Straight Time, doubtless among these great films, to launch a pseudo-nostalgic lecture about the past. My dad certainly would.

I used to be with it, but then they changed what it was. Now what I’m with isn’t it, and what’s it seems weird and scary to me, and it’ll happen to you.

Grampa Simpson

But I’m pretty convinced, having watched a fair few movies from the middle of the last century until now, that a great movie, or a terrible movie, knows no time. Hoffman’s performance here, therefore, is a universal classic – even if a hipster’s comments might ruin the mood.

It all feels so real. Jerry’s stress in the bank or the jewellery store is our stress, all either of us can do is listen to the shifting of cash in drawers or a frantic hand amongst shards of glass. There is no barrier. No music or odd panning or stupid askew aesthetic (see Will Smith in Enemy of the State).

There’s a book it’s based on – No Beast So Fierce by an Edward Bunker – I’ve listed it, even if I am still embarrassed that was the first time I’ve seen Kathy Bates in something other than The Office.

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

(Featuring egregious comparison with the 2002 film.)

Having watched the film I thought I’d read the book. It’s fast-paced action like the film but with far more details and an expansive universe. It’s not overwhelming though, the action a little difficult to follow whilst keeping track of names and places in Book One and the first half of Book Two but mellowing in Book Three, resting on the strong foundations built in the first four-hundred or so pages.

In writing a novel, when in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns.

Raymond Chandler

Therefore they’re both quite different but great in their own way. Many reviewers on Amazon, however, state either that the film was exceptional and the book a dated let-down, or the film “diabolical” and the book essentially gospel for Eighties spy thrillers. The above quote was one criticism of Ludlum, suggesting laziness I guess. I think I’ll have to read The Prometheus Deception to find out. (It has some pretty lethal reviews.)

Though there is an Alexander Conklin in both representations they’re very different. With the story radically simplified in the film the characters are understandably altered to fit, most interestingly being drastically reduced in numbers. Hence in the film Conklin is a sort of amalgamation of all the government/executive characters from the novel apart from, paradoxically, his namesake, who is most directly inhabited by Ward Abbott I think. Ward is likely named after David Abbott who is made similar only really by his brutal end, their motives and circumstances totally changed – the latter’s death a product of a timeline erased for cinema. Nonetheless, Brian Cox was perfectly cast for the spiteful and impatient corrupted official role, his rants as Ward as exceptional as his as Robert McKee in a very special Nick Cage film (which I’ve just remembered also features Chris Cooper – who too was well cast for his essentially invented role).

I think I’ll be more likely to go back to the film than the book in the future but only out of convenience and to satisfy my mind with images of the early 2000s – this is why I’m a fan of Mr. Bean’s Holiday.