I wrote,
:
>
> << Remember that hard
> boiled has developed from the pulps and popular
fiction, not what is
called
> great literature. It's up to you to define best.
>>
>
Jim Blue wrote,
> There's nothing magical or even all that difficult
about defining
terms
> and agreeing on them. People do it all the time
about subjects more
mundane
> and more esoteric than the one at hand. Also, the
fact that hard-boiled
> fiction came from the pulps rather than some higher
literary realm does
not
> render it too pedestrian to be assessed. In my
opinion, strong
hard-boiled
> fiction can stand up against any other
fiction.
This list has debated how to define hard boiled since I've
been on it. That's five years. I think that shows great
difficulty in defining something. I wrote 'what is called
literature.' I was referring to the popular perception. The
NPR list had characters almost equally from popular fiction
and what would be called great literature. I didn't say that
is what I thought.
The problem here (if it is a
problem) is that you guys are deep into
"do
> your own thing" on choosing this list, but you want
to give it a name that
> will make it sound like the RARA-AVIS group has
spoken out with a
collective
> voice about which hard-boiled characters are best.
That's not what's
> happening. What we're really doing is creating a
hundred different lists
> using a hundred different criteria and then we're
adding up the votes as
> though the totals really meant something.
Any list made up with many people voting is going to be like
that. All the greatest 100 of the century lists I saw were
made up that way. I thought some of the inclusions on the AFI
Institute's greatest 100, for example, were ridiculous, but
others might have felt the same way about movies I would put
on my list. What we are trying to get is a consensus. The
only alternative is for some 'authority' to make up a list,
but there is no guarantee that list would be more accurate
than one this list came up with.
BTW, te definition of 'best in Random House's College
Dictionary is " 1 Of the highest quality or standing. 2 Most
advantageous or suitable. I don't see how that would assist
you in voting any more than what I have stated.
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